Episode #62: Middle Management Madness

Why doesn’t the 70/20/10 model work well in Japanese companies (日本企業 = Japanese companies)?

The 70/20/10 model assumes:

• 70% learning from work

• 20% from coaching by seniors

• 10% from formal training

In Japan, both the “20%” (sempai coaching) and the “10%” (training) are weak. Middle Managers grew up in an old system, with outdated mindsets, and very little modern leadership development. So the model looks good on paper, but fails in practice.

Mini-summary: The 70/20/10 model breaks in Japan because the coaching and training parts are not strong enough to support real behavior change.

• After WWII, ex-military officers became corporate leaders. Their style: top-down, command-and-control, “tough love”.

• In the 1960s–70s, success was built on long hours and sacrifice, backed by lifetime employment. Questioning the boss was not welcome.

• In the 1990s, the “lost generation” of thirty-somethings missed out on training when budgets were cut. They were promoted by age and seniority, not by modern leadership skills.

• Today, many senior leaders in their 50s have not been exposed to new management ideas for 20+ years. The gap between them and millennials is huge.

Mini-summary: Old habits, missed training, and seniority-based promotion created generations of Middle Managers who were never systematically developed.

OJT in Japan is driven by sempai (seniors). But:

• Sempai teach what they were taught, even if it is outdated.

• The style is still influenced by pre-1945 military-style coaching: “watch, copy, don’t question”.

• There is still no strong local equivalent to major Western business schools to refresh Middle Manager capability.

So the 20% “learning from others” in 70/20/10 becomes recycling of old behavior, not learning new, global-standard skills.

Mini-summary: OJT in Japan often passes down old habits, not up-to-date leadership, sales, or communication skills.

Many training programs in Japanese companies (日本企業 = Japanese companies) and multinationals in Japan (外資系企業 = foreign / multinational companies) still:

• Focus on lectures: the trainer talks, participants listen.

• Explain “What” and “How”, but not “Why” change matters.

• Fail to use “distributed intelligence” — the collective experience of the group.

• Do not link learning to daily behavior change at the desk, with customers, or in meetings.

After the seminar, people go back to the office and work exactly the same way. No new habits, no new performance.

Mini-summary: Training that is lecture-heavy and not tied to behavior change will not shift performance for Middle Managers.

To make 70/20/10 work in Japan, companies in Tokyo (東京 = Tokyo) need to:

1. Rebuild the “20%” coaching base

   • Educate sempai and senior leaders with modern leadership training (リーダーシップ研修 = leadership training).

   • Teach them how to coach, give feedback, and develop people, not just give orders.

2. Transform the “10%” formal training

   • Move from lecture-style to interactive workshops.

   • Design programs that drive behavior change in real work situations:

     • Sales training (営業研修 = sales training) that changes how calls and meetings are run.

     • Presentation training (プレゼンテーション研修 = presentation training) that changes how leaders persuade and influence.

     • Executive coaching (エグゼクティブ・コーチング = executive coaching) that supports personal transformation.

     • DEI training (DEI研修 = DEI training) that shifts mindsets and daily actions.

3. Focus on Middle Managers as the “change engine”

   • Middle Managers translate strategy into action.

   • They must create engagement, innovation, and commitment in their teams.

   • Without them, Boardroom decisions stay on slides and never reach the front line.

Dale Carnegie Training, with over 100 years globally and 60+ years in Tokyo, helps 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies) build Middle Managers who inspire trust, communicate clearly, and drive performance.

Mini-summary: Re-educating sempai, upgrading training design, and empowering Middle Managers turns outdated 70/20/10 into a powerful engine for change in Japan.

• The classic 70/20/10 model fails in Japan when the “20” (sempai coaching) and “10” (training) are weak or outdated.

• Japan’s management history created underdeveloped Middle Managers who have not been refreshed with modern leadership skills.

• Traditional OJT and lecture-based training do not produce behavior change or higher engagement.

• To compete, 日本企業 (Japanese companies) and 外資系企業 (multinational companies) in 東京 (Tokyo) must invest in modern, behavior-focused leadership, sales, and presentation development for Middle Managers.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.