64: Kenji Govaers, Director, Bain & Company

Kenji Govaers originally grew up in France but has been going
back and forth between France and Japan due to his half French
and half Japanese background. Mr. Govaers started his career in
the 80s bubble economy in Japan as a sales engineer. Afterwards,
he moved back to France and went into consulting working for Mars
& Co. Mr. Govaers enjoyed the inquisitive and client-based
nature of consulting that opened him up to new opportunities and
growth. Mr. Govaers then helped open an office in San Francisco
where he was inspired by the diversity of people and ideas which
were different from his experiences in Europe and Japan. In the
late 90s, Mr. Govaers helped open an office for Mars in Tokyo.
Mr. Govaers then moved to Bain & Company where he has been
for the last 12 years and is currently the Partner and Director
of the Tokyo office.


 


On recruiting new graduates, Mr. Goavers says in addition to
considering candidates from the top schools, he also looks at the
types of specialties they have studied. For example, at Bain,
they will likely consider someone with a strong engineering
background. Mr. Goavers also looks for people who have a high
sense of lateral thinking, which can be seen in interviews.
According to Mr. Govaers, the industry is one of the popular
choices among university graduates in Japan. Mr. Goavers thinks
that young people are attracted to the project-based structure of
consulting that is different from a routine job. Mr. Govaers
notes they are drawn to the network of other ambitious and
intelligent people they will be working with who will enrich
their work experience. 


 


Mr. Govaers highlights the importance of building an engaging
culture especially being in the business of consulting. He says:
“the purpose of the business in many ways is to change the
industry of a client [and] help you grow as a person.” When
placing his staff in different projects, Mr. Govaers explains
they consider whether the person will be a good fit or not and
have the right level of expertise. He also adds they consider
these assignments as a development opportunity for the
individuals themselves. Mr. Govaers explains that one of the
benefits of working in a consulting firm is that “you never stop
learning” and you “learn not from a textbook…but from watching
what others do…you learn by being put into situations where you
have to learn from the experience.” At Bain they also provide
training classes on client-facing communication skills where
participants learn the basics of consultative selling such as
active listening. Mr. Govaers points out that by developing
better client communication skills, one can start to recognize
certain patterns in the problems the clients are facing from
their conversations.


 


On gaining trust and retaining talented people , Mr. Govaers
notes: “At the end of the day, it’s about commitments. If you
commit to the mission and if you behave like you are fully
committed, then people will trust you…and that commitment is
practically just being very spot on [with] the messaging and
consistent over the years.” Moreover, he explains the mission
should not just be about the client or product but something on a
larger scale that people will feel extremely excited to be a part
of, such as creating a new IP practice. Secondly, Mr. Govaers
recommends leaders to define their business principles. He
explains: “What do you value between freedom and
accountability?...Between alignment and independence? [Having]
these kinds of fundamental business principles, you have to be
clear about [them]. You have to be mindful of the different
layers of communication that's happening in your Japanese
organization.”


 


On his advice to foreign leaders coming to Japan, Mr. Govaers
advises to stay focused on one’s particular mission to bring
change in Japan, as it is easy to get comfortable and think one
knows everything about Japan. He explains that for many Japanese
employees and leaders working in foreign companies, they make the
choice because they are looking for something different from a
typical Japanese business culture. Thus, Mr. Goavers explains,
the leaders should communicate a strong mission that sets them
apart from their Japanese competitors. Finally, Mr. Govaers
advises foreign leaders to talk to people who have been in
similar situations and ask for their insights.