37: Lorenzo Scrimizzi, Representative Director, Carpigiani Japan

Originally an engineer from Bologna, Italy, Lorenzo Scrimizzi
arrived in Japan 26 years ago, and has been working for
Carpigiani Japan for the last 19 years. He currently serves as
the Representative Director. Previously, Mr. Scrimizzi worked in
industries including consumer goods, automotive and trade, which
has led him to gain a wealth of experience and knowledge.


 


According to Mr. Scrimizzi, hiring the right people and retaining
them, as well as engaging and gaining trust from staff, customers
and headquarter are all challenging aspects of leading in Japan.
Mr. Scrimizzi tries to recruit people with a sense of
individuality and creativity instead of focusing too much on
language capability. In doing so, he has created a team that is
capable of adjusting to the Italian work culture which sometimes
values individuality and initiative over structure and
organization.


 


Over the years Mr. Scrimizzi has worked to gain trust and
encourage innovation from his staff by listening to them through
smaller meetings, allowing some margin for mistakes, and being
consistent with his words and actions. Moreover, Mr. Scrimizzi
has found that having face to face meetings between his Japanese
customers and headquarters has also helped increase a “certain
level of awareness and sensitivity on both sides.” These efforts
have benefited his organization as Mr. Scrimizzi claims, “the
level of detail, the level of attention, and that level of a need
that Japanese customers have, probably has no matches in any
other country in the world. So, if you're able to satisfy that,
then what you gain is that you already have something which is
ready and very reliable and good to be marketed in any other
country in the world. “


 


Mr. Scrimizzi advises to any foreigner looking to lead in Japan
to learn the Japanese language and use body language to
communicate. Despite living in Japan for 26 years, Mr. Scrimizzi
is also open to new experiences. He explains: “I'm always curious
to learn…we still have to be prepared to be surprised and to
learn that there are other aspects of the Japanese business
culture that we have not understood yet.”