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
  • 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
  • Sports Lessons Which Instruct Leaders

    Sports Lessons Which Instruct Leaders
    Mar 8 2026
    What has changed in coaching, and why should business leaders care? The classic image of a coach delivering a half-time, Churchillian speech to whip the team into a frenzy is fading. The most successful modern coaches rely less on mass emotional rallies and more on human psychology, insight, and superb communication skills. Because motivation is personal, therefore leadership methods that treat everyone the same often fail to lift performance. Business leaders keep inviting sports coaches to conferences, off-sites, and retreats to learn motivation. People return to work energised, but they frequently do not adopt what they heard because they are not clear on how to do it in daily leadership. The missing link is practical application: what a leader actually does with each person, in real conversations, at work. Mini-summary: Modern coaching is less "rah rah" and more psychology and communication. Because the "how" is unclear, therefore inspiration often does not turn into action. What leadership lesson comes from competitive sport and coaching experience? The narrator's background adds weight to the message: arriving in Japan in 1979 to study karate, competing internationally, and later serving as a national coach for Australia. That experience creates a comparison point between different leadership cultures. The core lesson is that motivating and coaching people is a craft. It is not just intensity, authority, or toughness. It is the ability to understand what moves each individual and to communicate in a way that helps them perform. Mini-summary: High-level sport reveals that performance depends on how people are motivated and coached. Because motivation varies, therefore leaders must learn to lead individuals, not crowds. What is "gaman," and what does it reveal about leadership patterns in Japan? The Japanese sports leadership model is described as antiquated, with one standout strength: "gaman" (perseverance). The Japanese really know how to gaman. At the same time, there is a love of technology, which shows up as lots of equipment in sports training. But leadership soft skills are still underdeveloped. This matters for business because leadership habits transfer. If the dominant leadership approach in sport relies on endurance and hierarchy, leaders may carry those patterns into organisations, especially when those leaders grew up inside that system. Mini-summary: "Gaman" highlights perseverance as a strength, but soft skills lag. Because leadership patterns spill over, therefore business can inherit outdated methods. How do university "clubs" reinforce hierarchy-based leadership behaviours? University "club" members are said to learn leadership lessons built on age seniority, group dominance, rigid hierarchy, and suppression of the individual. That is presented as a feudal, militaristic approach spilling over from domestic sports into business. In modern business, where talent engagement, communication, and initiative matter, this blueprint is not described as "sparkling." The risk is that organisations end up with leaders who default to command-and-control, and teams who learn to comply rather than contribute. Mini-summary: University clubs can teach hierarchy and conformity. Because modern business needs initiative and communication, therefore this leadership blueprint can become a liability. What did John Ribot say in 1988 that reframed motivation? In 1988, the narrator attended a luncheon speech by John Ribot, CEO of the new Brisbane Broncos rugby league club. Ribot contrasted old-style coaching technology with a psychology-based approach. The key point: in the modern era, leaders coach each player individually, and the big "rah rah rally" style is gone. Ribot's example makes the principle concrete. One player responds to accountability framed through money and consequences: remind him of his big salary package and that he better perform or else. Another player needs the opposite: remove pressure, and say, "it's a beautiful day to play football, go out there and enjoy yourself." The content changes because the person changes. Mini-summary: Ribot's insight is individualised coaching. Because different people respond to different cues, therefore leaders must tailor motivation person by person. How does individualised motivation translate into day-to-day business leadership in Japan? The lesson for business in Japan is to train leaders to motivate teams one person at a time, based on what that person finds motivational. It sounds obvious, but many people have little experience being led this way or leading others this way. Instead, leaders often do whatever they want and others have to fit in. Many leaders act like "Driver" personality types, living by "my way or the highway." That approach can be fast, but it can also crush engagement, learning, and discretionary effort, especially when people feel unseen or misunderstood. Motivating others requires understanding their interests and ...
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    12 m
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