Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan

Stefan Sacre, President CEO of Carl ZEISS Japan, originally came to Japan to pursue research in Tokyo University during the 80s. Dr. Sacre was fascinated by Japan, an emerging Asian power at the time, particularly in the semiconductor industry. He even remembers one of his professors in Germany saying "better watch out" as he predicted Japan to become the next superpower.

By the time he was around 30, Dr. Sacre had lost interest in research and became an advisor to the European Commission in metals of industrial corporation towards Japan. His experiencing working in the "bureaucratic" circle gave him key insights into the funding structure of projects, which gave him an edge once he started working at a German optoelectronics company, SICK. There, Dr. Sacre was hired to turn around the loss-making business as someone new to a leadership role. Dr. Sacre implemented new work habits and restructured the business strategy to focus on selling key products. To have these products accepted by Japanese clients through meticulous testing and communicating this back to headquarters was a major challenge he faced. Yet Dr. Sacre fortunately found like-minded colleagues and stayed persistent.

After three years, Dr. Sacre moved back to the company headquarters in Germany. By that time Dr. Sacre was married to a Japanese partner and decided to raise their children in Japan, he returned and became CEO of Bosch Rexroth in Japan. There, he managed a company of 1000 employees from originally leading 10-15 in his previous position. Dr. Sacre again had the challenge of communicating between headquarters and Japanese offices, and persuading those who were resistant to change. In addition, the organization was struggling from the impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis.

He then moved to Eagleburgman in Germany after 6 years in Bosch, and returned to Japan to resume the role of CEO at ZEISS Japan. At ZEISS, Dr. Sacre manages a team of approximately 350 people and is proud of the company's reputation for integrity, long-term thinking and super advanced technology. Yet he has been confronted with difficulties that come from long-term success where people are reluctant to change from good to great. Dr. Sacre has taken on this challenge through constant communication and building trust, particularly by being transparent and consistent in his thought process and behaviour. To newcomers arriving in Japan, Dr. Sacre advises people to be open to learning without making any quick judgements based on your previous experiences, and accepting Japan as a well-functioning society.

Thierry Cohen, President of Japan Europe Trading and Founder of Solleone Bio, deep dives into Japan's business culture to explain why it's imperative to understand Japan before working in the country.

Although Mr. Cohen is Italian, he moved to Japan with his parents when he was three years old, having graduated from the high school St. Mary's International School. Although Mr. Cohen could not speak Japanese, he did note that growing up in Japan gave him a familiarity advantage that many foreigners will not have. Mr. Cohen then travelled to England for University, having graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science, which guided him back to Italy where he worked for a few years. Briefly working in Australia, Mr. Cohen then found himself back in Japan and having gained the experience to work for his father's company, Japan Europe Trading. He comments on the cleverness of his father as he gave Mr. Cohen a mid-level position in the company before he would allow him to become Vice President. In Japan, family businesses are quite common, so the concept of Mr. Cohen taking over his father as President of Japan Europe Trading was well accepted. However, Mr. Cohen delves into the issues that can arise from not understanding Japanese people and even explains some of his own mistakes.

Thierry Cohen goes in-depth about the dynamics and processes that he has within his own company and gives fantastic advice for foreigners who are planning to work in Japan. Overall, his experiences and messages emphasise the importance to learn, accept and embrace Japanese culture and people, as well as gaining their trust.

Markus Baron, member of the Board of Directors of the German Chamber of Commerce, and President and Representative Director of SGL Carbon Japan, one of the world's leading manufacturers of products from carbon, talks about his journey from the IT world into sales and leadership. In 2003, while still a university student studying Mechanical Engineering in Germany, Mr. Baron founded the start company Eastbeam Co., which expanded to Japan, then founded Wazap AG in 2006. These early experiences working in both Germany and Japan gave Mr. Baron a strong foundation to be the leader of a multinational enterprise.

Mr. Baron is half-German, half-Japanese and speaks both the native languages as well as English. Through his experiences and his heritage, Mr. Baron shares his insights about the cultural and corporate differences between his two mother countries. Mr. Baron explains how in Germany, people have a strong sense of responsibility toward their own work and function according to their job description whereas in Japan, "the general principle is to basically be on one ship and help each other…but not always constructive in terms of how the company achieves it goals." Mr. Baron also talks about overcoming the challenge of being a young leader and building credibility through his IT background and language skills. He additionally seeks advice from senior leaders within and outside of the company, including members of the German Chamber of Commerce.

Furthermore, with SGL being a small company of 55 people, Mr. Baron discusses his experiences of gaining trust from his staff through transparency, delegation and supporting employee engagement. He is mindful of giving praise and showing appreciation to create a safe space for innovation. Mr. Baron is also careful to take a step back from leadership when necessary so that his staff can take charge themselves.

Mr. Baron advises newcomers in Japan to learn the language and any form of Japanese art such as martial arts or sado to gain a deeper understanding of the culture and Japanese mindset. He also recommends interacting with local Japanese people by going to places like Shimbashi to find out "what the average employee talks about after five."

Andreas Dannenberg, President and CEO of Adcomm Group, has been running his business marketing agency for over 30 years since arriving in Japan from Germany. As a boy growing up in West Berlin, Mr. Dannenberg dreamed of one day travelling Asia, which he fulfilled as an adult, capturing photographs of places in China that were unfamiliar to the rest of the world. The photographs he captured there were published in globally renowned magazines. This experience led him to land work in a film and photography firm in Japan. Soon after, he founded his first company, Ad-Media, a creative and strategic agency. Mr. Dannenberg credits his bold move to start a business in a foreign country to hard work and having a fundamental belief in oneself. His experience sailing across the Pacific and surviving a storm has also made him develop a strong mentality in facing challenges.

With a firm belief that his company could provide valuable strategic insight to clients that other agencies could not, Mr. Dannenberg first hired freelancers and then full-time staff to grow his business. As a leader, Mr. Dannenberg wants his staff to show accountability and initiative in analyzing problems and coming up with solutions. As a creative agency, he also points to the importance of thinking creatively but with comprehensive reasoning behind the thought process.

To maintain strong engagement with his staff, Mr. Dannenberg tries to communicate a holistic view of the business, by talking transparently in smaller groups or through one-on-one conversations. The company also holds social events where people can communicate in a more relaxed environment outside of work. Mr. Dannenberg is open to feedback, as long as some solutions are suggested. During the start of every project, when his staff are giving out ideas, Mr. Dannenberg is mindful of choosing the best idea, even if they overrule his. Additionally, he has had experience standing up to clients with unreasonable expectations to ensure proper working environment standards for his staff.

For newcomers in Japan, Mr. Dannenberg advises people to believe in their common sense, learn the language and culture, and be open to new information by being "an empty cup." He explains: "Don't come here with a cup already full, [thinking] I know how businesses are run. Maybe you know that, but not necessarily how they're run in Japan. So listen, keep it open."

Ross Rowbury, Former President of Edelman Japan, celebrated his 40th anniversary since first arriving in Japan as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. Mr. Rowbury began his career in the finance sector in banking and securities before moving on to PR roles specializing in finances. With several years of leadership experience in foreign financial firms, Mr. Rowbury made a smooth transition into PR where he embraced the creative and engagement aspect of the industry.

When the President of Edelman, the largest foreign PR firm in Japan with a rapidly growing team, Mr. Rowbury strived for strong communication and engagement with his staff, but took a conscious step back when necessary. He explains, "I think, the key thing is that the leader needs to be able to identify where those turning points or tipping points [of change] are so that [you] don't become a bottleneck in that process." Delegation also plays a large part in managing such a large team. To better lead his 80 employees, Mr. Rowbury planned on welcoming a new COO to take on much of the operational decisions.

On the changing landscape of PR and modern audiences, Mr. Rowbury says "you have to create a very strong narrative or storyline that makes them understand why it's relevant or important to them, or they're not going to stay there with you." To make this possible, Edelman hires a diverse team of specialists who are talented planners and creatives, but do not necessarily "speak the same language" and work at various speeds. Mr. Rowbury tries to find the common ground between such differences through repeated discussions. He explains, "through a process of really intense discussions… over time, you are unable to get to a point where those three different definitions of product manager have actually melded into something that's unique for us. And that's where we want to be."

In an ever-evolving world, Mr. Rowbury was aware of the younger employees' need for transparency and involvement in decision-making processes to have more trust in leadership. Through his regular lunch meetings with junior staff, Mr. Rowbury learned of the stress younger generations and implemented a wellness day to promote better mental health.

To foster creativity in a mistake-free culture like Japan, Mr. Rowbury explains, "these days a relatively small mistake can actually result in quite a significant impact to the business so I'm not quite sure…[if] it's okay to go out and make mistakes, is exactly the right message. I think it needs to be refined a little bit more, with some parameters around what sort of mistake is okay to make and what is not." Additionally, Mr. Rowbury explained that being able to admit to one's mistake, recognize one's weaknesses and constantly learn, are all essential factors in adapting to such a rapidly changing society.

Mr. Rowbury advises newcomers to Japan to remember the three Ps – patience, persistence, and politeness - something he was first told as a new arrival himself. He explains that in Japan, everything takes more time and money, but when done, the end result is better than anywhere else. Mr. Rowbury also encourages newcomers to not be afraid of making the ask, but maintaining politeness by using phrases like onegaishimasu (please) and soudan ga arimasu (I would like to consult you).

Mr. Fujita, President & CEO of Seimens K.K., began his career in the Japanese manufacturing industry at Alpine Electronics, then became a business consultant, before joining Siemens.

During his time at Alpine, Mr. Fujita worked in Germany and managed a team of European staff, which he found were strikingly different from his Japanese counterparts. Mr. Fujita explains how he has a "western/Japanese switch" that he can control in order to adjust to the two cultures. With the westerners, Mr. Fujita says he tries to speak in logical, short sentences, and keeps meetings to 30 minutes. However, with his Japanese staff, Mr. Fujita is careful in listening to them, and showing more empathy. Mr. Fujita explains "Japanese [do] want to talk in meetings but they are missing the timing to start talking." According to Mr. Fujita, this is partly due to the Japanese desire for harmonization. As the Japanese head of a global company that requires much coordination with the Germany headquarter, this cross-cultural communication skill is vital for Mr. Fujita.

On innovation and leadership, Mr. Fujita explains the benefits of providing support and coaching for the staff to try to make them into "star" players. Mr. Fujita encourages people to learn from mistakes and rewards those that challenge themselves.

To be a successful leader, Mr. Fujita states, "in the West, trust means fairness" whereas in Japan, it's more about being a transparent leader who is honest with good intentions. In order to blend into both cultures, Mr. Fujita recommends becoming an "insider" and trying to learn the culture and language to better understand the people and win their trust.

As a teenager growing up in Germany, Dr. Carolina Kawakubo was fascinated by Japan, which led her to study in Keio University as an exchange student from the University of Dusseldorf. Later, while pursuing her PhD in Business Management and Economics, Dr. Kawakubo began working as Marketing Manager at Henkel Japan. Dr. Kawakubo learned the different thought processes and quality expectations between Europe and Japan. In dealing with such differences, Dr. Kawakubo seeks to understand and talk with both the German headquarters and Japanese clients and find a common ground where the customer is satisfied with the product at a feasible price.

After earning an MBA from Beijing Normal University and teaching for a few years, starting a family, and freelancing for different companies between Japan, US, and Germany, Dr. Kawakubo started working at MedSkin Solutions. In taking on the role of General Manager of MedSkin as a woman with many older male employees, Dr. Kawakubo explains, "I personally think it's more about bringing in new ideas and actually performing and bringing in business. I'm also lucky that in my industry 99% of the clients tend to be women. It's also easier to present the product convincingly, because you can talk from your own experience."

In encouraging innovation, Dr. Kawakubo refers to the saying: "Europeans like old things and new ideas and the Japanese like old ideas and new things." In Japan, many companies push for innovation in products and technical processes but according to Dr. Kawakubo, "the real challenges is in social processes and in social values." She adds "Tokyo looks like an extremely high-tech modern city, but if you live here, you start to see that under that surface society in many ways, [they] still follow [traditional] values." To overcome these restrictions, Dr. Kawakubo relies on her global background to bring in new ideas and perspectives, which she finds many Japanese people are interested in hearing. She also stays takes extra care in staying patient and giving Japanese employees and clients enough time to open up, holding regular face to face meetings. Although as a woman leader, she still faces challenging situations such as dealing with discriminatory comments, Dr. Kawakubo describes it not necessarily as a cultural but human problem that needs to dealt with confidence.

Dr. Kawakubo advises new arrivals in Japan to learn the language, take special care in not blaming everything on Japanese culture, and picking one's battles. Dr. Kawakubo refers to the subtle Japanese language nuances that can only be understood by those that speak the language. For example, if a Japanese client says "we will think about it," it will most likely mean they are not interested. If one does not understand these subtleties, communication can be a struggle. Furthermore, Dr. Kawakubo is careful to not fall into the temptation of blaming challenging situations on Japanese culture and generalizing. Lastly, Dr. Kawakubo advises to pick your battles, and understand what can be and what cannot be changed in Japan. She says: "[it's] the art of the possible. You have to make sure if what you want to do is actually feasible. So you should have somebody who's very familiar with the Japanese industry and at the same time, ambitious enough to question that… you have to have somebody who knows both sides and who can be a consultant to you."

Pierre Gaulis, founder and CEO of CREAM, a digital agency, came to Japan 13 years ago as a new graduate from Switzerland. Taking intensive Japanese language classes and providing free-lance consulting, he eventually started working as a project manager at GPlusMedia, an online media company. He later became their business development manager which allowed him to build the foundation of an entrepreneur to start CREAM. CREAM researches, designs and develops digital products, services and experiences to help mid-large multinational companies achieve their digital transformation. As a small, close-knit company, CREAM works with agility, backed by digital native employees, the majority in their late twenties. Shortly after a year of founding the company, the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake hit Japan and business stagnated. Despite many foreigners leaving the country, Mr. Gaulis stayed to strengthen the company structure including building prototypes, improving the website and developing trusting relationships with his employees and clients.

CREAM is a multicultural organization with 80% non-Japanese employees or those who have had international experiences. This unique mix of Japanese and foreign culture allows the company to have a deeper understanding of any communication issues between Japanese and foreigners which helps when dealing with multinational corporations. In leading this international team, Mr. Gaulis tries to instil a sense of responsibility and accountability within each individual. He insists that his team stay engaged and genuinely care for the well-being of the organization and "recognize that they are responsible for the relationship first and foremost with the clients and with their teammates." In addition to engagement, Mr. Gaulis explains the vitality of hiring the right candidates to stay creative and keep growing as a company. To assess whether the candidate can work in challenging environments with high creativity, they take a personality test as part of the recruiting process. Mr. Gaulis' leadership style is to be empathetic towards people and understand their needs and aims to build trust. He also encourages his team to provide feedback to each other and take risks as he sees failure and mistakes as an investment for future growth. For newcomers to Japan, Mr. Gaulis advises the importance of staying committed, finding local partners who know the local market and network, and hyper localizing to fit the Japanese market needs.

Richard Dyck, President of TGK-Japan, a semiconductor testing company as well as many other companies, originally visited Japan as a student in 1965. With a PhD in the field of semiconductor from Harvard University, Dr. Dyck began working at General Electric's Japanese office. Dr. Dyck worked closely with Jack Welch, Senior VP of GE at the time, and was responsible in building the material business in Asia, with a focus on Japan. Among many things, Dr. Dyck learned from Welch's hard work ethics and his value-based pricing strategy. Dr. Dyck then moved to Teradyne, a Boston based manufacturer of semiconductor equipment, leading the Asia operations for 20 years. He then went on to establish his independent company after a management buy-out of Teradyne's high speed connection system business, starting at $8 million. Dr. Dyck describes the first 10 years as "more rewarding than anything [he] had done before."

After selling his company that grew to $50 million, Dr. Dyck then became involved in Japan Industrial Partners, a private equity specializing in carve-outs of businesses from large Japanese corporations. When the firm bought out a spindle motor business from The Japan Victor Company, Dr. Dyck took on the role of leading the $300 million business with a large factory in Thailand and a labour force of 5000 employees. He was confident in using the Japanese approach of quality control and quality circles. He " became a huge fan and still place a lot of value in the Japanese approach to a manufacturing operation…and it is very effective, not only in Japan but…in Thailand and China." Dr. Dyck also serves on the board of Hitachi Chemicals, which he describes is another "experience at looking at a Japanese company from the inside."

On leading in Japan, Dr. Dyck highlights focusing on customer satisfaction and relationship building as the key to gaining credibility among clients and the team. Communication among all operations within and outside of the Japan office is also crucial, ensuring there is constant feedback getting communicated back to headquarters. In Teradyne, Dr. Dyck's employees were on a team commission, in which teams were rewarded instead of individuals for their performance. Dr. Dyck also encourages his team to face their mistakes and learn from defective products calling them "treasures." He holds regularized engineering reviews to ensure quality and performance standards are maintained. Dr. Dyck also participates in social activities such as playing softball and volleyball to build team engagement outside of work. He is always trying to be honest and open to learning from his employees.

On Innovation in Japan, he sees more and more Japanese companies fund businesses within their organization, treating it like a start-up company. Dr. Dyck talks about the challenge of collaboration in the academic field, in which departments within the same university do not have a collaborative mindset. Dr. Dyck also thinks letting employees work in one specific position instead of rotating them, would lead to more specialists who are skilled within their area of expertise with a strong network.

He advises newcomers to Japan to be ready and willing to learn from Japan and figure out what you can bring to your company that differentiate you from a local Japanese employee. Dr. Dyck also addresses the value of spending time with the customers in Japan to build relationships to be able to provide the best solution for them.

Jeremy Sampson, Managing Director of Robert Walters Japan, originally started his career at Hilton Hotel in Australia, before moving to Japan to teach English. He joined Robert Walters as an Associate in 2005. In 2008, Mr. Sampson became the team manager specializing in manufacturing and heavy industries, coinciding with the Global Financial Crisis.

Looking back, Mr. Sampson thinks of this difficult time as a "year of learning" in which he worked to instil "great habits, great processes, and great discipline." This put his team in a strong position when the market rebounded in 2010, making them one of the highest performing teams among all offices in Japan. During this time, Mr. Sampson explains how he learned the importance of being a leader that leads by example, working hard and setting clear expectations to earn the trust of his employees. He says: "if you're doing the same things that you're asking others to do, I think that is quite powerful and impacts people…[to] follow suit." He also explains the power of accountability: "I think when people know that you would be checking in to see how something went, it creates accountability and there's more responsibility to do what's asked."

To grow his team and organization, Mr. Sampson worked to further specialize in the manufacturing, chemical and energy industries. The division grew from 20 people to over 50 people by 2018, at which point Mr. Sampson had become Managing Director. In managing a larger team, Mr. Sampson talks about learning to lead through other people, welcoming feedback, and being consistent with his communication to ensure it reaches all levels of the organization. To make this possible, Mr. Sampson takes part in all first day training for new hires and communicates his leadership principles throughout the induction training process. He also has coffee with the new employees in small groups after their first month to check in with them and reinforce the organizational values. The company also has offsite meetings to have brainstorming and feedback sessions, which Mr. Sampson and the other directors review at a later time.

In retaining his employees, Mr. Sampson sticks to his simple philosophy of "hiring good people, developing them well and keeping them happy." This not only includes financial rewards and promotions but being a genuine leader that provides a caring work culture. Mr. Sampson constantly communicates to his employees how he is there to help them in their careers and develop their skills, providing necessary training. As a result, Robert Walters has been ranked 16th in the Great Place To Work Institute Japan ranking in 2019, winning the best company award. When explaining how he keeps his employees happy, Mr. Sampson claims, "it's the simple fun things from company parties to drinks on a Friday afternoon, [as well as] actual initiatives." For example, the organization has a voluntary wellness committee that plans activities related to health and wellbeing.

For newcomers to Japan, he advises them to learn the Japanese culture and landscape first. Secondly, building trust and engagement among employees especially during a time of labour and talent shortage. Lastly, he highly recommends building a networking in Japan's international business community, which he assures is very welcoming.