When Everyone Cheats
Around a decade ago, the CEO of the Japanese subsidiary of a European building infrastructure and engineering services company told me his business had repeatedly experienced safety failures and accidents. One person had died and others might have in other incidents but fortunately had not. He told me he suspected the cause was the failure […]
The Acumen of Gender Diversity
Most global companies outside of Japan have targets for increasing numbers of women employees, particularly in management. And even in Japan where women are often given short shrift, more global companies now have such targets as well. However, the leaders of the most successful companies I know achieve their objective by doing things right that […]
No Country for Old Men
A CEO client recently told me he had been fired through no fault of his own. His performance and business results had been consistently outstanding. Nonetheless, a regional executive vice president who met with him in Japan, ostensibly to discuss the future, told him he would be sacked. When asked why, the vice president explained […]
[:en]Empowerment for Adults[:ja]エンパワーメントとは[:]
[:en]I define empowerment as an employee’s ability to effect a business outcome through his or her individual work—and having the will to do so. In the video below, I explain what you need to make empowerment a reality in your business. No theory. No slogans. No HR-esque platitudes. Just practical advice based on actual experience […]
Strategy on Your Own Terms
The best military strategists always choose the terrain on which they will do battle, rather than allowing the enemy to choose for them. So, in business, why would you possibly allow others to define the topography of your business environment instead of choosing the topography yourself? Yet, that is often precisely what business people do.
[:en]Little has Changed[:ja]危機であろうがなかろうが、変わらないもの[:]
[:en]Don’t get mired in the tactical. The principles of what makes for effective leadership of a business is no different now during the pandemic from what they were in the “before-times.” It is only the tactics that have to change.
[:en]Exploit Your Unseen Innovations[:ja]社内で生まれているイノベーションに注意を払うこと[:]
[:en]As I boarded a Japan Airlines international first class not long ago, a cabin attendant at the entrance to the aircraft greeted me in Japanese with, “Dr. Bleistein! We’ve been expecting you!” rather than the typical, “Welcome aboard, sir!” in English. Not only did she know my name, but also presumed correctly that I speak […]
[:en]Conversation with Parfums Christian Dior Japan President Olivier Teboul[:ja]パルファン・クリスチャン・ディオール・ジャポン株式会社代表取締役社長オリヴィエ・トゥブル氏へのインタビュー[:]
[:en]Last week I held and onstage conversation with Parfums Christian Dior Japan President Olivier Teboul for the French Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Below are my personal takeaways from what we discussed.
[:en]Empathy Trumps Projection[:ja]投影ではなく共感をすること[:]
[:en]Projection and empathy are not the same thing, but they are often confused. Empathy is the ability to understand how someone is thinking, whereas projection is presuming a person thinks like you. Be careful not to project when it is empathy that you intend.
[:en]Change First, Culture Later[:ja]まず変化に取り組んでから、企業文化を見直すこと[:]
[:en]If you are a leader seeking rapid change in your company, forget about culture. Culture will take care of itself. Focus on new ways of doing things. The genesis of a new culture results from a change in behavior, not the other way around. Change the way people do things. Culture change follows as a […]
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