The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show Podcast Por Dr. Greg Story arte de portada

The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show

The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show

De: Dr. Greg Story
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For succeeding in business in Japan you need to know how to lead, sell and persuade. This is what we cover in the show. No matter what the issue you will get hints, information, experience and insights into securing the necessary solutions required. Everything in the show is based on real world perspectives, with a strong emphasis on offering practical steps you can take to succeed.copyright 2022 Economía Gestión Gestión y Liderazgo
Episodios
  • Dealing with Taxing People

    Dealing with Taxing People
    Mar 29 2026
    Why do difficult people feel so hard to deal with at work? Most of us never received a practical playbook for dealing with difficult people. School rarely teaches negotiation with taxing personalities, and workplace induction training usually skips it too. Because the "how to handle conflict" manual never shows up, we often react on instinct. That instinct can turn into email wars, tense phone calls, or arguments that go nowhere. Because difficult interactions feel personal, we may treat the person as the problem rather than the issue. That approach fuels ego, defensiveness, and miscommunication. When we shift the mindset and treat the interaction as a real-life learning lab, we start with more control and more options. Mini-summary: We struggle with difficult people because we lack training and we personalise the conflict. A learning mindset changes the starting point. How does a positive attitude change the outcome of a difficult conversation? A positive attitude is not about pretending everything is fine. It is a decision to treat the interaction as a learning experience that builds win-win interpersonal skills. Because you enter the conversation expecting progress, you look for solutions instead of searching for proof that the other person is "a major pain." This mindset shifts your language, tone, and patience. It also reduces the chance you react from your "hot buttons" when tension rises. When you begin from a constructive stance, you create better conditions for clarity and agreement. Mini-summary: A positive attitude frames conflict as skill-building. Because you focus on learning, you reduce reactive behaviour. Why should you meet face to face instead of arguing by email or phone? Email wars drag out conflict. Phone calls can compress complex issues into rushed, emotional exchanges. Face to face works better because you can read cues, slow down, and create a shared space for problem solving. Neutral ground helps too, because neither person feels they own the territory. Meeting over coffee or lunch away from the office can lower the temperature. Because the setting feels less combative, the conversation can become more direct and practical. Mini-summary: Face to face reduces misinterpretation and escalation. Neutral ground supports calmer, clearer discussion. How do you clearly define the issue when both sides think they are right? Sometimes two people argue about different things under the same banner. One person thinks the issue is performance, the other thinks it is process, respect, or accountability. Because the label is shared but the meaning is different, the argument stays stuck. Define the issue in commonly understood words. If the issue is big, break it into smaller parts you can handle one by one, with concrete detail. Because you create shared definitions, you reduce confusion and move closer to agreement. Mini-summary: Conflicts persist when the "issue" means different things to each person. Clear definitions and smaller parts create progress. What does "do your homework" mean in a negotiation with a difficult person? Do your homework by starting with the other person's situation and building the argument from their perspective. Because this process exposes gaps in your information, you can correct assumptions before you speak. You also prepare for negotiation by deciding your BATNA: the best alternative to a negotiated agreement, or your walk-away position. Then determine what you can accept, what you can live with, and what would be an ideal outcome. Because you know your limits and your preferences, you negotiate with steadiness rather than impulse. Mini-summary: Preparation means understanding their perspective and your own boundaries. BATNA clarity prevents weak or reactive decisions. How do you take an honest inventory of yourself before a tough discussion? Self-awareness matters. Identify aspects of your personality and style that help or hinder interactions. Nominate your "hot buttons" that trigger an internal explosion, then decide you will not react that way. Watch your language and tone. In arguments, most of us default to sharper language and harsher tone than we intend. Because tone escalates conflict faster than facts, controlling it keeps you in the conversation rather than in a fight. Mini-summary: Knowing your triggers and controlling tone reduces escalation. Self-awareness keeps you intentional under pressure. How do shared interests help when conflict magnifies differences? Conflict magnifies perceived differences and minimises similarities. Shared interests reverse that effect. Look for common goals and desired outcomes. Often there is a common objective, and the disagreement is about the best path to achieve it. Keep attention on the common goal and the desired future. Because the conversation stays future-focused, it keeps moving forward rather than replaying blame. Mini-summary: Shared interests shrink the "us versus them" mindset. Focusing on the future ...
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    12 m
  • Japan Is Very Formal In Business

    Japan Is Very Formal In Business
    Mar 22 2026
    Why does Japan feel more formal in business than countries like Australia or the United States? In Japan, formality is tightly linked to what is perceived as polite behaviour. If you come from a business culture that is more casual, the Japanese approach can feel unexpected, even hard to fathom. In countries like Australia, the United States, Canada, and similar places, you can build rapport with relaxed posture and informal talk. In Japan, that same approach can land badly because it may look like a lack of respect. This matters because the meeting is not only about exchanging information. It is also a ceremony of respect. If you treat it like a casual chat, you may unintentionally signal that you do not value the other person's position or the effort they have made to host you. Mini-summary: Japan's formality is not "extra"; it is a visible form of politeness. Casual behaviour can read as disrespect. What is the most formal kind of business meeting you might encounter in Japan? The most formal meeting described here is presenting credentials to the Emperor at the palace as part of an Ambassador's arrival in Japan. The visiting Ambassador does not go alone. There is an entourage of senior officials, a formal waiting arrangement at Tokyo Station, and transport to the palace in a horse drawn carriage with a mounted escort. A senior Japanese Cabinet member attends the party. What makes this level of formality so intense is protocol. There are rules for how you walk, stand, move, speak, and sit. The atmosphere is "formal beyond words". The point is not comfort. The point is honouring the role, the setting, and the status of the meeting. Mini-summary: The Emperor meeting illustrates Japan's highest-end protocol: controlled movement, strict behaviour, and a ceremonial atmosphere. Why can a meeting with ordinary business people still feel like a ceremony? The story that follows is striking: the second most formal meeting is not with royalty, but with fishmongers in Osaka. The context is introducing an Australian Ambassador to importers who deal with Australia, including a large seafood business and a major customer of Australian produce. The company turns out its entire echelon of senior management, and the meeting becomes a stiff affair, a complete ceremony in itself. The reason is status. The visiting Ambassador is treated with "above God" respect. In other words, rank drives the formality, and the organisation shows politeness by staging the meeting as a formal event. Mini-summary: In Japan, formality can rise sharply based on the visitor's rank, even in industries you would not expect to be ceremonial. How does posture and seating affect perceived respect in Japanese meetings? In Japan, small physical behaviours carry big meaning. A vivid example comes from a meeting in Osaka with the Vice-Governor. The Vice-Governor sits ramrod straight, leaving a gap between his spine and the back of the chair. He is upright and formal. By contrast, the visiting Australian official lounges back with legs kicked out, as if watching sport at home. The contrast is "stunning", and it triggers the formality-politeness construct. In a Japanese context, lounging in a formal meeting does not look polite. It does not look respectful. The speaker even tries to raise the issue subtly afterwards, but the cognition gap is too big. Mini-summary: In Japan, posture is communication. Formal upright seating signals respect; casual lounging can signal the opposite. Why do Japanese meeting rooms sometimes make rapport difficult? The physical environment can reinforce the formality. Some Japanese meeting rooms have massive chairs with solid wooden arm rests. They are heavy and set far apart across the room, creating significant distance between the two sides. Because you sit so far apart, it becomes very hard to build rapport. This matters especially for service and training businesses, where you need to show materials and demonstrate solutions. At that distance, you cannot easily share documents, point at details, or create momentum. The room design itself can slow down persuasion. Mini-summary: The room layout and furniture can enforce distance, which makes rapport and practical demonstration harder. What should foreigners do when the room setup prevents effective discussion? If you need to show something to the buyer, you may have to change the situation. The described approach is practical: stand up, move, and sit closer so you can present your solution properly. But you also need to recognise the formality rules. You apologise for breaking protocol, then you do what is needed to communicate. A Japanese visitor is unlikely to alter the seating arrangement, which can make being a foreigner an advantage. You can sometimes break through the formality in ways that a Japanese participant would not attempt. The key is judgement: you need to know when it is appropriate and when it is not. Mini-summary: If distance blocks communication, ...
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    17 m
  • How To Pump Up An Audience

    How To Pump Up An Audience
    Mar 15 2026
    How do you pump up an audience without feeling manipulative? You pump up an audience by combining storytelling with audience participation, then using both in moderation. The goal is not to "perform" for performance's sake. The goal is to lift the room's energy so people pay attention while you deliver your key message. When you overdo it, it can feel manipulative. When you use it lightly and intentionally, it feels engaging and memorable. A simple mental check helps: is your showmanship serving the audience's understanding, or serving your ego? If it supports understanding, it stays on the right side of the line. Mini-summary: Blend storytelling and participation to lift energy and attention, but keep it moderate so it stays authentic. What can business presenters learn from television preachers? Television preachers are often master storytellers who know how to work an audience. Even if you are not looking for salvation, you can watch them for practical lessons in how they keep people listening. They usually take familiar stories and make them feel immediate, relevant, and personal. The useful takeaway for business is not their promises. It is their method: they connect a point to a story people already recognise, then draw a conclusion that tells the audience what to do next. Mini-summary: Watch skilled presenters to learn story-driven attention control, then apply the method ethically in business. Why do parables and "mini-episodes" work so well in presentations? Parables work because they are mini-episodes that teach a point through a situation, not a lecture. They turn an abstract idea into a vivid example. In a business talk, you also have a topic, a key message, and a platform. The question is how to make that key message land. Stories do this because people can see them. The best stories are the ones an audience can picture in their mind's eye. It is like reading a novel after you have already seen the movie or television series: the scenes, characters, and backdrops appear instantly, and meaning becomes easier to grasp. Mini-summary: "Mini-episodes" create mental pictures, and mental pictures make key messages stick. What makes a story "visual" in the audience's mind? A visual story has people, places, and a clear incident that points toward a course of action. Ideally, the people are familiar types or even people the audience knows already, because familiarity accelerates understanding. The locations should be easy to imagine, because shared imagery reduces cognitive load. Then you weave your point into the story and draw conclusions about what the audience should do. The story is not decoration. It is the delivery system for your message. Mini-summary: Use recognisable people, imaginable locations, and a specific incident that naturally supports your conclusion. How do you tell a story that reinforces a business lesson about keeping key staff? You create a scene that feels real, then connect it to a leadership choice and its consequence. For example: imagine the "top gun" salesperson getting called into the big boss's plush Presidential office. The dark panelled walls, hardbound books, massive mahogany desk, expensive paintings, and carefully coiffed secretary signal power and success. Then you introduce the twist: the salesperson has met an annual sales quota in just two weeks and expects accolades. Instead, the boss wants to lower the commission rate because the salesperson is making more than the President. This is where the story sharpens into a lesson about ego and incentives. The punch line is simple: leaders must take ego out of the equation, and create reward systems that keep top talent. The story makes that conclusion more powerful because the audience has already "seen" the office and felt the tension in the conversation. Mini-summary: Set a vivid scene, reveal the ego-driven mistake, then connect it to reward systems that retain top performers. How does the Ross Perot example strengthen the message? It adds consequence and credibility to the storyline. In the example, Ross Perot leaves IBM, creates Electronic Data Systems, and becomes a billionaire. The point is not celebrity. The point is the cost of mishandling talent and incentives. When you connect a leadership decision (lowering commission due to ego) to a high-stakes outcome (losing a star who goes on to massive success elsewhere), you make retention real. It is no longer a theoretical human resources topic. It becomes a leadership risk with a clear mechanism: mishandle reward and recognition, and you push your best people out the door. Mini-summary: The example turns retention into a cause-and-effect leadership risk: ego-driven rewards decisions can drive top talent away. When should you use audience participation, and what does it look like? Audience participation works best after you have built the story and you are ready to turn energy into agreement. A simple prompt can do the job: "Bosses in the...
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    11 m
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