Cory McGowan is an American by birth who has made the mountains of Minakami, Japan his forever home with his family. He is a coach, husband, father, and a bear dancer. In this week’s episode, FocusCore Podcast host, David Sweet chats with Cory about his coaching business, Adventure Partner, which he launched in November 2020, and how Covid and past career trauma has led him to this new career path.

If you have ever wondered about coaching and what it can do for you and for your career, you wouldn’t be alone.  Cory shares his experience of being a coach, what it involves, and the benefits. They also discuss coaching benefits for organizations, why organizations shouldn’t shy away from using coaching as a development opportunity, and how it can elevate not just people but organizations to reach their potential. 

In this episode we discuss:

• The difference between training and coaching 
• How Corey transitioned from working in the corporate world to running his own business, Adventure Partners, and why he doesn’t see himself as an entrepreneur 
• Why a coach also needs their own coach
• Taking the jump with his family from Japanese city life to the Japanese mountains and living in Minakami
• Community development in Minakami, setting up the Relocation Concierge Programme for Minakami and his vision to make a positive impact in his adopted town for his family 
• Japan’s social issue of rural depopulation and how he contributes to addressing this problem
• Cory’s first-hand experience of bear dancing, how it led him to discover bears are an endangered species in Japan, and how he is active in their conservation 
• The routines and rituals that keep him focussed and are non-negotiable for his well-being

About Cory McGowan:

Coach, Husband, Father, Bear Dancer. After decades of searching, Cory found his true home in the mountains of Japan.

Professionally trained transformational coach and experienced adventurer. He uses both to support leaders and other humans around the world to express their fullest potential and co-create the lives they want for themselves. 

He supports his hometown, Minakami, Gunma Prefecture as the first foreign relocation concierge and is actively creating a vision for community development with the hopes of being a leader in solving the problem of rural depopulation in Japan. 

Connect with Cory McGowan:

Website: https://www.adventure-partner.net/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/coryadventurepartner/?hl=en 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cory-mcgowan-328b2b5/?originalSubdomain=jp 

Links of things mentioned in this episode:

Kumamori

Minakami Relocation Concierge

Connect with David Sweet:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdavidsweet/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/focuscorejp 

Facebook: :

Hello and welcome to the FocusCore Podcast with your host David Sweet. In this episode, David speaks with Hideo Goto, Country General Manager of Henkel Beauty Care Japan and Korea.

Hideo has a long career history in beauty and personal care spanning over 20+ years and has been in senior management roles at Henkel Beauty Care since 2017 where he has accelerated business growth by strengthening brand portfolios through innovation and building high-performing teams. By focusing on a strong organizational culture and innovation, Hideo has led Henkel to be a leader in the consumer and professional haircare industry in Japan. 

In this episode we discuss:

• Hideo’s career journey that has led him to Henkel Beauty Care
• The growth of Henkel, in particular, the haircare business in Japan and their path journey to becoming a powerhouse of hair
• Key challenges for growing Henkel and how to sustain growth over the next 10 years
• Innovation including digital innovation and product innovation
• The company culture of Henkel and how it attracts employees and how Henkel’s strong culture values differentiate them from their competitors
• How leveraging collaboration from within the business to create solutions is key
• Sustainability and how Henkel is adapting to reach the 2030 UN sustainability targets and the importance of sustainability embedded in a company’s values to attract employee candidates
• The impact of Covid-19 on Henkel’s beauty care business and how haircare is thriving due to the pandemic

Hideo Goto Bio:

Hideo Goto is Country General Manager of Henkel Beauty Care Japan and Korea, a position he was promoted to in 2021 having joined Henkel Beauty Care in 2017 as GM of the Professional Division. In 2019, Hideo was promoted as Country GM of Henkel Beauty Care Japan and led both the professional and consumer businesses. In 2020, he successfully turned around consumer business and, in 2021, accelerated the growth and achieved the historically highest market share. 

Hideo has more than 20 years of experience in health and beauty industry, and a strong track record of driving results.  Prior to Henkel, he started his career at Johnson & Johnson in 1996 in sales and marketing.  In 2005, he joined L’Oreal and spent 11 years there, where he turned around several businesses and scaled the growth.  He held various leadership positions throughout his tenure including GM of Active Cosmetics Division in Japan, GM of Consumer Product Division in Taiwan, and GM of Professional Product Division in Japan.  

Hideo earned an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in the U.S. in 2003 and a BBA from Meiji University in 1996.

Links of things mentioned in this episode:

Henkel Japan Career Page

Connect with FocusCore:

Website: https://www.japan.focuscoregroup.com/ 

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/focuscoreasia 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/focuscorejp 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/focuscore/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/focuscorejp/ 

Subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you download podcasts.

Doin' the Uptown Lowdown," used by...

“Playing dance music for the old at heart”, my latest Barefoot Lunch Podcast guest is Christopher Davis-Shannon. 
We will get to hear firsthand why I think Christopher is such an outstanding musician as he plays a song. We'll also talk about 

• Christopher’s favorite book and standard food regime 
• His fascinating background going from clarinet to bass, guitar, and ukulele, and then coming to singing much later in life.
• The business of music marketing and his newest side hustle, ukulele strings. 
• The exciting release of his newest album 

I think you'll understand why I think Christopher is not only a distinguished musician, performer, and teacher.

About Christopher:

As a multi-Instrumentalist, songwriter, and educator, based in Philadelphia, Davis-Shannon maintains a steady tour schedule with his own music as well as a sideman for various acts. He brings to the stage not just the pure joy of music, but a vast knowledge of the history behind the songs that he holds close to his heart. His intricate instrumental work and plaintive vocals are infused with soulfulness which cannot be faked, and a respect for his predecessors which is rarely equaled.

Links: 

Website: https://www.thetinman.co/
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cdavisshannon 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cdavisshannon

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/banjoleletinman/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6UluNSdIUTkvPzt4Yrw3dw 

Twitter: ​​https://twitter.com/cdavisshannon