3. Luke Verwey CEO Nielsen Japan

Luke Verwey


 


While every country has its nuances, it is about finding the
calibration point between the goals of the multinational company
you work for and what resonates / can be adapted to the local
market and workforce.  Its about leveraging global strengths
while respecting the local culture.


Language is obviously a big challenge when it comes to
communication. So even if I conduct a town hall meeting with
representatives from every area of my business, and they appear
to be listening and nodding does not mean that people are
receiving the message in the way I intend it to be delivered. You
have to communicate over and over, but also find platforms that
allow for conversations with differing levels of the
organization.


I have to be cognizant that I am not a millennial and I do not
think the way the core of my organization thinks so bottom up
approaches are vital to engagement and innovation.


In Japan, the `why` is extremely important. In some of the other
Asian markets, you can get away with just saying that something
needs to be done, but in Japan, the `why` in detail, of the
matter is very necessary.


While in Japan, hierarchy is respected, decision making is very
collective, so it is a tricky thing to manage. You have to try
and balance the different needs and different objectives of speed
vs the in-depth consultation to really drive engagement in your
organization.


Broad sweeping statements like Japanese don`t like change are not
helpful. Most people in most countries don`t like change. Its
about how you communicate that change without actually talking
about change. Japan loves innovation, so talk less about change
and more about the positive impacts of innovation.


We talk about what people do and how they do it. We want a high
performing culture but not via driving bad behavior and
individual agendas. Continuous two-way dialogue is necessary, it
allows us to drive impact down the organization but also allows
the employees to drive their voices up.


Listening is vital. Feedback in Japan is given indirectly and
subtly so you have to be very clued-into the high contextual
element of what is being said, because you are unlikely to get
more than two chances to pick up on it before the person stops
saying what needs to be said. And as an international leader, you
need to hear what is being said.


There is no single Japanese playbook. Take the time to really
understand people, that is much more useful than talking about
doing things the `Japanese` way.


Take every opportunity to learn. Get out on the weekends into the
country so you see new things and learn new things. Try to
understand what the local topics are and what people think about
them. It helps you correlate more data points about the market,
the country and where your organization fits.