Best Japanbusiness Podcasts (2024)

1
Business Lessons Straight From The Karate Dojo 11:36

3h ago11:36

11:36

I have often thought there are so many lessons from the martial arts for our businesses. Here are my musings after 50 plus years of training in traditional Shitoryu Karate. Stepping on to the floor The dojo is the ultimate equalizer. Whether you arrived by chauffeur driven Roller or took Shanks’s mare, once you step on to that dojo floor only your …

1
212 Nicolas Villeger, Founder & Managing Director, Tradentry 1:05:45

6h ago1:05:45

1:05:45

Previously Nicolas was Representative Director and CEO Louis Vuitton Japan, Managing Director DFS Japan and Korea, Vice President Operations North Asia and SEA, Tesla, President & CEO Coach Japan, Regional Director, President & Representative Director Japan, Longchamp, Director, General Manager Japan, Estee Lauder, General Manager Shiseido Japan. N…

1
220 Close The Gap With Your Audience 8:19

2h ago8:19

8:19

Lawyers in Japan are an elite group. I attended a legal symposium, involving these super elite Japanese lawyers and yet the communication skills on offer were incongruent with their elite educations and high social status. I can never resolve how intelligent people can manage to stand up in front of an audience and position themselves such that the…

1
320 Client Contact Insights 11:30

4h ago11:30

11:30

Japan is merciless with salespeople. When you call the client’s company everyone is doing their absolute best to make sure you don’t get to talk to the boss. They won’t tell you their name, they don’t offer to take a message for you, the whole vibe is “get lost”. If you don’t know the precise name of the person you want to speak with, then the wall…

1
212 Bernard Delmas, Lead Independent Director, Nissan Motor Corporation 1:18:00

8h ago1:18:00

1:18:00

Previously Bernard was Representative in Japan for Pylote, Group Senior Advisor at Michelin, Nihon Michelin Tire Chairman, Nihon Michelin Tire President, Member of the Board Ichikoh Industries. Bernard has an MBA for HEC School Of Management and a MSC from Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Nancy.…

1
219 Be A Showman When Selling In Japan 8:38

1h ago8:38

8:38

Tricky area in sales, showmanship. The word has a certain odor about it that reeks of fake, duplicity, con game, spruker, carnival barker, etc. Yet, like storytelling, this is an important part of the sales professional’s repertoire. Clients are card carrying members of the Great Guild Of Skeptics. They are highly doubtful about salespeople’s claim…

1
319 Nerd Presenter Errors In Japan 10:45

1d ago10:45

10:45

I am sitting there with a crowd of people attending a presentation on blockchain technology. Some are very technical people active in the crypto currency area, some run their own tech businesses. Our presenter has amazing experience in this area, having worked for some very big names in the industry. He also has his own company to promote as well a…

1
211 Christian Mecker, President Bosch Mobility South and East Asia 56:47

8d ago56:47

56:47

Previously Christian was VP Sales and Application Diesel Systems Robert Bosch, General Manager Robert Bosch Japan, Directeur des Ventes Robert Bosch France. He has a mechanical engineering degree from Ecole centrale de Lyon

1
218 Unearth Your Own Insights When Presenting In Japan 7:50

2d ago7:50

7:50

In our lives, we have harvested a lot of experiences, which we can use in our presentations. If we were better organized, we might have had the forethought to keep notes, so it would be easier to refer to them when we are looking for material. Well there is a hint right there – keep notes from now on. You can just jot down in your Evernote or somet…

1
318 Be Both Busy and Organised In Japan 10:05

17d ago10:05

10:05

Focus is under constant attack. The speed of business makes longer term planning a dubious endeavor. Projecting 5 years forward sounds reasonable. That is until you go back 5 years and look at all the changes that have taken place through technology, societal attitudinal changes, business realities and logistics. The leader is supposed to be defini…

1
210 Tim O’Rourke, Country Manager, Meltwater Japan 57:14

8d ago57:14

57:14

Previously Tim has held a number of roles with Meltwater: Area Director, Managing Director Australia, Senior Client Success Manager Australia, Sales Manager Australia, Sales Consultant Australia. Prior to Meltwater, he was a journalist with the Herald Sun in Melbourne.

1
217 Sales Is Simple In Japan 8:03

9d ago8:03

8:03

Imagine my surprise, as an expert in sales training, when I meet salespeople who have not spent even one second trying to master the bridging of the gap between value and cost. Sitting in the audience at a speaker event, next to a thirtyish Japanese sale’s guy, we talked about how he does his sales. He told me he contacts a lead, gets an appointmen…

1
317 Sales Is A Process In Japan 13:17

28d ago13:17

13:17

Because the vast majority of people in sales have no idea what they are doing, they are making it up as they go along. Wouldn’t it be better to have a roadmap to progress the making of a sale? This roadmap will keep us on track and not allow the buyer to take us off on a tangent that leads to nowhere. Foundering around with no central direction was…

1
209 Ji Watson Representative Director, CEO, MW Japan; EVP, CFO, MW APAC 1:11:07

17d ago1:11:07

1:11:07

Previously Ji was Senior Partner, IBM Worldwide Finance and Operations Director at Ogilvy and Mather Advertising; Director, Brand Strategy Group; Director, Global Agency Coa-Cola; Marketing Manager, Turner Broadcasting. She has an MBA from Emory University – Goizueta Business School and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Oglethorpe Universi…

1
216 Future Staff Requirements In Japan 7:19

17d ago7:19

7:19

Japan loves rote learning and parents will pay cram schools to get their kids fully tuned up and on to the education escalator. Rote learning and exam technique is the standard educational approach in Japan right through to starting University classes. At University, unless you are trying for very specific careers like medicine, the elite bureaucra…

1
316 Inspire Your Audience 10:53

20d ago10:53

10:53

At the start of our class on High Impact Presentations, we ask the participants to think about what type of impression they would like to have linger with their audience, after their presentation has been completed. How about you? When people are filing out of the venue, what things would you like to hear about your presentation, if you were able t…

1
208 Michael Standar, Regional Director Troax AB 58:38

22d ago58:38

58:38

Previously Michael was Board Chairman and Director Voestalpine Bohler Welding Asia Pacific, Business Development Director-Consumables ESAB Asia Pacific, Country Manager Japan and Korea ESAB, President Besam Japan, Product Manager Eiga AB, Sales Engineer, Market Manager Asia Pacific Nomafa AB. He has a Master of Science from the Faculty of Engineeri…

1
215 Add Dialogue When Presenting In Japan 7:52

24d ago7:52

7:52

Normally when we give presentations, they tend to be pretty dry affairs. We marshal the facts, relate what happened, tell stories perhaps but in a one dimensional way. We are relating what happened, but are not making any attempt to bring it alive. However, what do we seek when we are looking for entertainment or education – we are looking for dial…

1
315 Don't Fear Failure 11:00

1M ago11:00

11:00

For decades I drove myself hard, based on a fundamental fallacy. Fear of a future of living in a cardboard box haunted me. I pushed hard so that cardboard box and I would never become well acquainted. You see homeless people in Japan and other countries living that way and it is a reality for them, that they never chose. It happened to them anyway.…

1
207 Gustav Strandell, Executive Director, Kohitsuji-kai Group International Care System KK 1:05:59

29d ago1:05:59

1:05:59

Previously Gustav was CEO Maihama Club Nursing Homes, Managing Director, Swedish Care Institute, Consultant Access Technology. Gustav Graduated with an MA in East Asian Studies from Stockholm University.

1
214 No Excuses In Sales In Japan 7:28

1M ago7:28

7:28

“I would be able to sell a lot more except for all the external factors over which I have zero control”. Actually, you have never heard this line of argument before from a salesperson. This is because this statement is an honest appraisal of what they see as the problem, but they don’t express it that way. Instead they bitch about the boss, the mar…

1
314 Technical Salespeople Need Good Presentation Skills In Japan 13:35

1M ago13:35

13:35

Knowledge of the specifications, functionality, inner workings are all fine and dandy but not enough anymore. Increasingly technically specialised people are being asked to deal with people other than their normal counterparts. Once upon a time, the engineers spoke with other engineers on the buyer side and that was about it. A nerdy lovefest on th…

1
206 Tim Hewitt, Japan Country Manager, BMS Group 1:11:11

2M ago1:11:11

1:11:11

Previously Tim was an Associate General Counsel at Marelli, Director Indirect Sales at Colt Technology Services, Senior Lawyer Minter Ellison Lawyers. He has a Law Degree, Bachelor of Asian Studies and is a graduate from the from the Kellogg-HKUST Executive MBA

1
When Do We Hit Our Limit As The Presenter? 8:37

1M ago8:37

8:37

Sometimes you see a confident leader really bomb their presentation. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does, the contrast is vast. If they are totally hopeless and they bomb, well that is understandable. But a competent leader shouldn’t bomb their presentation. He did and I was wondering why that happened? It was only at the end, when i…

1
Salespeople Bitchiness 12:58

1M ago12:58

12:58

Sales is a tough enough job without having additional complications. Clients can be very demanding, often we depend on logistics departments and production divisions, to get the purchase to the buyer. We can’t control the quality, but we have total responsibility, as far as the client is concerned. There is the constant pressure of producing revenu…

1
205 Tony Aram, Country Head Japan, Collectors Universe 1:16:37

1M ago1:16:37

1:16:37

Previously Tony was in the Financial Accounting Group-Advisory and Administration, Nomura Holdings, Head of Real Estate Finance Macquarie Group, Chief Financial Officer Merrill Lynch, Area Financial Controller HSBC, Manager PWC and Auditor KPMG. He has a Bachelor of Economics, Accountancy from the University of Sydney.…

1
What I Leant About Leadership in The Dojo 10:26

2M ago10:26

10:26

I have often thought there are so many lessons from the martial arts for our businesses. Here are my musings after 53 years of training in traditional Karate. Stepping on to the floor The dojo is the ultimate equalizer. Whether you arrived by chauffeur driven Roller or took Shanks’s mare, once you step on to that dojo floor only your ability and ch…

1
Chasing Buyer “No” Replies 13:56

2M ago13:56

13:56

Everyone hates to be rejected, but not many people have this as a fundamental aspect of their work. We ask colleagues for help and they assist, we ask our bosses for advice and they provide it. Buyers though are a different case. They can easily find a million reasons not to buy and unashamedly tell us “no”. The rejection itself is not so much the …

1
204 Yannick Derrien, Country Manager Japan and APAC Area Manager IDKIDS 56:41

2M ago56:41

56:41

Previously, Yannick was General Manager Adolfo Dominguez Japan, Pandora Division Manager Bluebell, Deputy General manager PCSA, Japan Country Manager Fast Retailing Group, Japan CEO Mauboussin, Finance Management Program member GE Healthcare

1
Don’t Be A Whimp On Pricing 11:51

2M ago11:51

11:51

Salespeople don't set the price of what they sell. This is usually an obscure outcome decided by someone else inside the machine. It might actually be an elaborate process, where multiple variables are carefully calibrated, mathematical formulae are applied and a price is arrived at. Or, it might be a slightly moist index finger boldly thrust skywa…

1
What The Pro Public Speakers Do 14:14

2M ago14:14

14:14

When you see someone do a very good presentation, your faith in public speaking humanity is restored. There are so many poor examples of people killing their personal and professional brands with poor public speaking skills, it is refreshing to see talks done well. It is not that hard really, if you know what you are doing and if you rehearse and p…

1
203 Padraig MacColgain, Vice-President Head of APAC, Colt Data Centre Services 1:02:48

2M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

Previously Padraig was Vice-President, Service Operations at Colt Data Centre Services, Director, Design, Build and Transition, Director, Core Technology, KVH, Manager Equant

1
Credibility Sells 9:28

2M ago9:28

9:28

The hardest sales job in the world is selling something you don’t believe in yourself. The acid test is would you sell this “whatever” to your grandmother? If the answer is no, then get out of there right now! It is rarely that clear cut though. The more important test is whether what you are selling solves the client’s problem or not. Selling clie…

1
How To Defeat Imposter Syndrome As A Presenter 15:01

2M ago15:01

15:01

We don’t get the chance to do so many public presentations in business, so it becomes a hard skill set to build or maintain. The internal presentations we give at work tend to be very mundane. Often we are just reporting on the numbers and why they aren’t where they are supposed to be or where we to date are with the project. These are normally rat…

1
202 Mitsuharu Kurokawa, President Toraya 1:22:52

2M ago1:22:52

1:22:52

Mr. Kurokawa is the 18th generation of his family to run this traditional Japanese sweets business, which started in the 1500s in Kyoto. He has worked in the business his whole career and spent a year in their store in Paris.

1
What Do I Do With My Hands When Presenting 8:44

3M ago8:44

8:44

One of our problem areas is what to do with our hands when we speak. Judging by most of the presentations I see in Japan, few speakers have worked this out yet. Here are some common habits we can improve upon to make ourselves much more persuasive and professional. 1. Hands in front of the body. The arms and hands when held in front of the body cre…

1
Create Raving Fans When Presenting In Japan 15:06

2M ago15:06

15:06

We can speak to a group. Then there is another level, where we try to totally captivate our audience. What makes the difference? The content could even be the same, but in the hands of one person it is dry and delivered in a boring manner. Someone else can take the same basic materials and really bring it to life. We see this with music. The same l…

1
201 Patrick Boulet, President ACRELEC Manufacturing Japan 1:03:00

3M ago1:03:00

1:03:00

Previously Patrick was Operations Director at Innov8; Purchasing and RD Director at Groupe ADF; Operations Director at Uniross; Purchasing Director at Alcatel Mobile Phones and Mechanical Manager at SAGEM. He has a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Arts et Metiers Paris Tech – Ecole National Superieure d’Arts et Metiers and an MBA from …

1
Superstar Pressure In Japan 11:14

3M ago11:14

11:14

Okay, now its time for the show, Soredewa ikimasho, so let's get going. The hush has now swept across the room. All eyes are fixed on the MC, breaths are being held, awaiting the announcement of this year’s winner. Amazingly, it registers that it is your name they are calling to the stage. Emotion wells up. Your team join you for handshaking, shoul…

1
Real World Business Negotiating In Japan 13:20

3M ago13:20

13:20

We have many images of negotiation thanks to the media. It could be movie scenes of tough negotiators or reports on political negotiations with lunatic led rogue states. Most of these representations however have very little relevance in the real world of business. A lot of the work done on negotiations focuses on “tactics”. This is completely unde…

1
200 Hiroshi Alley, Chairman and President Palo Alto Networks, Japan 52:51

3M ago52:51

52:51

Previously Hiroshi was Regional Vice President, President F5 Networks, Japan; Chief Executive Japan and China Wipro Technologies; and Managing Director, President BEA Systems Japan. He has a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration and Management from The University of Maine at Orono

1
Best Practice Using Sales Materials In Japan 9:31

3M ago9:31

9:31

If we are presenting a brochure, flyer, price list, hard copy slide deck or any other typical collateral item, then we should adopt best practice for greatest success. Have two copies always, one for you to read and one for the client, unless you are a genius of reading upside down (which by the way seems to include all Japanese!). At the start, pu…

1
Be Careful of Client White Noise 13:04

3M ago13:04

13:04

Sales people are always under pressure to meet their targets. In high pressure situations, this creates certain behaviours that are not in tune with the client’s best interests. We know we should listen carefully to what the client wants, before we attempt to suggest any solution for the buyer’s needs. We know that by asking well designed questions…

1
199 Gordon Hatton, Vice President, Head of Development & Delivery (Japan), Colt DCS 1:03:22

3M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

Previously Vice President, Head of APAC Development, Head of Japan, Vice President Colt DSC: Head of Japan Pembroke Real Estate; Executive Officer, Bovis Lend Lease; Architect, Takenaka Komuten; Harvard University Graduate School Of Design; University Of Manitoba Architecture

1
Business Seems Logical But It Is Rife With Emotions 8:33

3M ago8:33

8:33

We are all pretty average on recalling events, people’s names, locations, sequences, inanimate objects, etc., but we are geniuses on remembering feelings. We are especially good on how people made us feel and what super memories we have developed in this particular department. Business is deemed to be logical – cool, balanced, unswerving on the roa…

1
Spellbinding Speech Endings 14:55

3M ago14:55

14:55

It is rare to see a presentation completed well, be it inside the organization, to the client or to a larger audience. The energy often quickly drops away, the voice just fades right out and there is no clear signal that this is the end. The audience is unsure whether to applaud or if there is more coming. Everyone is stuck in limbo wondering what …

1
198 Ahbijay Sandilya, Managing Director for Japan and Micronesia at IHG Hotels and Resorts 47:20

4M ago47:20

47:20

Previously Ahbijay was Vice-President of Development for IHG Japan, Australasia and Pacific Region, Director of Development Planning AMEA for Whitbread PLC Singapore, and Director of Development Middle East, Africa and South Asia for the Jumeirah Group. He has a Master’s Degree from Erasmus University’s Rotterdam School Of Management…

1
Seven Ways To Speak To The Rabble 8:50

4M ago8:50

8:50

The Master of Ceremony (MC) goes to the microphone to get the programme underway but the audience are simply oblivious, caught up in their own riveting conversations. The situation is much worse at receptions where alcohol is already flowing and the people down the back are generating a roar, a positive din, that drowns out the speakers. Here are s…

1
Selling Into Each Region Is Different In Japan 13:22

3M ago13:22

13:22

Japan is a big small place. It is about the same size as the UK, but is covered in mountains, the latter making up 70% of the land area. We have very few of those horizon stretching field vistas like they have in England. This mountainous aspect has led to quite strong sub-regional differences here, especially reflected in language, customs and cui…

1
197 Simone Thomsen, Group Vice-President, President Eli Lilly Japan 58:51

4M ago58:51

58:51

Prior to her Japan posting Simone was VP Marketing International Business Unit in Indianapolis, VP and General Manager Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Chief Marketing Officer Japan, Managing Director Austria, International Marketing Leader Cardiology Indianapolis, National Sales Director Germany, Austria and Switzerland, New Product Planning Mana…

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