【Unusual opportunity to know what’s inside a Japanese head】
I am delivering “Workshop for Cross-Cultural Understanding with Japan”, an open workshop of Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce (SJCC).
Are these your 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?”
“Japanese customers don’t complain when they are not satisfied with our service, but they just never come back to us.”
If you say “Yes!” to one of the problems above, this workshop is for you. The workshop will enable you to learn about the internal drivers of your Japanese business partners and colleagues.
Topics discussed —
Why is culture in business so important?
The trap of “cultural bias”
Major factors underlying Japanese business culture
Five clues to increase productivity in working with the Japanese
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
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.
in cooperation with Swiss-Japanese Chamber of Commerce
Zurich, 19 May
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
“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,
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.
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.
Forthcoming meetings —
Friday 8 May, Uchi and Soto, the key concepts of the Japanese relationship building
I had an opportunity to interview with Mr. Anthony LOW, VP, Asia, Oceania and Africa Region of Nestlé.
I was particularly interested in discovering the keys to success in marketing in the regions that have diversified consumer markets, including Japan. Japan is known to be a unique market for its consumer taste and preferences in the food business.
I found there was no miracle. Keys to success were but the very basics of marketing, i.e. the trust, quality, customer insights and long-term interests.
So what’s new?
Yes, there is the reason why Nestlé excels and that lead the company to a remarkable success, the thoroughness. The company’s “Can do” attitude, supported by the thoroughness led to breakthrough in its marketing.
I was happy to be assured that one may succeed in challenging markets by pursuing without compromise to the basic values of marketing, i.e. trust, quality, customer insights and long-term interests. It is not a coincidence that these values are common to the underlying principles of the corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Here is my note:
Keys to success
Customer first, “Can do” attitude = Never say, “No”.
To meet customer requirements in Japan, Nescafé, we changed the product. Changed its recipe from “Instant coffee” to “Regular coffee”.
Barista Ambassador – To facilitate access to Nescafé in offices (where tea and coffee is served less and less, due to limited budget, economic recession, etc.), offered Barista machine free of charge, including service. The customers buy the coffee products or refill from Nestlé.
Test market – Hokkaido. Market size is appropriate.
Shrinking population how do you grow business where the population is shrinking? Aging Elder people’s market.
Visited and listened to the elderly people. Found that loneliness is their major problem. Created “Nestlé wellness club”. With a small membership fee, send a doctor and dietitian to home.
Test market – Hokkaido. Market size is appropriate.
Trust, quality and market insights
To find a new market in a country where you are for more than 100 years. Creativity. Never say, “No”.
Build the trust with consumers
Marketing strategy is different in each country in the AOA Region. cf. Europe – one common market
There are 115 countries in the AOA Region.
There are over 450 different Nescafé’s worldwide.
Long-term strategy
E.g. In India, Nestlé supports WHO to promote the breast feeding. It is not for an immediate benefit. If some mothers could not continue breast feeding, they buy Nestlé’s milk product. Nestlé infant formulae is close to mother’s milk.
“Romance the product”. Nestlé’s marketing strategy
Market test — Nestlé requires 60:40 preferences of Nestlé products over competition
“Then, we ‘romance’ the product to the truth.”
i.e. to make the truth to come to the life.
To find an answer to the question, “Why is this product perceived to be better than competition?”
If consumers says “this chocolate tastes fresh”, to find why is “fresh” important?
Re. Japanese market
There are over 200 KitKats in Japan,
MUST know how to do business in the local market
Perceived value is the key, e.g. Nescafé vs. Starbucks
MUST build the perception on quality. No failure is allowed. Must constantly work on the quality.
Nestlé’s response to the local market, Special-T. A system for the Japanese tea lovers to enjoy good tea without following a procedure to prepare a good tea.
An example of adapting to the taste of local market.
Originally tried with black tea but failed. Found that The Japanese wanted to take the green tea that match individual taste.
You can’t do cheap business in Japan. Currency rate is not in our favour while price of imported materials are rising (e.g. Cacao).
We can’t compete over the price. We create premium values.
Japanese consumers pay for the premium.
E.g. Kitkat – Those that use local materials cost less than others that use much Cacao.
Appeals to the emotion
Pepper – a robot that reads 80% of your emotion. It selects the best coffee for you. Technology invented in France, produced in Taiwan and the license bought by Softbank (one of the leading mobile phone operators known to be vanguard market strategy in Japan.
You are cordially invited for “Moshi moshi, Japan?“, in Geneva on Friday, 13 February
Tokyo Sky Tree
“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.
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. Serge Biro, Head of IT Recruitment, SCS hr solutions
on “The Japanese mindset seen from a recruiter“
Participants: Anyone interested in business with Japan.
Date and time: From 18h00 to 19h15, Friday,13 February
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
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
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
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
The digital life has been well established in Japan and Switzerland. In contrast, however, the presence of women in the ICT (information and communication technologies) conferences and the industries is surprisingly low — twenty percent (20%) of all the workers in the ICT industry, and only five percent who speak at ICT conferences!
To encourage women to participate in and become visible in the ICT scene, Ms Taïssa Charlier launched “Women in Digital Switzerland” (WDS, hereafter), a group created in LinkedIn in January 2014. Starting with about 20 people in the group, WSD had grown to host 200 members in a few months! These members came to know WSD only via word of the mouth.
Portal of Women in Digital Switzerland.
Need to push forward more opinions from women
Taïssa is a young and dynamic professional of digital marketing. The original reason that made her to stand up to unite women via WDS was a prohibitively high cost of the kindergarten in Switzerland. Being a single mother, she needs a kindergarten to keep her child while she works in daytime. She soon found that the fee for the kindergarten is almost the same as her monthly salary. “Women can’t work outside home! We must make the opinions of women heard in society”, she thought.
Taïssa soon realised that women are heavily under represented in the ICT industry, despite an increasing number of professional women in the industry. “Something must be done”, she thought. Her answer was to create a system on the network for women to inspire and to be inspired, to be connected with peers, to share best practices and, thus, to increase their visibility and presence profession.
Mutual support by information exchange and discussion
WDS rightly hit the needs of professional women, who have been scattered around and rather isolated in digital profession in Switzerland.
Taïssa said, “I wish WSD to grow starting from the information exchange to become a platform for women to inspire each other. I wish WSD become a media to empower women in the future.”
The language of WSD is English. Taïssa, though she is a Franco phone herself, decided to use English as the language of the group so that women in other language groups of Switzerland may join and exchange information across the different language zones in the country.
“It’s my giving back project”
For Taïssa, having a large number of participants is not a major purpose of the WSD. “I wish to give back to those wonderful people I met by providing WSD for women to meet wonderful people.”
She further went on to say that fully utilising women’s talent is a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for companies. Giving opportunities to women and grow them is a contribution to the society.
The author has come to know a workingwomen’s network launched based on a similar idea in Japan. The social media helps you to be connected with like-minded people even though you find none around. With the policy of the Prime Minister Abe to utilise women for the economic development of Japan, networks of professional women’s mutual support based on the social media will grow.
