When Bold Strategy Becomes a Bet You Can’t Afford to Lose
Honda just announced its first net loss since listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1957. The company cancelled three EV models it had been engineering for years — the Honda 0 SUV, the Honda 0 Saloon, and the Acura RSX — writing off up to ¥2.5 trillion in assets and supplier commitments in a single fiscal year.
That fact alone is worth sitting with. This is not a story about a company that failed to try.
It is a story about the difference between boldness and prudence — and what happens when a business has the first without the second.
Lessons from the Summit: A Conversation with Per Rasmussen, President of Millet Mountain Group Japan
On April 9th, I had the honor of conducting an onstage conversation with Per Rasmussen, President and Representative Director of Millet Mountain Group Japan, for the French Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Six insights stood out. 1. A brand is not a logo. Millet’s brand is built on an uncompromising commitment to technical performance — […]
Practices That Accelerate Leadership Success
Below are my list of the top twenty-one practices that accelerate your success as a leader based on the most successful business leaders I know.
Throw Your Lot in
On the morning of March 11, 2011, I picked out a tie, checked myself in the mirror, and then left the house to go to Tokyo without knowing that I would never again leave that house the same way. It was only hours later that the massive 3/11 earthquake struck Japan and its deadly tsunami […]
The Fallacy of Pain Points and Problems
Imagine enquiring about membership at a local gym, and a staff member asks, “What health problems do you suffer from, morbid obesity or something else?” How would you feel about that gym, assuming, like most people, you are fit but could stand to lose some weight and build muscle?
When to Leave your CEO Job
An ex-pat CEO of the Japanese subsidiary of a global European company intimated to me that he intends to leave his job. He was already actively interviewing. He had had some significant successes a few years back but felt the global company’s bureaucracy stymied his ability to succeed.
The Secret to Persuasive Strategy
All senior level executives and managers are asked to develop and present a strategy, whether global strategy, regional strategy, or simply strategy for a team or department they oversee. Many managers create long slide presentations with lots of data to justify why their strategy is right. However, the most persuasive managers talk about all the […]
3 Pillars of Change Traction
If you want traction for change among individuals in your organization, it is only when there are clear standards of performance or behavior, accountability to meet them, and support to help people succeed that a change can take hold. In my experience, a deficit in any one of these three will alter the way any […]
Motivation is Overrated
When a CEO asks me how to better motivate his or her employees to change, the focus is on the wrong thing. Motivation can get a person started, but only discipline can see him or her through to an outcome.
Org Dev? Forget All You Know!
Do you want to strengthen your business’s performance, and grow your business fast? Below are my top five pieces of advice that often run most counter to conventional practices I observe in companies in Japan and elsewhere in the world.
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