My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success

New Job in Toyko, Mistakes on the First Day at Honda: Laura Kriska


Listen Later

Author of The Business of We: The Proven Three-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace

Show notes: https://www.markgraban.com/mistake61

My guest for Episode #61 is Laura Kriska. When she was just 22, Laura became the first American woman to work in the Tokyo headquarters of Honda Motor Company.

Her experience working with thousands of middle-aged Japanese men inspired her to write her first book The Accidental Office Lady: An American Woman in Corporate Japan.

Inspired to create a ‘WE building’ revolution, Laura wrote her latest book The Business of We: The Proven Three-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace – a new approach to diversity, cultural difference, and inclusion that will increase employee retention and productivity and prevent misunderstandings that lead to lost revenue, lost time and increased legal risk.

In today's episode, Laura and host Mark Graban talk about her experiences working Japan and what she has learned about working across cultural and organizational divides.

Laura also discusses topics including:

  • How her mistake could have been avoided with one sentence
  • Failing to see how “cultural data” matters – the ways people are different
  • Why did she offend the “most important office lady”?
  • A “quality circle” project about getting rid of the women's uniforms
  • What do you mean by a “we” culture?
  • What's the connection between “we” and the Japanese word “wa” (harmony)
  • Is a “we culture”? more prevalent in Japan and other Eastern cultures?
  • What does she mean by being on “the home team” in a country or a culture?
  • Paul O'Neill as a “we builder”
  • Her article: "Covid-19 is not killing us, polarization is"
  • Laura on her first day of work: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/laura-kriska-she-her-0a93902a_mistakes-firstjob-webuilding-activity-6788436074688516096-rIvq

    ---
    Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support
    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and SuccessBy Mark Graban

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    39 ratings


    More shows like My Favorite Mistake: Business Lessons from Failures and Success

    View all
    Stuff You Should Know by iHeartPodcasts

    Stuff You Should Know

    78,326 Listeners

    Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership by Mark Graban

    Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership

    46 Listeners

    Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership by Ron Pereira: Lean Thinker & Co-Founder of Gemba Academy

    Gemba Academy Podcast: Lean Six Sigma | Toyota Kata | Productivity | Leadership

    196 Listeners

    Lean Blog Audio by Mark Graban

    Lean Blog Audio

    15 Listeners

    KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More by KaiNexus

    KaiNexus: Continuous Improvement, Leadership, and More

    27 Listeners

    The Daily by The New York Times

    The Daily

    112,734 Listeners

    Crime Junkie by audiochuck

    Crime Junkie

    368,703 Listeners

    Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey) by Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh

    Lean Coffee Talk (formerly known as Lean Whiskey)

    10 Listeners