Inside a Japanese head — How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan, Zürich, 19 May

Workshop

Inside a Japanese head —

How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan

In cooperation with

sjcc_logo

Tokyo by FB_2016-2
Tokyo is always dynamic. What is in a head of Japanese? (Photo: F. Behrouz)

What is going on inside the head of your Japanese business partner?

A unique workshop will take place enabling you to visit the inner workings of your Japanese business partners and clients.

The workshop will be interactive. You will be challenged by practical situations, which many Swiss people encounter. You will learn how to work better with your Japanese contacts and benefit more from your exposure to Japanese culture.

Please bring your specific problems and challenges with Japan to the workshop. A Japanese senior insider will examine the problems with you on site and help find solutions.

Potential problems

  • “The Japanese decision-making process is so mysterious!”
  • “I don’t know if I’m interacting well with my Japanese colleagues.”
  • “Why do the Japanese always do things in their own way?”
  • “How can I say ‘No’ to my Japanese customers without offending them?”
  • More …

Who should attend?

  • Executives and managers in charge of Japan for; Sales, Business Development, Global Operations, Project Management, Training, Human Resources, and more.
  • Representatives of public, commercial and cultural associations who interact with Japan.

Your benefits

  • To better understand the Japanese way of thinking
  • To feel at ease interacting with your Japanese business partners and employees
  • To discuss face to face with senior experts and clarify your pending issues with Japan

Program

  • Culture and management
  • Positioning of Japan in the world cultures
  • Background of Japanese way of thinking
  • Five clues to understand inside a Japanese head
  • How to use the knowledge in your own assignments

Practical information

Date Thursday, 19 May 2016

18:30 Workshop

20:30 Aperitif and Networking

Location  

Salon Rudolf, Au Premier

Bahnhofplatz 15, 8021 Zürich

 

Organisation Europe-Japan Dynamics and

VDF Coaching & Cultures, in cooperation with SJCC Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce

Fees (Please pay at the door)

SJCC Members CHF 100.-
Non-SJCC CHF 150.-

“Come with three, pay for two” — If two persons participate from the same organisation, the third person will be free.

Registration for the workshop is kindly requested by 6 May 2016.

Registration     Yoshiko KURISAKI, Founder, Europe-Japan Dynamics

e-mail yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com / Tel. 076 411 6076

<Attention!>

  • In case of cancellation, thank you for letting us know by 6 May latest. It will allow us to give a seat to someone who needs it.
  • We will be obliged to charge cancellation after 9 May or no-show to cover the costs of the workshop.

Who is Yoshiko KURISAKI?

Yoshiko, a Japanese national, is the founder and executive consultant of Europe-Japan Dynamics, a specialist of cross-cultural management between Switzerland, Europe and Japan. She has unique competence drawn upon over 20 years of business experience in Japan (NTT) and Europe (OECD and SITA). Member of SJCC. Customer testimonials –> http://http://en.geneva-kurisaki.net/values/

Who is Verónica De La Fuente?

Verónica De la Fuente, a Chile national, has been working as an intercultural trainer and consultant in the last 15 years. Veronica is a Professional Coach certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In the workshop, she will introduce the positioning of Japan in the world cultures.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Workshop Flier –> Workshop_Inside a Japanese head_May_2016_v2

Inside a Japanese head — How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan, Zürich, 19 May 2016

Workshop 

Inside a Japanese head —

How to avoid fatal mistakes with Japan

in cooperation with Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce

Zurich, 19 May

sjcc_logo

 

Tokyo by FB_2016-2
Tokyo is always dynamic. What is in a head of Japanese? Photo by F. Behrouz

What is going on inside the head of your Japanese business partner?

A unique workshop will take place enabling you to visit the inner workings of your Japanese business partners and clients.

The workshop will be interactive. You will be challenged by practical situations, which many Swiss people encounter. You will learn how to work better with your Japanese contacts and benefit more from your exposure to Japanese culture.

Please bring your specific problems and challenges with Japan to the workshop. A Japanese senior insider will examine the problems with you on site and help find solutions.

Potential problems

  • “The Japanese decision-making process is so mysterious!”
  • “I don’t know if I’m interacting well with my Japanese colleagues.”
  • “Why do the Japanese always do things in their own way?”
  • “How can I say ‘No’ to my Japanese customers without offending them?”
  • More …

Who should attend?

  • Executives and managers in charge of Japan for; Sales, Business Development, Global Operations, Project Management, Training, Human Resources, Communications, and more.
  • Representatives of public, commercial and cultural associations who interact with Japan.

Your benefits

  • To better understand the Japanese way of thinking
  • To feel at ease interacting with your Japanese business partners and employees
  • To discuss face to face with senior experts and clarify your pending issues with Japan

Date    18:30 – 21:30 Thursday, 19 May 2016

Location      Salon Rudolf, Au Premier, Bahnhofplatz 15, 8021 Zürich (In the building of the Zurich railway station)

Program      18:30 – 20:30 Workshop, 20:30 –   Aperitif and Networking

Organisation   Europe-Japan Dynamics and VDF Coaching & Cultures

In cooperation with Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce (SJCC)

Fees (To be paid at the door)

   SJCC Members CHF 100.-
   Non-SJCC CHF 150.-

“Come with three, pay for two” — If two persons participate from the same organisation, the third person will be free.

Registration : Please call or write to Yoshiko KURISAKI, Founder, Europe-Japan Dynamics,     e-mail yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com / Tel. 076 411 6076

  • Registration for the workshop is kindly requested by 6 May 2016.

<Attention!>

  • In case of cancellation, thank you for letting us know by 6 May latest. It will allow us to give a seat to someone who needs it.
  • We will be obliged to charge cancellation after 9 May or no-show to cover the costs of the workshop.

Who is Yoshiko KURISAKI?

Yoshiko, a Japanese national, is the founder and executive consultant of Europe-Japan Dynamics, a specialist of cross-cultural management between Switzerland, Europe and Japan. She has unique competence drawn upon over 20 years of business experience in Japan (NTT) and Europe (OECD and SITA). Member of SJCC. Customer testimonials àhttp://http://en.geneva-kurisaki.net/values/

Who is Verónica De la Fuente?

Verónica De la Fuente, a Chile national, has been working as an intercultural trainer and consultant in the last 15 years. Veronica is a Professional Coach certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). In the workshop, she will introduce the positioning of Japan in the world cultures.

 

Registration by 6 May 2016   Yoshiko KURISAKI, Founder, Europe-Japan Dynamics,

e-mail yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com / Tel. 076 411 6076

Please find a workshop flier here –>  Workshop_Inside a Japanese head_May_2016_v2

Clues for the western professional women visiting Japan, “Moshi moshi, Japan?”, Geneva, Friday, 23 October

Moshi moshi, Japan?, Geneva, Friday, 23 October (Speaker is changed.)

P1000865-3

“Moshi moshi, Japan?” is an informal meet-up with people doing business with Japan.

Theme “Clues for the western professional women visiting Japan”

  • What is the status of working women in Japan?
  • What is an appropriate business attire?
  • How to carry on negotiation with Japanese businessmen?
  • And more

Presenter Yoshiko KURISAKI, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Date and time: From 18h00 to 19h15, Friday, 23 October
Place: McDonald (find us at a table on the 1st Floor), 22, rue du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva (1 min from Cornavin station)
Languages: French and English
Fee: CHF 10.- for Organisation and your own coffee

Registration: By e-mail or phone to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics
Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

Next meeting   ————————————————-

Friday, 20 November, 2015

Theme “Helping Switzerland and Japan for 28 years”
Presenter to be confirmed.  Mr. Kiyoshi IMAI, Trade and Investment Adviser, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Geneva

“Uchi – Soto”, the Japanese glass wall. — Highlights of “Moshi moshi, Japan”, 8 May 2015

Though many people like Japan, some of them notice that there may be a glass wall in the Japanese mind beyond which a non-Japanese may not go. Many people felt, “The Japanese are kind, but it looks like there is a limit in becoming friends with them.” Why? What is this feeling?

I presented a set of notions that helps to look at the Japanese mindset, “Uchi and Soto” and “Ura and Omote“.

Uchi-Soto, Ura-Omote
Uchi-Soto, Ura-Omote

The discussion went on based on experience of working with the Japanese in Japan or Switzerlans. Highlights are;

  • I was a president of a Japanese company and only foreigner. I had to be accepted and must understand various codes. For example, I had to be present on the first working day of the new year. I had to be aware of the feeling of employees by knowing the level of politeness (“Keigo”) in the language they talked to me.
  • I had to know the level of politeness in the language (“Keigo“). It was difficult for me but people didn’t talk to me in plain Japanese. Beer helped our communication.
  • I didn’t have a problem in communication in English with the Japanese business partners.
  • I was also the only non-Japanese in my ex-company. I felt I didn’t have to follow the invisible rules in the office. So I left the company at 7 PM everyday, instead of much later as my Japanese colleagues were doing. –> It is another side of “being outside (Soto)“. You were allowed to leave the office earlier because you were accepted as someone who was not a member of their community (Uchi).
  • It was important to have non-Japanese friends, when I worked for a Japanese company in Japan. In addition, I did Aikido to clean up the stress.
  • I didn’t feel a non-Japanese friends but didn’t have a problem. I became frieda with the Japanese people who were newly hired as I was.
  • In the Japanese office, all must behave in the same way. Being a manager and an only foreigner, I leaned that I had to manage in a Japanese way.
  • If you are the only foreigner in your company, it is important to take things as it is. That said, you may lose your sense of judging the people if you are too open-minded. You must keep your own value and make decision on your own, while accepting all around you.

Forthcoming meetings —

  • Date: Friday 19 June, 18:00 – , “What is it like for a French man to be a president of a company in Japan?”
  • Place: McDonald (1st Floor), 22, rue du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva, 1 min from Cornavin station (New Place!)

How does a Swiss innovative start-up fight to enter the Japanese market?

We enjoyed discussion at “Moshi moshi, Japan?” (held in Geneva on Friday, 17 April) on  “How does a Swiss innovative start-up fight to enter the Japanese market?”

Mr. Shaban Shaame, CEO & Founder, EverdreamSoft, an innovative vendor of Moonga, a game soft run over the mobile device, such as smartphones and tablets.

EverdreamSoft, online games for mobile device

Highlights of discussion

i

  • I found that a large download volume of Moonga, our game soft, from Japan. I thought “Why?”, as I knew that people don’t speak English as default in Japan. This made me to think that there must be a big Moonga market there.
  • I went to Japan (in 2009) to find a business partner who could translate the game into Japanese and who’d provide graphics for the games. Communication with the Japanese was difficult. I din’t know Japanese and they din’t know English. We managed to negotiate a contract using Google translator, though sometimes English translated by Google function didn’t make sense.
  • Japanese people are hard workers, more than Swiss people are. However, whether their hard work is efficient is questionable. Some (or many?) people work hard where their boss is near by.
  • In the Japanese work ethics, a  group culture is strong. All the people in the same office stay working till midnight. Some cohesion power must be working.
  • Consensus is extremely important in the Japanese decision-making at any level.
  • Is change possible? — Yes but only slowly.
  • Lay-off is difficult and rare in Japan. Hence employing someone involves a risk to an employer. Mobility is still low in the job market.
  • Re. Women at work, maternity leave is guaranteed by law but employers don’t like it. Mobbing to women exists in some offices.
  • Then, we discussed bit coin; what it is, how it works, where can we use it, etc.

Moonga

Forthcoming meetings —

Friday 8 May, Uchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building

Moshi moshi, Japan? — Japanese market for Swiss innovative start-ups, Geneva, Friday, 13 March

You are cordially invited for “Moshi moshi, Japan?“, Geneva on Friday, 13 March.
Moshi moshi, Japan?” is an informal meet-up with people who are doing business with Japan. Though Japan is a fascinating market, its business culture is nothing like others. In addition, handling the culture well is the key to success with Japan.
South Entrance, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo
South Entrance, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo
What are other people doing to work well with Japan?
What works and what doesn’t?
What breakthrough did other people make? 

Let’s exchange experiences and discuss over coffee!

Mr. Shaban Shaame, CEO & Founder, EverdreamSoft
on “Japanese market for innovative startups

Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.

Date and time: From 18h00 to 19h15, Friday,13 March

Place: Starbucks, Rive, Geneva central area

Languages: French and English

Organisation fee: CHF 10.-
Please register: By e-mail or phone call to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

I look forward to seeing you!
Yoshiko
Check it out! Forthcoming meetings —
Friday 17 April, Uchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building
Friday 26 June, Negotiations with Japanese companies (Tentative)

Moshi moshi, Japan? (2) — The Japanese mindset seen from a recruiter

“Moshi moshi, Japan?”, held in Geneva, 13 February 2015

Serge, who worked as a recruiter of the Japanese in Tokyo for two years, was the theme setter this time. We learned interesting insights on Japanese candidates and discussed their work mind-set.

白梅写真
Photo by Haruko SATO

 

Key words:

  •  Foreign companies want to hire the Japanese, as the Westners are too aggressive for the Japanese culture.
  • The Japanese are very timid in speaking English. A non-Japanese recruiter must speak Japanese.
  • Three major challenges; 1) to convince a candidate to meet me for the first time, 2) fear of change, and 3) strong loyalty to the present company, even if he wants to change it.
  • “It is almost a babysitting” — Must accompany the candidate from A to Z; from listening to his fear of departure, his partner’s opinions, through to how to explain his departure to his boss.
  • Women candidates were more autonomous then men and less fearful.
  •  “Responsibility ” for the Japanese: A killer word of his boss, “Do you leave your responsibility?”. The sense of “responsibility by the Japanese is much stronger than Europeans’. It’s a life commitment. Some candidates change their minds at the last moment, due to the sense of loyalty to the present company coupled with the sense of “responsibility”.
  • Japanese employers are much more submissive to their employers than Europeans.
  • A recruiter must establish the confidence with a candidate first. Empathy is important. Drink after works.

Thank you very much for all the people who participated in the meeting.

Forthcoming meetings —

Friday 13 March, Japanese market for innovative start-ups

Friday 17 AprilUchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building

Friday 26 June, Negotiations with Japanese companies (To be confirmed)

 

Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.

Tme: From 18h00 to 19h15

Place: Starbucks, Rive, Geneva central area

Languages: French and English

Organisation fee: CHF 10.-

Registration: By e-mail or phone call to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

 

 

 

 

 

Moshi moshi, Japan? (1) — Managing the Japanese from distance

We enjoyed the first meeting of “Moshi moshi, Japan?”, held Geneva, 23 January 2015.

Tokyo railway station conserves its history surrounded by hi-rise buildings
Tokyo railway station conserves its history surrounded by hi-rise buildings

Anne opened the floor by presenting her experience with a sales team in Tokyo. All the people around the table shared his/her experience and insights on Japan.

Key words:

  • “We wanted the branch in Japan to adhere to the global process. The Japanese team said, ‘yes’, but in practice, there was no change. They continued doing it in their own way as before.”
  • “To do business with Japan, one must meet people regularly, say, 3 to 5 times a year.”
  • “Meeting with the Japanese in informal opportunity is important.”
  • “It is annoying though that one must think what’s behind all the time.”
  • “Be careful, the Japanese don’t say ‘No’, but say it in very different manners.”
  • “Japan is at the highest end of the ‘High context culture’. Emotional intelligence counts in communication.”
  • “Stay open-minded, accept what it is and build the trust, before business.”

Thank you very much for all the people who participated in the meeting.

Forthcoming meetings —

Friday 13 February, The Japanese mindset seen from a recruiter

Friday 13 March, Japanese market for innovative start-ups

Friday 17 April, Uchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building

Friday 26 June, Negotiations with Japanese companies (To be confirmed)

 

Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.

Time: From 18h00 to 19h15

Place: Starbucks, Rive, Geneva central area

Languages: French and English

Organisation fee: CHF 10.-

Registration: By e-mail or phone call to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

 

 

 

Moshi moshi, Japan? — Geneva, Fridy, 23 Jan.

A Happy New Year!

IMG_1781

 

At the beginning of the new year of the sheep, you are cordially invited for the first meeting of “Moshi moshi, Japan?” to be held in Geneva on Friday, 23 January.

“Moshi moshi, Japan?” is an informal meet-up with people who are doing business with Japan. Though Japan is a fascinating market, its business culture is nothing like other cultures. In addition, handling the culture well is the key to success in business with Japan. 

What are other people doing to work well with Japan?

What works and what doesn’t?

What breakthrough did other people make?

Let’s exchange experiences and discuss over coffee!

Mme. Anne Van Walleghem, Head of Compensation & Benefits, Global HR, Nobel Biocare, will share her experience on “How do we work with Japan over the distance?”

Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.

Date and time: From 18h00 to 19h15, Friday,23 January

Place: Starbucks, Rive, Geneva central area

Languages: French and English

Organisation fee: CHF 10.-

Registration: By e-mail of phone call to Yoshiko Kurisaki, Europe-Japan Dynamics

Yoshiko.kurisaki@gmail.com, Tel. 076 411 6076

Europe-Japan Dynamics on the JETRO Switzerland Newsletter

JETRO Geneva, a branch of Japan External Trade Organization issues monthly Newsletter. The feature article for its November issue is Europe-Japan Dynamics.

Consultancy services doe cross cultural Management

Yoshiko Kurisaki has started a consultancy business ‘Europe-Japan Dynamics’ to help Swiss and European companies for cross-cultural management with Japan.

25 years in Europe

Business manners in Japan

Services for Swiss and Japanese companies”

JETRO  (日本貿易振興機構)ジュネーブオフィスでは、毎月ニュースレターを発行し「英語)、スイスの日本企業や、日本経済の動向などを伝えています。11月号の、企業紹介に(1ページ目)、ヨーロッパ ジャパン ダイナミクスが紹介されました