『The Japan Business Mastery Show』のカバーアート

The Japan Business Mastery Show

The Japan Business Mastery Show

著者： 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 マネジメント・リーダーシップ リーダーシップ 経済学
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  • Dealing With Objections In Japan

    Dealing With Objections In Japan
    2026/10/08
    Hearing "no" triggers something primal in most salespeople — the urge to push back immediately and win the point. As of 2025, with Japanese buyers increasingly comparing vendors across longer, more research-heavy purchase cycles than in the past, that instinct is more costly than ever: a rushed counter to an objection reads as pressure, not persuasion, in a market where relationship trust still outweighs closing speed. Sales training organisations like Dale Carnegie have long taught that the first job when facing an objection isn't to answer it — it's to slow down enough to hear what's actually being said. Why does immediately countering an objection usually backfire? Reacting to "no" on impulse is driven by emotion, not strategy, and it almost always weakens the sale rather than saving it. Hearing a rejection triggers a defensive instinct to justify, argue, or over-explain — but a client who has just voiced a concern isn't ready to be argued with, they're ready to be heard. This pattern shows up across sectors, from retail floor sales to complex B2B enterprise deals: the salesperson who jumps straight to rebuttal skips the step that actually uncovers what's wrong. Comparative research on negotiation across Japan, the US, and Europe consistently finds that pausing before responding correlates with higher deal-recovery rates. Do now: The next time you hear an objection, count to two silently before you speak. What is a "cushion" statement, and why does it change the outcome? A cushion is a neutral, non-committal statement that buys a few seconds to regroup instead of leaping into justification. If a client says "it's too expensive," a cushion response like "it's important to have good budget management" acknowledges the comment without conceding or arguing, keeping the conversation calm on both sides. This differs sharply from the transactional instinct to counter-argue immediately, and it mirrors techniques used in customer service de-escalation training worldwide. The pause created by a cushion isn't wasted time — it's the space that lets a salesperson ask "why" instead of "why not." Do now: Write down one cushion line you can use for your most common objection and rehearse it once today. Why is "it's too expensive" often just a headline, not the real objection? Surface-level objections like price frequently mask a different, unstated concern underneath. Much like retail shoppers who claim they dislike a colour rather than admit they can't afford an item, B2B buyers often deflect toward a safer, more socially acceptable reason. Treating the stated objection as the final answer means a salesperson may spend the rest of the call solving the wrong problem entirely. This gap between the "headline" objection and the real one is a recognised pattern across sales psychology, from consumer retail through to enterprise procurement. Do now: Next time you hear a price objection, resist responding to price at all until you've asked one more question. How do you dig deeper to uncover a client's real objection? Asking "why is that a problem?" and following up with "are there other reasons?" reliably surfaces the objections a client hasn't stated outright. The first question moves past the surface complaint toward the underlying concern — budget authority, internal politics, prior bad experiences, or timing. The second question protects against solving one objection only to be blindsided by a second, unspoken one later in the process. This two-question sequence works across industries and negotiation contexts because it shifts the salesperson from defending to listening. Do now: Add both questions to your next client call script and use them before offering any solution. How can you tell whether an objection is based on fact or misconception? Once the real objection is identified, the next step is determining whether it's grounded in accurate information or a misunderstanding — because the response required is completely different. A misconception, such as an outdated belief about delivery times, calls for a firm, evidence-backed correction. A legitimate concern, such as a genuine quality-related delivery delay, calls for acknowledgement, explanation, and a search for a workaround rather than denial. Confusing the two — arguing with a fact-based concern or apologising for a misconception — is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility mid-negotiation. Do now: Before your next objection-handling conversation, ask yourself: "Is this true, or is this a misunderstanding I can correct?" How should salespeople handle financial objections without discounting? Reframing the product as a solution that improves the client's business, rather than defending the price itself, is usually more effective than negotiating the number down. This shifts the conversation from cost to return, which resonates especially with finance-conscious buyers evaluating ROI over multiple quarters rather than a single upfront figure...
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    8 分
  • Leadership Visionary in Japan

    Leadership Visionary in Japan
    2026/10/01
    Visionary leadership sounds inspiring until you ask the obvious question: whose vision comes first? Plenty of executives coach their teams on goals, culture, and direction while their own lives run on autopilot. That gap is where credibility quietly leaks away. Real visionary leadership starts with a leader who has already done the hard work of designing an intentional life — then applies that same discipline to the organisation. Why must a leader have a personal vision before a corporate one? A leader who hasn't organised their own life can't credibly organise anyone else's. Corporate vision statements are only as strong as the person delivering them. If a CEO's household, health, or finances are chaotic, that disorder tends to surface in how they run meetings, set priorities, and handle pressure. In Japan, where leaders are watched closely for consistency between word and conduct, this gap is especially costly — Japanese teams often read a leader's private discipline as a proxy for professional trustworthiness. In the US and parts of Europe, personal-brand inconsistency is more easily separated from corporate performance, but it still erodes trust over time. Do now: Before writing next quarter's team goals, spend an hour auditing your own — health, finances, relationships, growth. What does it actually mean to live an "intentional life"? Living intentionally means choosing your experiences deliberately instead of drifting through them. It's the discipline of deciding, in advance, what a well-lived year or decade looks like — rather than reacting to whatever lands on the calendar. This idea overlaps with what Western productivity writers call "designing your life" and what some Japanese executives frame through ikigai, the sense of a reason for being that blends purpose with daily action. Multinational leadership programs, including those built around Dale Carnegie's Leadership Training for Results, increasingly pair skills training with this kind of personal-clarity work, because skills without direction rarely stick. Do now: Write one sentence describing the person you intend to be in five years — then check this month's calendar against it. How do you build a personal vision before a corporate one? Treat your own life the way a company treats its brand — with research, imagery, and a clear direction. Corporations invest heavily in defining brand positioning: colours, tone, market placement. Individuals rarely apply that rigor to themselves, yet the exercise translates directly. Picture the home you want to live in — its location, design, colour palette, and surroundings — with the same specificity a brand strategist would bring to a product launch. A vision book, combining images and written statements, turns an abstract idea into something you can review weekly, not just imagine occasionally. Do now: Start a simple vision board this week — even four images and two sentences is enough to begin. Why does personal branding deserve the same rigor as corporate branding? Because the standards you apply to a company's image are the same standards that shape how others perceive you as a leader. This isn't vanity — it's precision. Detail the person you aspire to become: how you show up in relationships, the way you travel, the style you present, even the vehicle you drive. Comparing sectors makes the point clearly: a consumer-facing brand obsesses over every touchpoint, while a B2B firm focuses on trust and consistency. Leaders benefit from borrowing both approaches — visible polish paired with dependable follow-through — regardless of whether they operate in a startup, an SME, or a multinational. Do now: Pick one area — appearance, communication style, or daily routine — and define exactly what "on-brand" looks like for you. How should goals connect back to a personal vision? Goals only matter when they're built around the different roles a person actually plays, not just their job title. Most professionals default to career-only goal-setting, which ignores that they're also a spouse, parent, friend, and community member. Effective goal-setting maps ambitions across finance, health, relationships, and personal development, with each goal traceable back to the larger vision. Vision is the destination; goals are the vehicles that get you there. Milestones, with real timelines, keep the vehicle from stalling — a lesson increasingly emphasised in leadership development post-pandemic, as hybrid work blurred the line between professional and personal roles. Do now: List your key life roles, then write one goal under each that ladders up to your stated vision. How does personal vision-setting make someone a better leader of others? A leader who has already put their own life in order earns the credibility to help others do the same. Zig Ziglar's well-known line — that you can get everything you want in life by helping others get what they want — captures the payoff of this ...
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    9 分
  • Dress Presentation When Presenting In Japan

    Dress Presentation When Presenting In Japan
    2026/09/24
    Every presenter has heard the claim that 55% of an audience's impression comes from appearance — and almost every presenter who repeats it gets the context wrong. As of 2026, with hybrid and in-person conferences competing harder than ever for an audience's attention against the pull of a smartphone screen, what a speaker wears has become part of the message itself, not a footnote to it. Understanding what Professor Albert Mehrabian's UCLA research actually measured — and what it didn't — is the first step to using appearance strategically rather than superstitiously. Does appearance really account for 55% of an audience's impression? The 55% figure is real, but it only applies when a speaker's words and delivery contradict each other — not as a general rule for every presentation. Mehrabian's original UCLA research measured what happens when verbal content and non-verbal signals send mismatched messages; it was never a claim that appearance always outweighs content. Misquoting it as a universal law has become one of the most persistent myths in presentation training, repeated far more often than it's checked. The real lesson is narrower but more useful: incongruence between what you say and how you present it is what causes audiences, already distracted by phones and notifications, to disengage. Do now: Before your next talk, check that your energy and tone actually match your message — that alignment matters more than any wardrobe choice alone. Why does clothing choice matter more for high-energy presenters? High-energy delivery generates visible heat, and clothing that shows sweat undermines exactly the engagement a dynamic speaker is trying to build. A light blue shirt is a common trap: sweat creates a distracting two-tone effect that pulls eyes away from the message. White shirts paired with a jacket avoid this problem while maintaining a professional baseline appearance. This is a practical, physiological consideration as much as a stylistic one — the more physically animated the presentation style, the more clothing choice becomes a variable to actively manage rather than an afterthought. Do now: Test your presentation shirt under real conditions — move, gesture, and check for visible sweat patterns before you're on stage. How should presenters manage fit and colour to avoid distracting the audience? An ill-fitting suit or an overly bright jacket pulls audience focus away from the words being spoken, which defeats the purpose of dressing professionally in the first place. Fit issues — sleeves too long, shoulders too tight — read as inattention to detail, while bright colours compete visually with facial expressions, the primary channel for non-verbal communication during a talk. The goal isn't to disappear, but to ensure clothing supports the message rather than competing with it. This applies whether the setting is a formal Tokyo boardroom or a more casual startup pitch environment. Do now: Have someone photograph you mid-gesture in your presentation outfit and check what draws the eye first. What posture and clothing details trip up presenters on panels? Leg-crossing on a panel can expose hairy legs or bare ankles, an easily avoidable distraction that long socks solve immediately. Panel settings differ from solo presentations because posture is visible and sustained for extended periods, often in close proximity to other panellists and the audience. Small wardrobe choices — sock length, seating position — become more consequential in this format simply because there's more time for an audience's eye to wander. The same principle extends to tie choice: bright, patterned ties can compete for attention with a speaker's face, so muted options work better on camera and on panels alike. Do now: Before your next panel, check your socks and seating posture the way you'd check your slides. Why do small details like tie length and collar gaps undermine credibility? A visible gap between the tie knot and shirt collar, or a tie that peeks out from under the jacket, are minor details that disproportionately signal carelessness. These aren't fashion preferences so much as precision indicators — an audience registers them subconsciously as a lack of attention to detail, which can quietly erode credibility before a word is spoken. Shortening tie length slightly so it stays tucked under the jacket, and tightening the knot to the collar, are small corrections with outsized impact on perceived polish. The same logic applies globally, from Tokyo to New York: audiences notice precision even when they can't articulate why. Do now: Check your tie knot and length in a mirror before every presentation — treat it as part of your pre-talk checklist. How should footwear, accessories, and nametags be handled — and does this apply to women too? Scuffed shoes and mismatched belt-and-shoe colours undermine professionalism just as much as a poorly fitted suit, and nametags should be placed on the ...
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    9 分
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