REVIVAL 5: Kervin Go, CEO Of Curvature Japan

Please listen to our most accessed episode of Japan's Top
Business Interviews!


 


Leading A Small Team In Japan - Kervin Go: Episode #5 Japan's Top
Business Interviews


 


Kervin Go CEO Of Curvature Japan


 


Because it is easy to let your inner pride at being a leader
override the humility that is necessary as a leader, it is
important to meet with other people to remind you to be humble.


 


Managing people in Japan is like having an extended family, you
have lots of different children and go through their various
growing pains.


 


 


Communication is the most important thing for a leader. I always
leave my door open even when I am working on something and do not
want to be disturbed, because most Japanese who have never worked
for a foreign company think that a closed door means they cannot
speak to you.  When you are communicating, it is important
to remember that you are connecting with a person. Remember we
are all the same at the end of the day, we all eat dinner and get
on trains, no matter what our titles are.


 


Work-life balance is a better phrase to lead by since work-hard,
play-hard is getting old. Personal success is affected by things
outside of work and a leader needs to consider how they can make
their employee`s welfare better since all employees have friends
and family that are important to them.


 360-degree performance evaluations are not very popular nor
common in Japan. It is often just seen as more work that people
have to do. The scores are always low in Japan.


 


Culture cannot be forced on people. I think the company comes
first, the employee comes second and the client comes third; and
these are basically the decision points we try to use.  We
have open plan seating, lunch is eaten together, and we try to do
sporting events that encourage people to engage without talking
about work.


 


New blood is always good because it creates new ideas, different
perspectives and more engagement.


 


We do not have walls in our offices. People often just shout out
ideas and we have a conservation about that. We try and innovate
that way.


 


Some big leaders in Japanese business would make good
politicians. They always know the right words to say but it does
not always translate into action. I don`t want to be like that.
When I say something, I want to execute it. I would rather cut
out the middleman and make sure things go ahead.


 


Trust and rapport have to be side-by-side. You have to listen to
what people are complaining about, what they are trying to do and
why they are trying to do it. That`s how you build trust. That is
why sport events are very good, you build relationships through
your mutual goals and learn to communicate and trust each other.
Two-way traffic for communication is the key to building trust,
once you have it, it is rock-solid.


 


When learning English or Japanese, do not worry about learning
difficult words, use simple words but how you present them is
more important. Written communication is useful when
communicating with Japanese people but give them 1 – 2 days for
it to sink in.


 


No one person can have all the answers so make sure you pick the
brains of many people around you. The best way to grow is to have
the good traits of others rub off on you, so don`t just hang out
with other executives, it is too limiting.