The Leadership Japan Series

Dale Carnegie Japan
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Management
  • Updated Weekly

Leading in Japan is distinct and different from other countries. The language, culture and size of the economy make sure of that. We can learn by trial and error or we can draw on real world practical experience and save ourselves a lot of friction, wear and tear. This podcasts offers hundreds of episodes packed with value, insights and perspectives on leading here. The only other podcast on Japan which can match the depth and breadth of this Leadership Japan Series podcast is the Japan's Top Business interviews podcast.

  1. 5d ago

    Leadership Essential Undertakings

    Leadership is not only about watching the P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, revenue and profit. Those numbers matter enormously, especially when conditions are difficult, but leaders can become so absorbed in survival that they neglect the people who must deliver the recovery. Effective leadership requires the agility to keep several priorities in motion at once: business performance, cooperation, culture, career development and personal self-control. Why must leaders influence cooperation rather than simply issue orders? Leaders achieve results through people, so cooperation is more sustainable than command-and-control pressure. When the business is under strain, determination, grit and force of will can become dangerous strengths. The leader starts pushing harder, communicating from on high and assuming that one perspective—the leader's own—is enough. That may produce short-term compliance, but it weakens ownership, trust and discretionary effort. A leader only has value in relation to the organisation and the people who constitute it. The real task is therefore to influence others to cooperate toward a desired result, not merely to demand obedience. Servant leadership is easiest to discuss when conditions are comfortable; it is tested when revenues are falling, cash is tight and everyone is tired. In those moments, leaders need to explain the goal, involve people in the path forward and make cooperation feel purposeful rather than compulsory. Do now: Replace one directive this week with a conversation that clarifies the outcome, invites input and builds shared ownership. How does a leader's personality shape organisational culture? A leader's attitudes, emotional control and assumptions about people are constantly transmitted into the culture. Leaders bring their whole personality to work: hopes, fears, values, impatience, humour and bias. When business is going well, it is easy to appear positive, tolerant and encouraging. The harder test comes when the organisation is facing chaos, missed targets or serious risk. Negativity at the top quickly permeates the team. Douglas McGregor's Theory X view of motivation described leaders who focus on shortcomings and become detectives searching for faults and failures. That mindset affects how people are treated and what kind of culture develops. Leaders do not need to pretend that everything is fine, but they do need the discipline to remain calm, fair and constructive. Sometimes leadership requires an actor's composure: appearing steady enough to help others think clearly, even when the leader is deeply concerned underneath. Do now: Before reacting under pressure, ask what emotional signal your behaviour will send to the organisation. Why should organisational goals and individual career goals be aligned? Performance improves when the organisation's ambitions and each employee's career goals can grow together. Leaders naturally have their own goals, incentives and ambitions, so pretending that self-interest does not exist is unrealistic. The higher standard is to pursue business outcomes while also taking a genuine interest in the growth of subordinates. That requires time. Leaders need to understand what motivates each person, what skills they want to build, what responsibilities they seek and what success means to them. Only then can the leader look for ways to connect individual aspirations with organisational priorities. In many cases, the two can be blended: a new project can build capability, a stretch assignment can support succession, or a cross-functional initiative can advance both enterprise performance and personal development. The details are rarely effortless, but creating that alignment is one of the clearest marks of leadership excellence. Do now: Ask each direct report what progress they want to make over the next twelve months, then connect it to a real business priority. What is a leader's responsibility for developing people? A central leadership responsibility is to help people become capable of producing important results. Developing people is not a soft extra that sits beside the real work; it is part of the real work. Organisations succeed through capable people who can make decisions, solve problems and recover from setbacks. That means leaders must coach, delegate, provide feedback and create opportunities to practise. Development also requires patience because growth is rarely tidy. The Japanese expression hanmen kyoshi means learning from a negative example, and that example may be another person or ourselves. Leaders who openly learn from their own mistakes make it safer for others to learn as well. By contrast, a leader who excuses personal errors but punishes subordinate errors creates a toxic double standard. Accountability still matters, but it should be applied consistently and used to strengthen judgement rather than merely assign blame. Do now: Turn one recent mistake into a structured learning conversation: what happened, what was learned and what will change next time? How should leaders treat failure when the stakes are high? Leaders must distinguish between careless failure and intelligent failure, while applying the same standards to themselves and their teams. Innovation, transformation and difficult decisions all carry risk. If every setback is treated as proof of incompetence, people will hide problems, avoid experimentation and wait for permission. Yet saying "we never fail, we only learn" is meaningless unless leaders apply that philosophy when the financial consequences become serious. The real test comes when large numbers, client relationships or reputational risks are involved. Leaders should examine whether the decision process was sound, whether assumptions were reasonable, whether warning signs were ignored and whether the lesson is being captured. They should also ask whether they would judge themselves by the same standard. Integrity, credibility and trust depend on this consistency. Generosity toward failure does not mean abandoning accountability; it means ensuring that accountability produces better future performance. Do now: Review one failed initiative for decision quality, not only outcome quality, and document the lesson for future teams. How can leaders read their own 'air' during difficult times? Leaders need enough self-awareness to recognise what is happening inside themselves before it distorts what happens around them. The Japanese phrase kuki wo yomu means reading the air: noticing what is really happening in a room beyond the visible surface. Leaders often try to read everyone else—the mood, resistance, hesitation or hidden concern—but fail to read their own internal atmosphere. Under pressure, fear may appear as aggression, uncertainty as over-control and fatigue as impatience. A short pause can prevent those emotions from becoming organisational signals. Self-reflection is especially important when leaders are juggling numbers, people, clients and operational risk at the same time. The four essential undertakings—building cooperation, managing personal impact, aligning goals and developing people—provide a practical check on whether leadership perspective has narrowed too far. Reading your own air is not self-indulgence; it is a way to protect the quality of judgement and the health of the team. Do now: In your next difficult meeting, pause and name your internal state before you speak or decide. What should leaders remember? Sustainable performance comes from combining financial focus with disciplined attention to people. Leadership becomes most visible when conditions are rough and tough. Financial discipline remains essential, but numbers alone cannot produce cooperation, resilience or growth. Leaders need to manage their own impact, connect organisational goals with individual aspirations, develop people through both success and failure, and regularly examine what pressure is doing to their judgement. The strongest leaders do not choose between performance and people. They understand that sustainable performance is delivered through people. Author bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across leadership, communication, sales and presentation programmes, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers—Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery—along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese. Greg publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and X, hosts six weekly podcasts, and produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews on YouTube.

  2. Jul 29

    Guiding Principles Of Leadership Part Two

    Leadership principles are rarely complicated. The difficulty is remembering to practise them consistently when targets are missed, markets become unstable, staff disappoint us and the pressure keeps building. In Part One, we examined the first seven guiding principles of leadership. Here are principles eight to sixteen: practical reminders about respect, recognition, accountability, goal-setting, focus, resilience, work-life balance, worry and enthusiasm. They may sound familiar, but familiarity is not the same as application. How does showing respect improve employee motivation? Genuine respect is the foundation of sustainable employee motivation because people are more willing to contribute when they feel valued as human beings. This applies not only to star performers but also to the large middle of the workforce whose performance may be average or inconsistent. Many bosses naturally respect their top 20% because those people deliver results. The real leadership test is how they treat everyone else. Frustration can leak into the boss's voice, facial expression and daily interactions. Staff quickly recognise when they are being tolerated rather than respected. Leaders do not have to accept poor performance. They do, however, need to separate the individual's worth from the current quality of the work. Clear coaching, fair expectations and honest feedback can coexist with dignity. Do now: Check whether every team member receives the same basic level of courtesy, attention and respect, regardless of performance. Why are recognition and praise sometimes more powerful than money? People work for money, but they often go the extra mile because they receive recognition, praise and meaningful rewards. Fair pay matters, but salary alone rarely creates emotional engagement, loyalty or discretionary effort. Frederick Herzberg described salary as a "hygiene factor". When pay is unfair, it causes dissatisfaction. When it is fair, employees generally treat it as an expected part of the employment relationship. The stronger motivational effect often comes from achievement, responsibility, progress and recognition. Our Dale Carnegie research has repeatedly identified feeling valued by one's immediate manager as an important emotional driver of engagement. Employees cannot read the boss's mind. They know they are valued because the leader communicates it through specific praise, appreciation and acknowledgement. A vague "good job" is better than silence, but precise recognition is stronger: explain what the person did, why it mattered and who benefited. Do now: Recognise one specific contribution today and connect it directly to its positive impact. Should leaders admit their mistakes? Strong leaders admit mistakes quickly because accountability builds credibility rather than diminishing authority.A boss who pretends to be infallible creates defensiveness, fear and political behaviour throughout the organisation. Ego, face, pride and professional image can make an admission difficult, particularly in hierarchical business cultures. Some managers worry that saying "I was wrong" will weaken their position. Usually, the opposite happens. Employees already know the mistake occurred. The only unresolved question is whether the leader has enough confidence and integrity to acknowledge it. Admitting an error does not mean accepting chronic incompetence. Leaders and employees must still meet professional standards. The principle is to be quick to acknowledge genuine mistakes, slow to criticise others and constructive when correcting performance. A leader who accepts personal imperfection is also more capable of responding calmly when a team member makes an occasional error. Do now: Admit the mistake, explain the correction and focus the team on preventing a recurrence. How should leaders set challenging but realistic goals? Effective goals should stretch performance without becoming so unrealistic that employees stop believing effort will make any difference. Clear, challenging and attainable targets generate more commitment than numbers based on guesswork, hope or executive wishful thinking. Throughout my career, I have encountered targets that appeared to have no scientific, commercial or logical foundation. A wet finger held up to the breeze seemed to be the methodology. These goals did not motivate anyone. They encouraged cynicism, sandbagging and creative explanations for failure. Today, I use a spreadsheet to track each salesperson's results from the date they joined the company. This allows comparisons based on experience, historical performance, conversion patterns and realistic productivity expectations. Large corporations, SMEs and startups may use different metrics, but the principle remains the same: base targets on evidence, explain the rationale and confirm that employees can influence the outcome. Do now: Review whether your team's goals are evidence-based, clearly explained and difficult but genuinely obtainable. How can leaders maintain focus on the big picture? Leaders maintain strategic focus by protecting time for important long-term work, even while urgent problems compete for attention. Markets, currency movements, wars, technological disruption and economic downturns can easily pull leaders into permanent crisis management. Employees are often understandably focused on today's workload, career, compensation and immediate problems. Senior leaders must operate across a longer horizon. They need to keep reminding the organisation where it is going, why that destination matters and what must be protected during periods of disruption. The familiar advice is to work on the business, not only in the business. Stephen Covey's Quadrant Two—important but not urgent—is where strategic planning, relationship building, capability development and risk prevention normally sit. Unfortunately, these activities are easily postponed because they are not yet emergencies. The big picture does not maintain itself. Leaders have to schedule time to think. Do now: Block regular Quadrant Two time for strategy, people development and prevention before urgent work consumes the calendar. Does work-life balance improve leadership performance? Consistently high performance requires recovery because health, reflection and leisure support better judgement, creativity and endurance. Leadership is a marathon, even though ambitious executives sometimes behave as if every month is the final sprint. "I will outwork, out-sacrifice and out-commit everyone" can sound admirable. It becomes dangerous when exhaustion damages decision quality, relationships or physical health. Many of our strongest ideas appear while walking, running, swimming, exercising or gardening—not while staring at another spreadsheet late at night. My father established his own company at the age of 49 and achieved rapid financial success. He died from lung cancer at 51 and was not there to enjoy the rewards. That experience permanently shaped my view of success. Winning in business is meaningless if leaders destroy their health, family life and capacity to enjoy what they have built. Do now: Treat sleep, exercise, relationships and recovery as performance disciplines rather than optional rewards. How can leaders remain positive during severe setbacks? Resilient leaders take strength from what remains possible instead of allowing past failures and present negativity to consume their energy. Positivity is not pretending that serious problems do not exist. It is maintaining the ability to act despite them. The movie reel inside our minds repeatedly shows mistakes, humiliations, losses and disasters. News media amplify the effect because negative stories attract attention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the training industry suffered extraordinary disruption. Remaining optimistic while facing losses, uncertainty and upheaval was not easy. My mantra was TINA: There Is No Alternative. Quitting mentally would not improve the situation, so the only productive option was to keep adapting and fighting. Japan's well-known saying, "Fall down seven times, get up eight," captures the required mindset. Resilience does not remove the wound. It gets us moving again. Do now: Identify what remains within your control and take one constructive action before reviewing the problem again. What practical method helps leaders control worry? Leaders can reduce worry by converting vague fear into a clearly defined problem followed by practical solution choices. Worry thrives when the mind circles endlessly around uncertainty without moving toward a decision. Questions such as "Can we make payroll?", "Will we run out of cash?" and "How much longer can we survive?" became genuine concerns for many business owners during the pandemic, supply-chain disruption, market instability and geopolitical conflict. A simple four-part process can interrupt paralysis: What is the problem? Why is it a problem? What could I do to alleviate the problem? Which solution is best? This structure moves the mind away from emotional repetition and into analysis, options and action. The selected solution may not be perfect, but purposeful movement is generally healthier than passive anxiety. Do now: Write down the worry, answer the four questions and choose the next specific action. Why is enthusiasm essential for leadership? Enthusiasm gives leaders the emotional energy to influence others, sustain momentum and keep hope alive when circumstances are grim. It can move people, but it must also be protected from persistent negativity. Negative colleagues, commentators and acquaintances can act like kryptonite. Their pessimism gradually drains confidence and makes every idea appear impossible. Leaders cannot always avoid difficult people, particularly when the negative person is a colleague, client or family member. They can, however, control how much autho

  3. Jul 22

    Guiding Principles Of Leadership Part One

    We collect leadership ideas from everywhere: books, training courses, articles, mentors, bosses, colleagues and the occasional painful lesson delivered by experience. The problem is that we rarely collect these ideas in one place. They arrive randomly over many years, and we forget more than we retain. We may recognise a useful principle when we hear it, nod wisely and then promptly return to doing exactly what we were doing before. Here are seven leadership principles we already know but probably need to remember. In Part Two, we will continue with principles eight through sixteen. Should Leaders Focus on Strengths or Weaknesses? The first step towards leadership success is identifying your strengths and deliberately building on them. That is not what most of us do, though, is it? We usually focus on what we are doing badly. We replay mistakes, analyse weaknesses and beat ourselves up because we are not perfect. All of that keeps us looking backwards. Naturally, leaders cannot ignore weaknesses that are hurting the team or damaging results. However, leadership development should not become an endless repair job. We also need to ask where we already perform well and how we can create even more value from those capabilities. Perhaps you are good at setting direction, developing people, winning trust, communicating through uncertainty or making tough decisions. These strengths are leadership assets. Use them consciously rather than treating them as accidental. Do now: Write down your three strongest leadership capabilities and decide where you will apply each one more deliberately. What Really Builds Trust in Leadership? Trust is built when leaders are fair, keep their promises and do the right thing even when nobody would blame them for taking the easier option. Communication is built on trusting relationships, but what actually creates that trust? Fairness is a major part of it. Employees, vendors and clients are always watching how we behave when pressure, money and competing interests enter the picture. During the COVID period, we had access to international pricing for one of our training programmes. That price was higher than what we normally charged locally. We could easily have taken the extra money, and in those very straitened times, the cash would have been welcome. But where is the trust if we do that? Trust also means doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it and in the way you promised. That sounds easy. It is not. Busy schedules, shifting priorities and unexpected problems all get in the way. Regardless, leaders have to keep their eyes on integrity and follow their true-north values. Do now: Review the commitments you have made recently. Is there anything you promised but have not yet delivered? Can a Leader Force Employees to Be Motivated? Motivation cannot be forced. People have to want to do a good job, and the leader's role is to help create the conditions for that motivation. Imagine a cartoon boss screaming, "Be motivated! Be motivated! Be motivated!" so loudly that the employees' hair is blowing backwards. Ridiculous, obviously. Yet many managers are not doing anything much more sophisticated. They push harder, repeat the target, add pressure and wonder why people are not suddenly overflowing with enthusiasm. A better starting point is alignment. What does the individual value? What does the enterprise value? Where can those interests connect? One employee may want advancement. Another may want recognition, professional mastery, security, flexibility or the chance to work on something meaningful. Leaders need to understand those individual motivations and help employees see how strong performance can move them towards their own goals. Here is the million-dollar question: do you know the goals and values of each staff member? And do you keep checking? Goals change. Do now: Ask each person what they most want to achieve professionally over the next twelve months. Why Must a Leader's Interest in People Be Genuine? Genuine interest strengthens relationships because people can quickly detect the difference between real curiosity and fake friendliness. The key word is "genuine". This is not about pretending to care because you want something. It is not a technique to secure cooperation, win a sale or encourage someone to work harder. We have all seen the opposite. Someone is charming while they expect a generous tip and then looks visibly disappointed when the amount is not sufficient. In Japan, there is also the eigyo smile—the fake "sales smile" used to help win business. The mouth is smiling, but the rest of the person is not involved. Leaders make the same mistake when they ask polite questions while clearly waiting for their turn to talk. People are fascinating. When we show pure curiosity, we learn far more about their experiences, concerns, motivations and ambitions. They also sense that the interaction is genuine. As leaders, let's be curious. Do now: Ask someone a question today simply because you are interested in the answer, not because you need anything from them. Why Is Empathy Essential for Modern Leaders? Empathy helps leaders understand the world affecting another person instead of judging everything from inside their own world. Deadlines, targets, quotas, emails, bills and endless meetings—the rough and tumble of business is relentless. It is easy to become completely consumed by our own pressures. When that happens, we forget that everyone around us is dealing with a different set of circumstances. I once watched a company owner networking vigorously at an event. Another guest made a snide comment about what the owner was doing. Maybe that guest sailed through the pandemic completely unscathed. The company owner, however, had been clinging on by the fingernails. The networking was not vanity or attention-seeking. It was an attempt to keep the business alive. That is what happens when we focus entirely on ourselves. We judge visible behaviour without understanding the invisible circumstances behind it. For leaders, that is a disaster. This is especially true when talented employees can easily jump ship if they do not feel they are being understood or looked after. Empathy is not an occasional activity. As leaders, we had better become empathetic if we want to succeed in modern business. Do now: Before criticising someone's attitude or performance, ask what may be happening that you do not yet understand. Why Are Good Listeners So Persuasive? Nobody is more persuasive than a good listener because people are far more open to someone who makes them feel heard and valued. This sounds counterintuitive, doesn't it? We often imagine persuasion as having the gift of the gab, controlling the conversation, steering the content and driving forward through sheer force of will. In practice, this often means finishing other people's sentences, cutting them off or jumping in with our genius contribution before they have completed their point. This behaviour is so common that when someone actually shuts up and lets us talk, we feel liberated. We feel energised. We feel valued. We like that person. We also become more positive about who they are, what they have to say and what they want us to consider. Introverts, in particular, often respond well when they are given enough space to think and speak without being steamrolled. So, if you want people to listen to you as a leader, first let them do the talking. Do now: In your next conversation, do not interrupt. Let the person finish, pause and then ask a follow-up question. Why Are Team Players the Leaders of Tomorrow? Tomorrow's leaders will succeed through creativity, critical thinking and collaboration rather than trying to dominate everything through personal force of will. The three Cs—creativity, critical thinking and collaboration—are becoming increasingly important. Collaboration is the relatively new arrival. When I was growing up in business, Jack Welch was the dominant leadership role model. The popular image was of a tough leader driving results through force of personality, pushing subordinates hard and casting overboard anyone who did not measure up. It was a Darwinian struggle producing zero-sum outcomes. Today's business environment is different. No leader can personally master every market, technology, customer expectation, regulatory risk and operational problem. The winning formula is the ability to tap into the collective intellect, energy and commitment of the whole team. I can see this weakness in myself. I now tell my son he should not think he has to do everything alone, as I did. He should seek support, mentors and collaborators. I wish I had been smarter about this rather than following the path of the hairy-chested individual trying to do everything independently. I have been a notoriously slow learner. Do now: Choose one important problem you are carrying alone and bring other capable people into the discussion. Which Leadership Principles Matter Most? Leadership improves when we consistently apply familiar principles rather than endlessly searching for fashionable new theories. Know your strengths and build on them. Be fair and protect trust. Understand what motivates each individual rather than attempting to force motivation upon them. Take a genuine interest in people. Step outside your own world and practise empathy. Listen before trying to persuade. Finally, stop believing that strong leadership means doing everything alone. Collaboration is not a sign of weakness. It is how leaders gain access to the full intelligence and commitment of the team. We know these principles. The real challenge is remembering to apply them when we are busy, under pressure and tempted to return to old habits. In Part Two, we will continue with principles eight through sixteen. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japa

  4. Jul 15

    Leader Outputs – Divorce, Angry Kids, Weak Finances And No Friends

    Leadership success is usually measured through revenue, market share, promotions, productivity and team performance. Those indicators matter, but they do not tell us whether a leader is succeeding in life. A leader can deliver excellent corporate results while gradually damaging their marriage, weakening their relationship with their children, neglecting their health, mishandling their finances and losing touch with their friends. That is not genuine success. It is professional achievement purchased at an unnecessarily high personal price. This risk is especially relevant in Japan, where long working hours, loyalty to the organisation and the demands placed on player-managers can make work the dominant force in a leader's life. The Wheel of Life provides a useful way to examine whether leaders are achieving balanced and sustainable success. Why do Japanese leaders struggle with work-life balance? Many Japanese leaders still operate within a deeply established culture that rewards commitment, endurance and long working hours. Even when official working practices change, the expectation of total dedication can remain. Japan's post-war economic recovery was driven partly by extraordinary levels of personal sacrifice. During the rapid-growth era, many fathers spent most of their waking hours working, commuting or socialising with colleagues. Mothers frequently carried most of the responsibility for raising children and managing the household. Conditions have changed. Most schools and companies no longer operate every Saturday, dual-income households are increasingly common and younger employees often expect more control over their personal lives. However, the old attitudes have not completely disappeared. Middle-management positions have been reduced in many organisations, technology has transferred administrative work back to managers and leaders are often expected to manage teams while delivering their own individual results. These player-managers may supervise people, handle clients, prepare reports and complete routine administration themselves. Do now: Examine whether your working hours reflect genuine strategic necessity or simply an inherited organisational habit. What is the Wheel of Life for leaders? The Wheel of Life is a self-assessment tool that helps leaders evaluate several important areas of life rather than judging success through career achievement alone. The tool is normally presented as a circle divided into categories. The centre represents a score of zero and the outer edge represents ten. Leaders score their level of satisfaction in areas such as career, finances, family, health, friendships, community, personal interests and spirituality or personal meaning. When the points are connected, the resulting shape shows whether life is relatively balanced or heavily distorted. A leader may score nine in career but only three in health, two in family relationships and one in social life. That person may look successful in the office while experiencing a personal life that is increasingly difficult to sustain. The objective is not to achieve a perfect ten in every category. That is unrealistic. The purpose is to identify serious imbalances before they become crises. Do now: Score each area honestly from zero to ten and identify the two categories that require your immediate attention. Can career success damage a leader's family life? Yes. When work consistently receives the leader's best time, energy and attention, the family may be left with whatever is remaining. Over time, this can create distance, resentment and damaged relationships. Many leaders say they are working hard for their families. The intention may be genuine, but the outcome does not always match the explanation. A leader may provide financial security while rarely being emotionally or physically available. For male leaders in Japan, the traditional model of the absent salaryman father can still influence behaviour. He leaves early, returns late and assumes that providing income is his main family responsibility. However, spouses and children may need time, conversation, support and shared experiences more than another late-night meeting or client dinner. As more women develop independent careers and incomes, they may also be less willing to tolerate relationships in which responsibility and emotional connection are consistently one-sided. Working for the family while gradually losing the family does not make sense. Do now: Schedule protected family time with the same seriousness you apply to an executive meeting or major client appointment. Why should leaders take more responsibility for their finances? High income does not automatically create long-term financial security. Leaders still need to manage savings, investment, retirement planning, insurance and household risk. Many people in Japan have traditionally held a large proportion of their wealth in bank deposits. During long periods of deflation and low inflation, holding cash appeared relatively safe. In a more inflationary environment, however, cash can gradually lose purchasing power. Busy leaders often delay financial planning because it does not feel urgent. Retirement seems distant, investment appears complicated and the company pension may seem sufficient. The problem is that financial preparation benefits enormously from time. Delaying ten or twenty years can make the eventual task considerably harder. Japan's ageing population also places continuing pressure on public pension and social security systems. Leaders should not assume that future government benefits alone will provide the lifestyle they expect. This does not mean making reckless investments. It means becoming financially literate, seeking qualified advice where appropriate and preparing rather than hoping. Do now: Review your savings, investments, retirement plan, insurance and household obligations at least once each year. Why do busy leaders lose their friends? Friendships weaken when leaders repeatedly sacrifice social relationships to work. Connection requires time, effort and genuine interest, not occasional promises to catch up later. Social life is often one of the first casualties of overtime. Leaders postpone dinners, cancel weekend plans and stop calling people because the next deadline always seems more important. Remote and hybrid work have also blurred the boundary between professional and personal life. Without a physical commute to mark the end of the day, some leaders continue responding to emails, checking reports and attending online meetings well into the evening. Corporate entertaining should not be confused with friendship. Taking reluctant junior staff out for drinks or attending obligatory client functions may fill the calendar, but it does not necessarily create meaningful social support. Strong relationships are a form of wealth. Friends provide perspective, humour, honesty and support that cannot be replaced by job titles or business contacts. Do now: Contact one person you value but have neglected and arrange a specific time to meet rather than saying, "We should catch up sometime." Why do leaders need interests outside work? Hobbies and personal interests protect leaders from allowing their job to become their entire identity. They provide creativity, renewal and a sense of progress that is independent of corporate performance. Some leaders view personal interests as indulgent or unproductive. They believe every available hour should be used to advance the business. That approach may produce short-term output, but it can also make life increasingly narrow. Personal pursuits can include music, writing, painting, gardening, travel, sport, reading, cooking or learning a language. The activity does not need to generate income, improve a résumé or create a new business opportunity. For me, writing and recording articles on Saturdays can look like another form of work. In practice, writing also serves as a creative outlet. I cannot play a musical instrument, paint or draw particularly well, so writing gives me a way to create something and explore ideas beyond operational business tasks. Leaders need something they enjoy simply because it makes life richer. Do now: Protect regular time for one activity that has no connection to your targets, clients or corporate status. Why is health a leadership responsibility? Health is not separate from leadership performance. Energy, concentration, emotional control and decision-making all become harder when leaders neglect exercise, sleep, nutrition and medical care. Leaders often say they are too busy to exercise, but many of the same people can find time for long client dinners, alcohol and late-night work. The issue is usually not a complete absence of time. It is the priority assigned to health. Weight gain can happen gradually through business meals, entertaining and inactivity. I experienced this myself while working in Nagoya. After attending a work-related geisha party, someone gave me a commemorative photograph. The side-profile image revealed how much weight I had gained. It was an uncomfortable but useful moment of recognition. Losing weight and improving fitness require sustained lifestyle changes, not a few weeks of enthusiasm with a personal trainer. Leaders need systems they can maintain, including realistic exercise routines, better food choices and limits around alcohol. Do now: Choose one measurable health behaviour to improve for the next ninety days and track it consistently. Why should leaders contribute to their communities? Community involvement helps leaders develop perspective, strengthen relationships and contribute beyond the boundaries of their company. It also prevents professional status from becoming their only source of identity. Japan has a strong tradition of community responsibility shaped by cooperation, shared spaces and collective expectations.

  5. Jul 8

    The Difference Between Western And Japanese Meetings

    Western and Japanese meetings often look similar on the calendar, but they operate on very different assumptions. Both may involve reporting, planning, problem-solving and innovation, yet the real work happens in different places. In many Western companies, the meeting room is where people debate, confront, push, defend and decide. In Japan, the meeting is often only one stage in a broader process. Much of the real alignment happens before the meeting through nemawashi, the groundwork that smooths disagreement and builds consensus. Leaders who miss this difference can become frustrated, confused and ineffective when running meetings in Japan. Why do Western and Japanese meetings feel different? Western meetings often treat the room as the decision arena, while Japanese meetings often treat the room as a confirmation stage. The difference is not cosmetic; it changes how leaders should prepare, participate and follow up. In the West, especially in US, Australian and European business cultures, people may expect direct debate during the meeting. They "duke it out," test ideas, challenge assumptions and make decisions in the room. In Japan, open conflict inside the meeting can feel disruptive or embarrassing. The Japanese approach often relies on conversations before the meeting to understand concerns, reduce friction and avoid public confrontation. Do now: Do not assume silence in a Japanese meeting means agreement. Check views privately before and after the meeting. What communication problems appear in Western-style meetings? Western-style meetings often expose communication extremes: passive wishing, aggressive demands, direct debate, hidden stress and power plays. Leaders need a toolbox to manage these behaviours. Some people express desires as vague wishes, while others make blunt demands. Some bulldoze through barriers, while others read the air, or kuki wo yomu, to avoid offending anyone. Stress can show up as aggression, silence or controlled professionalism. In cross-cultural teams, direct communicators may dominate while quieter or more indirect contributors self-censor. This can rob the meeting of valuable perspectives and distort the quality of the decision. Do now: Watch for both over-speaking and under-speaking. The loudest voice is not always the best insight. How do power and accountability affect meetings? Meetings become dysfunctional when people use them to elevate themselves, deflate others or dodge accountability.The leader's job is to stop meetings becoming internal combat arenas. Strong individuals may jockey for position by depressing the status of others. A salesperson belittling an administration colleague as a "cost centre" versus a "profit centre" is a classic example of destructive status play. Accountability can also become uneven. Dominant people may hold everyone else to strict standards while granting themselves a free pass because they are "major producers." In Japanese organisations, these tensions may be less visible in the room, but they still exist under the surface. Do now: Make accountability universal. No one gets a special exemption because of title, ego or results. Why is confrontation handled differently in Japan? Confrontation is handled differently in Japan because preserving harmony, face and decorum often matters more than winning a public argument. Directness is acceptable only when it remains polite, considerate and relationship-aware. In many Western environments, confrontation can be seen as honest, passionate or necessary. In Japan, blunt confrontation may shut people down, damage trust or push disagreement underground. Some people will hide valid concerns rather than risk tension. Others may communicate indirectly, expecting the leader to read between the lines. This does not mean Japanese meetings lack conflict. It means conflict is often managed through timing, setting and private discussion. Do now: Move sensitive disagreement out of the public meeting and into respectful one-on-one conversations. What is nemawashi and why does it matter? Nemawashi is the Japanese practice of doing groundwork before a decision so disagreement can be handled privately and consensus can form before the meeting. It files down the rough edges before everyone gathers. The word originally comes from preparing tree roots before transplanting, and in business it means consulting stakeholders, testing reactions, lobbying for support and solving objections early. Loud people, quiet people, supporters and sceptics should all be contacted before the formal meeting. By the time the meeting occurs, the decision may already be broadly agreed. To Western leaders, this can look slow or overly political. In Japan, it often creates smoother implementation. Do now: Before the meeting, identify stakeholders, consult them privately and resolve objections early. How should Western leaders run meetings in Japan? Western leaders should adapt by combining their meeting discipline with Japanese-style groundwork. Keep clarity, accountability and timing, but do not rely on public debate alone to reveal the truth. Use pre-meeting consultation to uncover hidden concerns. Invite quieter team members to share views privately before the group session. Clarify who supports the proposal, who is worried and what must change before approval. Then use the meeting to confirm direction, summarise commitments and maintain decorum. This approach works well in Japan-based multinationals, local subsidiaries, joint ventures and cross-cultural leadership teams. Do now: Build the meeting before the meeting. Then use the formal meeting to align, confirm and assign action. Final Summary Western and Japanese meetings differ because they place the centre of gravity in different locations. Western leaders often expect debate and decision-making to happen inside the meeting room. Japanese organisations often use the meeting as one step in a broader consensus-building process, with nemawashi doing much of the heavy lifting beforehand. Leaders in Japan should not abandon all Western meeting tools. Clear purpose, participation, accountability and follow-up still matter. But they must add pre-meeting groundwork, private consultation and sensitivity to indirect communication. Do that and many of the usual meeting problems are circumvented before they can explode in public. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  6. Jul 1

    How To Succeed As A New Leader

    Becoming a new leader is one of the most dangerous promotions in business. The person who was promoted for hard work, strong KPIs, early starts, late finishes and personal accountability suddenly becomes responsible for other people's performance. That sounds like career progress, but it can become a trap. Many new managers in Japan, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US receive little or no formal leadership training. They are expected to work it out alone. The problem is that the skills that earned the promotion are not the same skills needed to succeed as a leader. The new game is leverage, coaching, persuasion and building capability through the team. Why do new leaders struggle after promotion? New leaders struggle because they keep doing the work that got them promoted instead of learning how to lead others. They remain top performers, but they fail to multiply performance through the team. This is common in sales, finance, operations, technology and professional services. A strong individual contributor becomes a team leader and still tries to personally save the numbers. That works for a while, until the organisation raises the target and individual output hits its limit. A leader with ten people has access to eighty hours of team effort in a single day, while one heroic manager has only sixteen hours at most. The leverage is obvious, but many new leaders miss it. Do now: Stop measuring your value only by your personal output. Measure how much better the team performs because of your leadership. How can new leaders stop doing and start leading? New leaders must deliberately shift time from personal production to team development, coaching and performance management. The goal is not to be the busiest player; it is to become the conductor of the orchestra. The orchestra conductor does not play the violin, trumpet or drums. The conductor studies the musicians, aligns timing, manages egos, draws out potential and lifts the whole performance. New managers must do the same. Yes, some may still carry clients or operational responsibilities, especially in SMEs and lean organisations. But over time, they should move those tasks to capable team members and invest more time in developing people. Do now: Audit your week. Reduce low-leverage personal tasks and increase time spent coaching, delegating and improving team capability. How should new leaders balance people and process? New leaders need enough process to protect the organisation and enough freedom to allow creativity, ownership and experimentation. Too many rules kill initiative; too few controls create risk. Compliance matters. Rules protect companies from legal, financial and reputational disaster. We have all seen finance-world examples where weak controls and adrenaline-fuelled risk-taking damaged or destroyed firms. But if every action requires permission, the team stops thinking. In Japanese companies, where stability and process discipline are often strong, leaders must create safe space for ideas while respecting governance. In startups, the danger may be the opposite: too much freedom and not enough control. Do now: Clarify non-negotiable rules, then invite the team to find better paths within those boundaries. Why should leaders encourage ideas from the team? Leaders should encourage team ideas because creativity, ownership and engagement grow when people help shape the solution. If every answer comes from the boss, the team becomes passive. New leaders often let ego get in the way. They think, "I am the boss, so the best ideas should come from me." Or worse, they fear that a talented team member might replace them. That is small thinking. Organisations everywhere are crying out for leaders who create more leaders. A manager known as a "leader creating machine" becomes more valuable, not less. If nobody can replace you, you may be trapped in the same role forever. Do now: Ask the team for options before giving your answer. Build people who can eventually replace you. Why is coaching essential for first-time managers? Coaching is essential because the leader's job is to help people become better than they already are. If everyone keeps working the same way, the team will keep getting the same results. Many new leaders were self-sufficient high achievers. They did not need much help, so they underestimate how much coaching others require. But people do not automatically change because the boss wants better numbers. They may want the company, market, customers or boss to change while they stay exactly as they are. That is where coaching, listening and persuasion become core leadership skills. Dale Carnegie-style leadership is not command and control; it is influence, trust and development. Do now: Schedule regular coaching conversations and focus on behaviour change, not just task updates. What should new leaders study to keep succeeding? New leaders should study leadership deliberately because management skill does not arrive through osmosis.Promotion gives authority, but study builds capability. First-time managers should study delegation, coaching, listening, persuasion, conflict management, motivation and performance accountability. In Japan's consensus-oriented business culture, persuasion and listening are especially important because blunt orders often create surface agreement without real commitment. In Western organisations, speed and directness may be valued, but influence still matters. The Darwinian "up or out" business world does not forgive leaders who refuse to grow. Do now: Treat leadership as a discipline. Study it, practise it and get feedback before small mistakes become career-limiting habits. Final Summary New leaders succeed when they understand that promotion changes the job. What worked before will not be enough now. The leader must stop being only the best player and start building the whole team's performance. Three priorities matter most. First, stop doing everything yourself and start gaining leverage through others. Second, balance process with people so the organisation stays safe while creativity survives. Third, become a genius coach who listens, persuades and develops capability. Study the new role seriously. In leadership, survival and success belong to the people who learn fastest. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  7. Jun 24

    Business Meetings Are Mostly Ridiculous

    Business meetings have become one of the great productivity sinkholes of modern organisations. Mention the word "meeting" and people's eyes often roll because they expect too many attendees, too much waffle and too little value. Not all meetings are the same. Some are simple information-sharing sessions that could have been an email, a short video or an audio message. Others are strategic, high-stakes discussions that shape the company's future for the next decade. The problem is that many organisations treat all meetings as if they deserve the same one-hour block, the same crowd and the same vague agenda. That is ridiculous, expensive and fixable. Why are so many business meetings ineffective? Business meetings are ineffective because companies often fail to match the meeting format to the actual purpose.A simple update does not need the same time, people or structure as a major strategic decision. In Japan, the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific, meetings often become default behaviour rather than deliberate business tools. Parkinson's Law tells us that work expands to fill the time available, and the same disease infects meetings. Give people one hour and the discussion mysteriously grows to one hour. Leaders need to ask whether the meeting exists to inform, decide, solve, align or create. If the purpose is unclear, the meeting becomes a hotchpotch and everyone pays the price. Do now: Before scheduling, ask: "Is this really a meeting, or could it be an email, video or audio update?" How should leaders clarify the purpose of a meeting? Leaders should define the meeting purpose before inviting anyone, booking a room or setting a time. Without a clear purpose, the agenda becomes a dumping ground for unrelated topics. A good meeting has a primary job. It might be to share information, make a decision, solve a client issue, review performance, manage risk or align a project team. In Japanese companies, where broad attendance can feel polite or politically safe, the purpose becomes even more important. If the meeting is only informational, send a written update. If a decision is needed, invite only the people who can contribute to that decision. Do now: Write the meeting purpose in one sentence and rank agenda items by priority before sending the invitation. Who really needs to attend a business meeting? Only people who are genuinely required for the purpose of the meeting should attend. Everyone else can receive the minutes, a summary or the action list. Japan often loves to invite everyone, but every extra person adds cost. A ten-person meeting lasting one hour consumes ten working hours before any follow-up work even begins. In global companies using Outlook, Google Calendar, Teams or Zoom, it is far too easy to add names casually. That creates calendar congestion and hidden waste. Smaller meetings are usually sharper, faster and more accountable. Do now: Separate required decision-makers and contributors from people who only need to be informed afterward. How long should a business meeting be? Business meetings should be as short as the purpose allows, not automatically one hour. Many meetings can be cut to 40 minutes, 25 minutes or replaced entirely. The one-hour default is a dangerous habit. Shaving 20 minutes off multiple daily meetings creates enormous time savings across a department, branch or region. Standing meetings can also shorten discussion because physical discomfort discourages rambling. In startups, speed may be normal. In large Japanese corporations and multinationals, the bigger opportunity is disciplined meeting design: fewer attendees, tighter timing and stronger facilitation. Do now: Default to shorter meetings. Try 40 minutes instead of one hour and protect the recovered time. What should meeting organisers prepare before the meeting? Meeting organisers should prepare the agenda, room, technology, materials and likely objections before people arrive. A meeting starts failing before it begins if the basics are not ready. Send the agenda early so participants can think before entering the room. Reserve the space, confirm the room layout, test screens, microphones, online links and any hybrid meeting technology. In large companies, meeting rooms are often scarce, so finishing slightly early is both professional and gracious. Anticipate questions and resistance as if preparing for a presentation. Do not wait for the Q&A to discover the obvious objections. Do now: Arrive early, check the setup and demolish predictable resistance with evidence before it derails the meeting. How should leaders run meetings during the session? Leaders should start and end on time, control participation, enforce respectful rules and capture decisions clearly.Meeting discipline is not harsh; it protects everyone's time. Do not wait for habitual latecomers strolling in with coffee. Start on time. Nominate someone to take minutes before the meeting begins, because nobody wants to volunteer once the room fills. Encourage quieter people to speak so the same three confident voices do not dominate. Set rules: no interruptions, disagree agreeably and summarise decisions before moving to the next item. Otherwise meetings become gladiatorial spectacles for ambitious show-offs. Do now: State the rules at the start, draw out silent contributors and record who agreed to do what by when. Final Summary Meetings will happen anyway, so leaders must decide whether they will remain a ridiculous waste of time or become engines for organisational growth. Better meetings begin before the meeting: clarify the purpose, invite the right people, shorten the time, send the agenda, prepare the room and anticipate resistance. During the meeting, start on time, manage participation, take minutes and assign clear accountability. After the meeting, distribute the minutes quickly, track deadlines and evaluate whether the meeting was worth the time. Do this consistently and become known as the Master of Meetings, not the villain of everyone's calendar. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

  8. Jun 17

    Leaders Must Sell The Need For Innovation

    Innovation may look obvious from the leader's chair, but it often looks like extra work from the team's chair. Leaders may say, "We need to keep innovating," but employees hear, "Here comes another initiative on top of everything else we are already doing." In Japan, this resistance can be even stronger because change often feels risky, disruptive and uncomfortable. People have routines. They know how to do their current work. They are competent, comfortable and busy. The leadership challenge is not merely to announce innovation. The real challenge is to sell the need for innovation so clearly that the team understands why standing still is more dangerous than moving forward. Why do leaders need to sell the need for innovation? Leaders need to sell innovation because most employees do not automatically see change as attractive, urgent or safe. They may already feel overloaded, sceptical or tired from previous initiatives that disappeared without results. Innovation sounds exciting in strategy meetings, but it can sound painful at the frontline. In Japanese organisations, SMEs, multinationals and B2B service firms, people often worry about risk, mistakes, extra workload and unclear benefits. If the boss simply talks about "better, higher, further, faster," the team may mentally check out. The leader must connect innovation to business survival, client value, productivity and personal relevance. Do now: Start by asking what the team is likely to resist, not what the leader wants to announce. How should leaders prepare before presenting innovation? Leaders should prepare by analysing the audience's knowledge, experience, biases and likely resistance. Innovation persuasion begins with understanding the listeners before crafting the message. A team of engineers, salespeople, administrators or senior managers will each hear the same innovation message differently. In Japan, where consensus-building and risk avoidance often shape decision-making, leaders must anticipate objections early. Has the team seen failed innovation campaigns before? Do they believe management will support the work? Are they worried about resources, time or blame? Preparation means mapping these concerns before the presentation. Do now: List the audience's likely objections and build answers into the talk before anyone raises them. Why should leaders design the closing first? Leaders should design the closing first because the desired final impression determines the whole presentation. If the close is vague, the rest of the talk will wander. This feels counterintuitive, but it is practical. Before designing the opening, leaders must know the one message they want people to remember. Is the goal to gain agreement for innovation time? Secure resources? Encourage experiments? Change behaviour? The close forces the speaker to boil the ocean of possibilities down to one essential point. That clarity then shapes the examples, evidence and alternatives used throughout the presentation. Do now: Write the final sentence first. Make it so clear the team can repeat it after the meeting. How can leaders state the organisational need for innovation clearly? Leaders should state the need for innovation in one short, direct paragraph that explains the problem and the objective. The team should understand the point within two seconds. A clear statement might connect market pressure, customer expectations, digital transformation, labour shortages or productivity problems to the organisation's future. In Japan's post-pandemic workplace, leaders cannot rely on long hours or old routines to solve every challenge. The statement should not drown people in proof yet. Its job is to create immediate understanding. The supporting evidence comes later, but the first statement must be unambiguous. Do now: Create a two-second innovation statement: the problem, the risk and the objective. What kind of story helps teams accept innovation? A brief, concrete story helps teams accept innovation because it lets them picture the need before being told the conclusion. Storytelling turns abstract change into a visible business problem. The story should include people the team recognises, a specific location, timing, season and situation. For example, a missed client opportunity in Tokyo, a competitor's faster response in Osaka or a productivity bottleneck in a regional office can show why the current way is no longer enough. If the story is vivid and concise, listeners may reach the leader's conclusion before the leader states it. That is persuasion doing its job. Do now: Use one short story that makes the cost of not innovating obvious. Why should leaders present alternative solutions? Leaders should present several credible alternatives because teams trust a strategic comparison more than a single imposed answer. Options reduce resistance and show the leader has done the work. Offer three workable solutions and explain the pros, cons, costs and risks of each. Then present the preferred solution last, because people often remember best what they heard most recently. If the recommended choice is to invest team time and resources into innovation, explain why it beats the other alternatives. In Japanese organisations, this comparison also helps internal consensus because stakeholders can see the logic. Do now: Present three options, make the innovation option strongest, and explain why it is the best path. Final Summary Selling innovation is a leadership presentation, not a casual team announcement. The design order matters: prepare the audience analysis, design the close, clarify the organisational need, build a story, compare alternatives, choose the best solution and then craft the opening. The delivery order is different: open strongly, state the need, tell the story, present alternatives, recommend the best solution and close with clarity. Most importantly, rehearse. Treat this internal talk like a major client presentation because the stakes are high. Leaders are asking people to leave the comfort zone and enter uncharted territory. That requires persuasion, structure and conviction. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

See All (676)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Leading in Japan is distinct and different from other countries. The language, culture and size of the economy make sure of that. We can learn by trial and error or we can draw on real world practical experience and save ourselves a lot of friction, wear and tear. This podcasts offers hundreds of episodes packed with value, insights and perspectives on leading here. The only other podcast on Japan which can match the depth and breadth of this Leadership Japan Series podcast is the Japan's Top Business interviews podcast.

Information

  • Creator
    Dale Carnegie Japan
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    676
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2022 Dale Carnegie Training. All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Leadership Japan Series

You Might Also Like