In another inspiring event held by the AWF, Arlene Blum gave a presentation titled “Climbing Your Own Everests: Leadership, Vision, and Problem Solving” on April 6, at the Thomson Reuters Akasaka office. Arlene, a truly motivating and captivating speaker, started her speech with a story of her freshman year in college. During that first year that she spent in the chemistry lab, she met her mentor, a young female teacher who inspired many female students including her to seek a profession in chemistry. At the same time, Arlene also started pursuing her interests in mountain climbing through trekking trips with friends. She especially enjoyed the climbs because it enabled her incredible concentration, which has also contributed to problem-solving in her present research and work.
With a gentle smile and gracious voice, Arlene shared her leadership experience through stories of her challenges on the world’s most dangerous mountain, the Annapurna, in an expedition of the Great Himalayas covering Bhutan, Nepal and India, and so on. Amongst some of her guiding principles on these mountains, she noted one in particular; that a leader is there to facilitate the success of the team and to provide resources for the project, not necessarily to get to the top her/himself. Another idea she shared was that when it is tough to have people do things for you, it is better to lead by example. You can start doing the task yourself, and the team will naturally follow.
Her vision is to overcome “seemingly impossible challenges” so that she can build confidence to work even harder. When she was tied between the decision of writing her college thesis and climbing a mountain, she did “both,” as many AWF members could imagine. Arlene’s talk continued on to her current job, which she noted as being “harder than climbing the Everest.” Her job includes researching and fighting against harmful chemicals which are used as flame-retardant additives, some of which have been successfully banned, some of which have recently doubled in the number of findings in Asia.
Arlene finished her speech by summarizing her interests in chemistry and mountain-climbing, both of which are extremely difficult and require excellent leadership in collaborations with strong individuals. When asked whether leadership is determined by a person’s nature, she answered that she had learned the leadership guidelines mentioned earlier through facing many difficult situations in mountaineering and in work. She also answered to a question regarding how to avoid harmful chemicals, by recommending to make wise purchases by checking information that researchers like her and consumer organizations provide. Much more information must have been shared among researchers at the conference in Kyoto where Arlene was heading to after the event.
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The following is a report from an attendee of the 2010 symposium arranged by Global Organization for Leadership and Diversity (GOLD). For more details on GOLD, please visit http://www.goldleaders.org/
From the “Leading and Navigating Tsunami Culture” seminar on March 22nd, 2010, we learned that although the spotlight may land on either gender or racial diversity, it can also be about smoothing over differences among generations, means of production, and cultural values. The impact of a program on diversity can range from individual benefits, such as an insurance plan provided to those diagnosed with terminal illness (offered by Prudential), to a nation wide campaign at eliminating malaria in Africa through local production of mosquito nets (manufactured by Sumitomo). Regardless of the focus and impact, the reason why diversity exists and continues to be a priority in the business agenda is because with diversity, a better business choice can be made.
A speaker from Itochu observes that “people with similar experiences tend to make similar mistakes”; however, many diversity programs would testify that holding people with different backgrounds or experiences together would be equally as hard or even harder. Because although the foundation of diversity is people, the road blocks to diversity are also people. For Deloitte, Itochu, and Johnson & Johnson, their challenges for the Women’s Initiative as part of the diversity program do not necessarily lie with the size of the workforce for recruitment or with the complexity of incorporating women into the decision making process; on the contrary, their challenge lies actually in retention.
In Japan, many women withdraw from the workforce for a period or prolonged period of time due to biological and cultural assumptions. Therefore, in order to ensure the successful continuation of the retention program and the development of female talent, Deloitte focuses on professional development for all levels through community, even virtual, networking and the “women as buyer” program. Itochu tracks high performers in their global database to ensure a pool of new resources and initiates a mentor program for female professionals. As for Johnson & Johnson, they believe that it is imperative in turning around the “housewife” versus “career woman” mentality and value shared experiences among women who have female supervisors or subordinates.
However, the Women’s Initiative often takes many years before any effect can be seen and cannot survive by itself alone, especially when economic and business reasons often shift priorities in the corporate agenda. Deloitte, similar to the concept adopted by the Hitachi program, which promotes advancement for low income workers in the U.S., learned that success comes from building a sustainable relationship with others in the community and to make certain contributions. For Deloitte, they find that getting buy-in and leadership from top management is the key and for the initiative to also benefit male professionals is crucial. Currently, their turnover rate for the retention program is 2%, a significant drop from 7% in 1993.
As can be shown by the challenges faced by the Women’s Initiative, it is no surprise that people often shun away from establishing a diversity program. Although it is agreed that the road to implementing a successful and continuous diversity program is long and difficult, it cannot be denied that homogeneity is losing its competitiveness due to the different pools of resources available from increasing labor mobility across professions and regions. However, for Mr. GordonTokumatsu, NBC 4 Los Angeles, even if the variables make diversity seem to create more problems or conflicts, he believes that if given the “dignity,” as in to approach any community or culture with no preconceived notions and to give the respect the other person deserves in their lifestyle, profession, and value, this may be the first step in fostering an environment in which different perspectives can thrive to enable us in making the better choice that we are all striving for.
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AWF’s February 2nd event, featuring guest speaker Takumi Shibata, Deputy President & COO of Nomura, was a huge success – with about 150 people turning out to hear Mr. Shibata speak, it was the biggest event in the history of our organization.
Mr. Shibata, a truly engaging speaker with a comfortable, storytelling, approach, began the evening by alluding to the history of the Nomura building we were in and why it was the perfect venue for an AWF meeting. He then went on to a day-by-day, almost hour-by-hour, description of the weekend in September 2008 during which Nomura acquired Lehman’s Asia unit. While we have all read newspaper stories about the acquisition, Mr. Shibata brought the deal to life with his energetic retelling of the event.
Mr. Shibata also talked about diversity and how important it is for Nomura to continue to level the playing field for all employees. He mentioned that, in particular, as the father of a young daughter, he is driven to make sure that the same doors are open for her as there would be for a young son.
To finish off his talk, Mr. Shibata opened the floor to questions. The first question, about the current climate for bankers and the banking industry, led him into a lengthy analysis of the fact that we are simply living in a tricky time for financial institutions: people are hungry for regulation and regulators are obliged to act on that. However, Nomura differentiates itself from other firms in its style of business and Mr. Shibata feels that Nomura’s more conservative approach to risk has been a key factor in its ability to thrive in this new landscape.
Finally, as a somewhat suitable way to end his talk, Mr. Shibata was asked what he sees as the five strengths of women and how those strengths can be carried over into day-to-day business life. As he answered, there were smiles and nods throughout the room: clearly he had made a connection with many in the room, and the very long line to meet him after the talk confirmed that fact.
We are delighted to announce the publication of a new business book edited by long-time AWF supporter Parissa Haghirian. The details are below.
Innovation and Change in Japanese Management
Edited by Parissa Haghirian (Sophia University) with an introduction by Makoto Abe (Tokyo University)
Palgrave Macmillan (2010) / Hardcover: 240 pages / ISBN-10: 0230216676 / Price: 95 US$
http://us.macmillan.com/innovationandchangeinjapanesemanagement
The Book
The mystic image of Japanese management changed during the recession of the 1990s. Japanese corporations had problems adapting to the restructuring measures. They were economic challenges and were slow in the implementing reforms and expected to develop more shareholder value and become more like their Western counterparts. Western observers and media criticized Japanese corporations and managers for being too consensus and harmony oriented and not being able to deal with crisis or rapid changes. But Japan and Japanese management did change.
In many cases these changes were not as radical or as spectacular as expected. Western suggestions and business models were not completely ignored, but many of them are not applicable in a Japanese context. Japan and Japanese management changed in its own way, in a Japanese Way. Innovation and Change in Japanese Management shows which transformation processes and changes can be observed in Japanese companies in reaction to the economic challenges of the past decade. The book presents new research results and investigates the variety of changes Japanese corporations and managers have experienced in recent years.
The Editor
Parissa Haghirian is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. She obtained her Master’s in Japanese Studies from Vienna University (1998) and was awarded a Master’s Degree (2000) and PhD in International Management (2003) by Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Parissa is also a visiting professor at Groupe HEC in Paris, Helsinki School of Economics, Keio Business School and an adjunct professor at Temple University in Tokyo. Parissa’s research and consulting interests include Japanese management, market entries of Western firms into the Japanese market, and Japanese consumer behavior. www.parissahaghirian.com
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Please find details below on a book publishing internship with the local entrepreneur and publisher Caroline Pover.
Message from Caroline:
I noticed a significant number of enquiries coming my way toward the end of
last year, specifically regarding the possibility of doing a publishing
internship with me. Perhaps the time of year lends itself to new beginnings;
or perhaps employment situations (or lack thereof!) inspired many to test
out a new career or invest time in oneself for the purpose of learning a
whole new range of skills!
Either way ……… I have decided to make one internship spot available for
someone specifically interested in immersing themselves in the world of book
publishing. This is a three- to six-month internship, for three days per
week (Monday to Wednesday), based in the Ebisu area. You will work directly
with me and gain hands-on experience in all areas of book production,
including developing written material, layout and design, storage,
budgeting, marketing, and distribution. You will also work with
illustrators, photographers, editors, proofreaders, designers, translators,
and printers.
This is an opportunity for someone keen to explore a new career, or to catch
up with (or even get ahead of!) others already in this field. Virtually
every intern who has worked with me since my first one in 2002 has gone on
to be hired by a publishing company or been accepted on a publishing-related
program.
No prior experience is necessary but excellent written English skills,
enthusiasm, and a willingness to learn are essential. Men, women, foreign,
and Japanese candidates are welcome to apply.
To apply:
Send your resume and cover letter directly to me at
caroline@carolinepover.com. Your cover letter must include the following:
— why book publishing interests you
— why this particular internship interests you
— what current skills you hope to build on
— what brand new skills you hope to learn
— what your long-term career goals are and how this internship can help
you achieve them
— how you plan to support yourself financially during the internship
(transportation will be reimbursed and there are quite a few perks too!)
You will then receive more details about the internship, along with some
comments from past interns that may be helpful. Interviews will be held on
Sunday 17th January.
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We wanted to bring your attention to interesting events that will be taking place this month as part of the Japan edition of Global Entrepreneur Week.
http://www.entrepreneurshipweek.jp/en/
The GEW: Globally Successful Entrepreneurism on November 20th (held at National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) event is free and by invitation and if you are interested please contact us with your details.
http://www.entrepreneurshipweek.jp/en/news/archives/2009/10/1120-the-global-entrepreneur.html
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In another inspiring event held by the AWF, Arlene Blum gave a presentation titled “Climbing Your Own Everests: Leadership, Vision, and Problem Solving” on April 6, at the Thomson Reuters Akasaka office. Arlene, a truly motivating and captivating speaker, started her speech with a story of her freshman year in college. During that first year that she spent in the chemistry lab, she met her mentor, a young female teacher who inspired many female students including her to seek a profession in chemistry. At the same time, Arlene also started pursuing her interests in mountain climbing through trekking trips with friends. She especially enjoyed the climbs because it enabled her incredible concentration, which has also contributed to problem-solving in her present research and work.
