11: Nikhil Gutpe President of Barilla Japan

The standard dress code is much more formal in Japan than many
other countries, even including other Asian countries. Casual
Friday, for example, is not a thing here in Japan.


I have had to make sure in meetings, as the boss, that I do not
state my opinion first, because then there will just be silence
and no one will be willing to speak up.  While in other
countries, you are free to question the boss, and even say to a
certain extent that I do not agree with this, in Japan, it would
be a disaster.


 


One thing that is excellent about Japan is the network of expats.
You just need to ask the questions. You hear a big noise about
how different Japan is, about how tough it is, but once you get
here, and you ask questions of expats, and you experience things
with an open mind as to why and how they are occurring, you can
pick up simple things and start connecting the dots.


 


You have not come here to be comfortable. You have come here for
the challenge, so throw yourself into it and learn and have fun.
Remember you have come to Japan, Japan is not going to change for
you, so you need to work out how to go with the flow of what
cannot be changed in Japan but influence what you can influence
in the patch of Japan that you are being entrusted with.


 


Nodding and smiling and saying yes does not necessarily mean they
agree with you. You need to ask questions in such a way as to the
answer might be negative, because if the answer can be given in
the affirmative, then they will do so whether or not they
actually are saying yes in the way Westerners understand it.
Japanese have an extraordinary poker face and body language that
is hard to read. So asking questions where the answer might be
negative is vital if you are to find out if they are actually in
agreeance and things will happen, or they are just saying that
they hear what you are saying.


 


I want my employees to make mistakes, because that way you will
learn. If you make the same mistake again, you are foolish. If
you make the same mistake a third time, then please find a new
job. Making mistakes is not frowned upon at all under my
leadership, but the same mistake three times is not acceptable
because it means you have not learned from it, and I cannot have
someone on my team that cannot learn.


 


Silos are also something you need to watch out for in Japan, such
as silos of individual work space, silos of job descriptions,
because they have a drive for perfection and they are very used
to not really knowing what other people are doing. The concept of
helping each other with their jobs is not very common in Japan so
it has been one of the challenges I have faced in Japan in
getting my team to do multiple jobs and help each other with
those tasks.


To drive improvement, I ask the team to point out what went
wrong. They need to develop that awareness of when things are
going well or going poorly, as well as if I tell them what went
wrong, there is a chance they will not accept it and then our
solution implementation is going to negatively impacted.


 


I work hard to build a one on one bond with my employees so trust
is shown and more easily reciprocated. We also have no clocking
in, clocking out machines, no walls, glass everywhere. It is a
very specific and intentional approach towards creating trust.
Trust does not come with telling someone that you trust them.
Trust comes from actions and behavior and how you create the
environment.


 


One thing I tell my team a lot is to keep your ego out of it. It
is not about me being right or you being right or anyone being
right. It is about the best solution for that problem in
alignment with the company strategic priorities.


 


When a solution presented by a staff member shows a lack of
alignment with the company strategic priorities, then I know I
have a bigger problem, which is that they do not understand the
strategic vision and this is a real issue. So I make sure that we
constantly reaffirm the company strategic priorities in our
meetings, our overarching value is “good for you, good for the
company.”


 


It is easy to digress and get distracted in life, in business. So
you need to keep re-focussing on the priorities and a good way to
do that is via constant reaffirmation of the overarching values
and mission.   


 


Businesses in Japan are always facing the dual issue of
delivering 100% at the cost that the consumers want. It’s a
constant battle for all companies. This is one of the `Japan
only` issues. In other countries, 90% delivery is fine.


 


The other part of leadership is the expat`s families. If they are
not comfortable, if they are not enjoying the place, then the
leader will not last long. It takes effort and the right mindset.
It takes learning Japanese, even just a little bit, because extra
effort in understanding Japan`s culture is very much respected
overall by the Japanese.