The Japan Business Mastery Show Podcast By Dr. Greg Story cover art

The Japan Business Mastery Show

The Japan Business Mastery Show

By: Dr. Greg Story
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For busy people, we have focused on just the key things you need to know. To be successful 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 Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • 273 Presenting Manufactured Products

    273 Presenting Manufactured Products
    Oct 23 2025
    Why Are Industrial Product Presentations Often So Dull? Industrial products are technical and specification-heavy. Salespeople often present them in dry, functional ways that mirror catalogues. Buyers tune out because they don’t just buy specs—they buy confidence, trust, and belief. Mini-summary: Specs alone don’t sell; buyers connect with confident, engaging salespeople. How Can Salespeople Move Beyond Features? Features are important, but benefits are what matter. A durable machine saves downtime and repairs. An easy-to-install product reduces disruption and costs. Linking benefits directly to a client’s business creates relevance and excitement. Mini-summary: Translate features into applied benefits that directly improve the client’s business. Why Should Numbers Be Used Creatively? Industrial products last years, which allows long-term savings calculations. But buyers also need to see short-term value. Breaking down savings into labour cuts, tax benefits, or immediate efficiencies ties the future to today’s bottom line. Mini-summary: Frame long-term savings into immediate, bottom-line benefits. How Can Visuals Increase Buyer Engagement? Charts and graphs simplify comparisons. Videos showing installations or satisfied clients bring proof to life. With tablets and online tools, even technical evidence can be presented dynamically. Seeing is believing. Mini-summary: Visuals—from graphs to videos—make industrial product benefits vivid and real. What Lessons Can We Learn from Blendtec? Blendtec turned the blender into a viral sensation in 2007 with “Will It Blend?” By blending iPhones and iPads, they showed even mundane products can become captivating when presented creatively. Mini-summary: Creativity can transform the dullest product into a memorable story. What’s the Key for Salespeople in This Market? Specs are essential, but not enough. Salespeople must connect benefits to client needs and support claims with evidence. Competitors who do this will win if your team doesn’t. Mini-summary: Salespeople who integrate benefits, creativity, and evidence outperform those who just recite specs. Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie “One Carnegie Award” (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban “Hito o Ugokasu” Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). In addition to his books, Greg publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, offering practical insights on leadership, communication, and Japanese business culture. He is also the host of six weekly podcasts, including The Leadership Japan Series, The Sales Japan Series, The Presentations Japan Series, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan’s Top Business Interviews. On YouTube, he produces three weekly shows — The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan’s Top Business Interviews — which have become leading resources for executives seeking strategies for success in Japan.
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    8 mins
  • 272 Why Bosses Must Keep Learning to Lead

    272 Why Bosses Must Keep Learning to Lead
    Oct 16 2025
    Education doesn’t end with graduation. Leaders may attend induction sessions, compliance programs, or even prestigious executive courses overseas, but these experiences are too infrequent to sustain long-term growth. In Japan and globally, too many bosses stop learning once they hit senior ranks, focusing only on routines that keep the business running. But standing still in today’s world is as dangerous as making mistakes. Continuous learning is not optional—it’s the fuel that keeps leaders, teams, and companies alive. Why isn’t one-time executive training enough? Business schools and executive programs can be stimulating—case studies are fascinating, the networking is inspiring, and global perspectives broaden thinking. But the problem is frequency. These are often “one-shot” experiences, occurring once in a career. Leaders return home excited, but implementing new ideas proves difficult in day-to-day operations. Without continuous reinforcement, old habits resurface, and inspiration fades. Growth stalls because education was treated as an event, not a rhythm. Mini-summary: One-time executive courses inspire but don’t sustain growth—leaders need continuous, not occasional, education. What modern learning opportunities do leaders have today? We live in an era of abundant resources. Podcasts, TED Talks, YouTube, online courses, and audiobooks can turn commutes or downtime into classrooms. Platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and Udemy provide structured modules, while practitioners share real-world insights through blogs and webinars. Many of these resources are free or low-cost, making access easier than ever. The real issue isn’t availability—it’s whether leaders have the discipline to use them consistently. Mini-summary: Learning resources are everywhere; the challenge is discipline, not access. The trap is routine. Leaders often spend all their time working in the business rather than on it. They minimise effort by narrowing focus to daily operations, convincing themselves they’re too busy for study. Over time, this creates stasis. But the world doesn’t stop—technologies shift, competitors emerge, and markets evolve. In Japan, where lifetime employment and rigid routines are common, this tendency to fall into comfortable habits is especially dangerous. Mini-summary: Routines trap leaders into working in the business, leaving no time to work on their own growth. How dangerous is standing still in business? Stasis can be fatal. Consider iMode, once a global pioneer of mobile internet in Japan, now irrelevant. Blackberry dominated professional phones but collapsed. MySpace once led social media, but disappeared. Nokia’s CEO famously said, “We didn’t do anything wrong,” yet the company still fell. The lesson: even without mistakes, standing still is enough to destroy a business. Leaders who stop learning repeat this error—they allow yesterday’s success to blind them to tomorrow’s risks. Mini-summary: Standing still is as dangerous as making mistakes—stagnant leaders risk organisational decline. How does generational change affect the need for learning? Generational perspectives shift rapidly. Leaders raised with telephones view the world differently from those raised with faxes, computers, or smartphones. Today, immense computing power fits in the palm of our hands. What was cutting-edge five years ago may already be outdated. This means knowledge has a shorter shelf life than ever. If a company has made its last formal investment in a leader’s development, then the responsibility to keep up rests squarely on the individual. Mini-summary: Knowledge expires quickly—leaders must take responsibility for staying relevant across generations. What should bosses do to keep learning alive? Leaders must block time for deliberate study every week. Skimming newspapers or glancing at reports isn’t enough. Deep engagement—through reading, listening, structured courses, or reflection—is required. Just as they expect their teams to grow, bosses must first stimulate themselves. Organisations mirror leadership. When the boss stops learning, the company’s culture stagnates. But when leaders prioritise growth, they inspire their teams to follow, building resilience and innovation. Mini-summary: Leaders set the tone—if they learn and grow, their teams and businesses do too. In Japan and worldwide, bosses who stop learning stop leading. Executive courses and OJT provide valuable boosts, but they are not enough. Today, resources for continuous learning are abundant, affordable, and accessible. The barrier isn’t availability but mindset and discipline. History shows that standing still destroys even the strongest firms. The same is true for leaders. Growth starts at the top, and in 2025, leadership without learning is not leadership at all—it’s decline.
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    8 mins
  • 271 Avoid These Mistakes in Online Presentations

    271 Avoid These Mistakes in Online Presentations
    Oct 9 2025
    Video conferencing is now standard in business, but that doesn’t make online presenting any easier. Thanks to Covid, platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Webex are familiar, and technology has improved dramatically. Audio and video sync well, slides are easy to share, and features are stable. But while the tools have caught up, presenters often haven’t. Delivering with impact through a screen requires discipline, planning, and technique. Why isn’t online presenting easier despite better technology? The technology may work flawlessly, but the presenter still makes or breaks the session. Poor preparation, weak delivery, or sloppy habits quickly undermine credibility. Unlike in-person presentations, online environments magnify small mistakes: muffled sound, awkward framing, and distracted eye movements are instantly obvious. In Japan, where clients and executives value precision and professionalism, these slip-ups signal carelessness. The reality is that the platform is only a tool—the presenter must still dominate it. Mini-summary: Technology doesn’t save poor presenters; discipline and preparation still determine success online. What preparation ensures a strong online performance? Preparation starts with the basics: check sound and video in advance. A headset and external microphone usually provide better quality than a laptop’s built-in hardware. Use a second screen or tablet to see yourself the way your audience does. This avoids surprises with unreadable slides or poor framing. Rehearse on the actual platform—Zoom, Teams, Webex—and record yourself. Playback reveals distracting habits like fidgeting or speaking too fast before the audience ever sees them. Mini-summary: Strong preparation—equipment checks, second screens, and rehearsals—separates professionals from amateurs. How does camera placement affect authority online? Most laptop cameras sit below eye level, so presenters look down at their audience—an angle that weakens presence. Raising the laptop on a stand, or better yet, using an external camera at eye height, creates stronger visual authority. Good posture reinforces this presence, and standing while presenting adds even more energy and freedom for gestures. These small adjustments transform online delivery from casual to confident. Mini-summary: Proper camera height, posture, and standing elevate authority and presence in online presentations. Why does voice matter more online than in person? In online presentations, slides often dominate the screen, reducing the presenter’s visual impact. That makes voice the real star. Pacing must be slower than in person. Pauses give participants time to absorb the message. Vocal variety—emphasising key words, modulating volume, and even using silence—keeps attention high. Long gaps after asking questions may feel awkward, but often participants are just deciding who will answer. Patience, supported by vocal control, becomes a leadership tool. Mini-summary: Vocal variety and patience transform voice into the main driver of engagement online. How should eye contact and gestures be adapted for virtual settings? Online, eye contact means speaking directly into the camera lens—not at the audience’s faces on screen. It may feel unnatural, but it creates the sense that each participant is being addressed personally. Gestures should be smaller and more deliberate, held slightly longer than in person. This prevents them from looking rushed or chaotic within the tight video frame. Practising these skills, as many YouTubers and online presenters in Japan have learned, makes virtual presence more convincing. Mini-summary: Direct eye contact into the lens and deliberate gestures establish credibility and presence online. What if the presentation is audio-only? Audio-only presentations are even more demanding. With no visual reinforcement, every detail of the voice matters. Rehearse and record to check pacing, clarity, and energy. Pauses are critical, giving listeners space to process content. Don’t rush—even if participants are scrolling ahead in the deck. Success here is not about visuals but about vocal authority, rhythm, and confidence. Mini-summary: In audio-only presentations, clarity, pacing, and vocal strength replace visuals as the key to impact. Better technology hasn’t made online presenting easier. The fundamentals remain the same: rehearse thoroughly, check the technology, and keep control of the medium. Camera placement, posture, and eye contact reinforce authority. Voice takes centre stage, demanding variety, pacing, and patience. Gestures must be deliberate, and audio-only formats demand even more vocal skill. In Japan and globally, audiences judge presenters not by the platform but by their professionalism. Master the basics, and your online presentations will have as much impact as any face-to-face performance.
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    8 mins
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