Today I want to talk about one of the most common \u2014 and most avoidable \u2014 crises I see in foreign companies operating in Japan.<\/p>\n
A CEO is preparing to move on. Maybe he’s been recalled to head office. Maybe she’s found a compelling opportunity elsewhere. Maybe it’s simply time. And when that moment comes, they look around at their organization and realize: there is no one obviously ready to take over.<\/p>\n
Not because there aren’t good people. There are. But there are no developed people. No one who has been genuinely prepared for the role. No one who has been given the right experiences, the right responsibilities, the right coaching at the right time.<\/p>\n
And so the CEO finds themselves stranded \u2014 in what I call the Land of No Good Options.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today I want to talk about one of the most common \u2014 and most avoidable \u2014 crises I see in foreign companies operating in Japan. A CEO is preparing to move on. Maybe he’s been recalled to head office. Maybe she’s found a compelling opportunity elsewhere. Maybe it’s simply time. And when that moment comes, they look around at their organization and realize: there is no one obviously ready to take over. Not because there aren’t good people. There are. But there are no developed people. No one who has been genuinely prepared for the role. No one who has been given the right experiences, the right responsibilities, the right […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4725,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GZ-E5-Perpetual-20260421-12.36.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Podcast-Cover-copy-scaled.jpg","cover_image_id":"4698","duration":"00:11:15","filesize":"15.45M","filesize_raw":"16197925","date_recorded":"2026-04-21 12:40:59","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"full"},"tags":[],"series":[446],"class_list":["post-4847","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","series-the-growth-zone"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Podcast-Featured-copy-2-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Podcast-Cover-copy-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/podcast-download\/4847\/perpetual-leadership-bench","player_link":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/podcast-player\/4847\/perpetual-leadership-bench","audio_player":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/podcast-player\/4847\/perpetual-leadership-bench<\/a>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/stevenbleistein.net\/ja\/feed\/podcast\/the-growth-zone","embedCode":"Perpetual Leadership Bench<\/a><\/blockquote>