[:en]Conversation with Cartier Japan CEO Veronica Prat Van Thiel[:ja]カルティエ ジャパン社長ヴェロニカ・プラット・ヴァン・ティール氏へのインタビュー[:]

veronica prat van thiel and steven bleistein

[:en]On December 12th, I conducted an onstage conversation with Cartier Japan CEO Veronica Prat Van Thiel at the Roppongi Hills Club in Tokyo co-hosted by the American and French chambers of commerce in Japan. We had a full house, and lots of great questions from the audience. This was an off-the-record event. Below are my personal takeaways.

[:en]Chauvinism in Disguise[:ja]「排他主義」に隠された別の問題点[:]

[:en]Once when I made an offer on buying a house in Japan, the owner initially accepted, and then immediately rejected my offer after learning I was not Japanese. For me, such experiences are by far the exception and not the norm. Nonetheless chauvinism, racism, and xenophobia exist in Japan just as anywhere else, and while outrage might be justified, I have rarely found outrage helpful. Chauvinism often masks a deeper concern. What is presumed conventional wisdom is often chauvinism in disguise.

[:en]Make Your Own Era[:ja]自分自身の時代を築くこと[:]

Make your own era

[:en]The passing of an era in a company is often so subtle as to create an illusion of inertia, like the pushback from the jetway of a passenger jet that is only discernible by looking out the window but otherwise goes unfelt. Such changes in era are only remarked when someone asks, “Were we always like this?”

[:en]Labor Shortage? No Such Thing! [:ja]労働力不足など存在しない[:]

Labor Shortage? No Such Thing!

[:en]There is no such thing as a labor shortage. There are more excellent people out there right now than you can possibly hire, and you can have them—if you do things right! Last week, I discussed what to let go in order to grow your business in the midst of a labor shortage. This week, as promised, I discuss what to take on. Below are my top four. 

[:en]No Such Thing as a Labor Shortage[:ja]人手不足と「手放す」ことについて[:]

No Such Thing as a Labor Shortage

[:en]There is no such thing as a labor shortage. In reality, there are more excellent people in Japan than you could possibly hire. You can have them, if you do things right. The first step in growing a business, even in a labor shortage, is deciding what to cut. If you find that your business is dealing with the current labor shortage by taking more on and clinging to what you have, then heed my advice. If you want to grow, you must first let go. Let go of what, you ask? Read on, and I explain the top four.

[:en]You Are Not Carlos Ghosn[:ja]あなたはカルロス・ゴーンにあらず[:]

[:en]Some have argued the reason for Carlos Ghosn’s legal trouble is for having pushed change too hard—that he crossed some kind of Japanese nationalistic redline in wanting to merge Nissan and Renault, giving the French company control over the Japanese entity. Had Ghosn been more conservative in his actions, they reason, he would not be in the predicament in which he finds himself. This narrative, however, is disingenuous.

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