Thought Leadership

Value-Based Selling in Japan — Why Hiding the “Ugly Number” Never Works

Short-term, maybe. Long-term, never. Bernie Madoff sustained fraud for years, but the collapse destroyed lives...

Love Your B Players — A Pragmatic Talent Strategy for SMB Leaders in Japan

A-Player hiring works when you have big-tech budgets. Smaller firms in Tokyo and across Japan don’t. Overpayin...

Leadership in Japan — Age, Hierarchy, and the Importance of Succession Planning

Japan is deeply hierarchical. Older male participants often resist being trained or sold to by younger staff —...

Selling in Japan During the Pandemic — Building Credibility and Winning Online Clients

COVID-19 and its variants disrupted in-person sales. Lockdowns, fear, and remote work made client visits rare....

Customer Service Lessons from Tokyo Barbers — Culture, Continuity, and Differentiation

In Japan, customer service sets the global benchmark. Yet even here, failures can destroy long-term loyalty. F...

Employee Engagement in Japan — How Leaders Balance Shareholders, Customers, and Staff

Shareholders want rising stock prices and dividends. Customers want consistent quality and service. Employees ...

Rethinking Sales Materials in Japan — How to Turn Tools into Revenue Drivers

Salespeople often receive flyers, catalogues, slide decks, proposals, and invoices from marketing, but these t...

Creating Urgency in Japanese Sales — How to Win Deals When Buyers Hesitate

You get the appointment, ask smart questions, uncover needs — and still walk away empty-handed. The problem is...

Virtual Sales in Japan — How to Win Clients Online vs. In-Person

COVID exposed weaknesses that were hidden in face-to-face sales. Many Japanese buyers no longer spend every da...

How to Handle “That Sounds Pricey” — Turning Buyer Pushback into Sales Success

In Japan, many salespeople panic when they hear this pushback. Some argue, some discount, and some try aggress...

Selling from the Stage — How to Integrate Value and Pitch Without Losing the Audience

At trade shows or online webinars, the usual pattern is: deliver product features, then pitch at the end. The ...

Appealing to Human Instincts in Sales — A Framework for Japanese and Global Teams

Traditional sales focuses on uncovering stated and unstated needs. But clients are not purely rational — they ...

Team Selling in Japan — How Sales Masterminds Boost Client Results

In Japan, salespeople are rarely paid on 100% commission. Most receive a base salary plus bonuses, which reduc...

Style vs. Substance in Business Presentations — Why Leaders Must Master the Two-Sword (Nitoryu) Approach

In large meetings, technical experts often rely on dense content while overlooking delivery. When confronted b...

Storytelling in Business Presentations — How to Overcome Information Overload

Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon predicted in 1971 that “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” ...

Authenticity vs. Imposter Syndrome — How Leaders Can Project Confidence in Presentations

Authenticity is the easiest state to maintain. Pretending or maintaining a fiction takes energy and increases ...

Why Leaders Fail on Video — and How to Avoid Communication Disasters

One global leader recently released a video asking for major financial support — and failed spectacularly. Poo...

First Impressions in Presentations — How to Win Audiences in 3 Seconds

A polished speaker can still miss the mark if the content isn’t relevant. One executive recently gave a talk o...

Cancel Culture and Public Speaking — How Executives Can Respond

Presenters today face more than distraction and cynicism — they also face cancel culture. A story, example, or...

How to Succeed in Virtual Breakout Rooms

Since 2020, breakout rooms have become a regular feature of virtual meetings and training. Yet many participan...