40: Timothy Langley, CEO, Langley Esquire

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

Timothy Langley has been in Japan for over 40 years and has an intriguing career in American and Japanese public affairs. Mr. Langley originally grew up in Okinawa where his father’s military post was stationed. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Mr. Langley taught English and played for the Santa Monica Rugby Club. He set his path to become a lawyer through the Monbusho scholarship and attended Tohoku University to study law but was rejected from taking the bar exam as a foreigner since it had “never been done.” Unable to sit for the bar, Mr. Langley landed a job at the Japanese National Parliament after writing to a prominent Japanese politician and sending his resumes. Since this was the first time a foreigner was working inside the Japanese government, Mr. Langley was featured in the media within and outside of Japan including the American CBS show, 60 minutes.

Mr. Langley eventually became an official lawyer after completing a law program at Georgetown. After working in Atlanta for a few years at a law firm, Mr. Langley was hired as an attorney for a manufacturing company in Kyoto to deal with a trade issue they were facing with the US government. Mr. Langley calls this experience working for a traditional Japanese company to be “a valuable experience in seeing how the Japanese work…how decisions are being made.” He also notes the difference in leadership that he observed: “basically since it's a Japanese company, you're going to be there until you die. So that leadership and that aspiration that you might have to be a leader is applied very differently than it might be in a competitive environment, such as in the United States…and [Japanese] people [are] very risk averse as, as people know. And they're punctual, they get the job done, but they follow the manual.

Mr. Langley then became the representative for the Commonwealth of Kentucky in Japan where he served for two years and gained some early leadership experience managing several staff. He then became General Counsel for Apple for four years where Mr. Langley essentially established the legal division from scratch. Since Apple was a growing company at the time, Mr. Langley recalls many challenges, including hiring the right staff and gaining commitment. Mr. Langley then transitioned into Amway for a brief period, before returning to Denver, Colorado with his family to start a law firm. He was not away from Japan for too long after being approached by General Motors to become their General Counsel and Director of Government Affairs in Asia although his term was cut short due to the 9-11 attacks.

But this time, Mr. Langley was committed to staying in Japan. Realizing his value add as General Counsel, having represented global companies like General Motors and Apple, Mr. Langley started Langley Esquire, a public affairs consultancy where he is the President and Representative Director. He describes his earlier challenges on recruitment, including convincing his sons to join the organization. Mr. Langley also highlights the importance of building trust and avoiding a breach of trust to maintain good relations, which he calls “an asset that can be transitioned from generation to generation.”

To new leaders coming to Japan, Mr. Langley advises to have language familiarity, carefully observe others and ask questions to pick up on social cues that will help with decision-making. He adds that holding back and pausing in conversations is also a great way to communicate, claiming that in Japan, the “things that are being left unsaid carry as much weight as what [people] are verbally saying.”