Yesterday I had a chance to work with a Japanese company called Plan Do See. This company operates hotels and restaurants, as well as providing consulting services for service-industry related organizations. I was very impressed by the participants in our seminar. There were 14 people: 7 Japanese and 7 non-Japanese (from China, Senegal, Korea, and the USA). It was my first time to work with this client. The oldest member was probably in his early 30's.
The positive, assertive behavior of the participants reflect the corporate culture of Plan Do See, I imagine. In many ways, this reminded me of the corporate culture of our new parent company, Link and Motivation. Both companies seem to hire young, forward-thinking, assertive people. In that sense, they are very different from many of the people who work for more traditional Japanese firms.
Does this signal a shift in Japanese business style? For sure, these types of organizations, like Link and Motivation or Plan Do See, have been remarkably successful and have grown rapidly during their brief histories (PDS is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, L&M was founded in 2000). However, it might be that they have been successful because they are targeting niche markets. Moreover, both are headed by a talented, charismatic leader who is very top-down in the way he runs his organization. This style may not translate well to larger organizations, particularly traditional Japanese firms.
In any case, it will be interesting to watch the progress of companies like PDS and L&M. Without a doubt, Japan needs more businesspeople who have both the language skills and the global mindset to compete in today's global, diverse business environment.
Robert
The positive, assertive behavior of the participants reflect the corporate culture of Plan Do See, I imagine. In many ways, this reminded me of the corporate culture of our new parent company, Link and Motivation. Both companies seem to hire young, forward-thinking, assertive people. In that sense, they are very different from many of the people who work for more traditional Japanese firms.
Does this signal a shift in Japanese business style? For sure, these types of organizations, like Link and Motivation or Plan Do See, have been remarkably successful and have grown rapidly during their brief histories (PDS is celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, L&M was founded in 2000). However, it might be that they have been successful because they are targeting niche markets. Moreover, both are headed by a talented, charismatic leader who is very top-down in the way he runs his organization. This style may not translate well to larger organizations, particularly traditional Japanese firms.
In any case, it will be interesting to watch the progress of companies like PDS and L&M. Without a doubt, Japan needs more businesspeople who have both the language skills and the global mindset to compete in today's global, diverse business environment.
Robert
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