| << | February 2010 | >> | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | ||||||
- Keechdesign News (29)
- Design Classics (8)
- Opinion (25)
- Creative Report (36)
- In The Know (14)
- Inspiration (18)
- Design Top Five (10)
How To Grow Your Business in Japan
Posted by: David Keech on 29th May 2008 in Creative Report
How To Grow Your Business In Japan was a seminar that I recently attended at JETRO's impressive offices on High Holborn.
I didn't expect to come away with a secret formula to get ten new Japanese clients on board. As you know, we do a significant (and increasing) number of projects with Japanese companies, and like to feel that we know something about how it's done. But not too much about how it's done; modesty is a valuable asset in conducting business with the Japanese.
Scanning the list of participants, I noticed that we were the only design outfit in attendance. Surprising in that this year is UK-Japan 2008 - a year long celebration in Japan of the best of British creativity. If ever there was a time to promote British design in Japan, surely this is it?
Incidentally there doesn't seem to be an English homepage on that website, but when you go to the other pages there is an 'English page' option.
The event was hosted by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation), who are basically the Japanese equivalent of our own UKTI (UK Trade & Investment), and LCCI (London Chamber of Commerce and Industry). That may seem like one acronym to many, but we have profited from getting to know these organisations in our development of Japanese business. And not just on a business level; my friend Shigeyuki Uchiba, former Director of Business Development at JETRO London and now back in Tokyo, taught me (among other things) everything I need to know about Shochu (Japanese alcoholic drink distilled from barley, sweet potato or rice). Not as flippant as it sounds - knowing about Shochu and how to drink it may well come in handy when doing business in Japan.
The introduction was by Miles Dodd, Visiting Professor at Nihon University. Miles spent 25 years living in Japan and is senior adviser to organisations such as Tokyo Inn and the Morimatsu Group, and has published several case studies on Japanese entrepreneurship.
The principal speakers were Jusuke "JJ" Ikegami (Associate Professor, School of Commerce, Waseda University), Rosemarie Hensley (promoting the EC's Executive Training Programme in Japan) and Cameron Mitchell (Operations Manager, Jaguar) who gave a fascinating insight into how Jaguar's presence in Japan was built.
The rather easy sounding title of this seminar is perhaps at odds with the nature of doing business in Japan, as there is seldom a 'quick-fix' route to success. It requires patience and diligence, as the whole thing is founded on trust and respect over a considerable period of time. Not such a bad business concept, if you think about it?
Understanding Japanese society can be daunting to the newcomer, but whilst a working knowledge is useful, it is by no means essential, and as Cameron Mitchell pointed out the Japanese are very forgiving of mistakes by us Westerners and are usually delighted if we show even a passing interest Japanese culture.
During my time in Japan I became deeply involved in kendo (pictured below). One of my former kendo teachers recently advised me to use my 'kendo mind' in the development of my business. Like everything else that I have learnt in kendo, I realise that this is just the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps the tip of Mount Fuji...
Posted by: David Keech on 29th May 2008 in Creative Report
How To Grow Your Business In Japan was a seminar that I recently attended at JETRO's impressive offices on High Holborn.
I didn't expect to come away with a secret formula to get ten new Japanese clients on board. As you know, we do a significant (and increasing) number of projects with Japanese companies, and like to feel that we know something about how it's done. But not too much about how it's done; modesty is a valuable asset in conducting business with the Japanese.
Scanning the list of participants, I noticed that we were the only design outfit in attendance. Surprising in that this year is UK-Japan 2008 - a year long celebration in Japan of the best of British creativity. If ever there was a time to promote British design in Japan, surely this is it?
Incidentally there doesn't seem to be an English homepage on that website, but when you go to the other pages there is an 'English page' option.
The event was hosted by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation), who are basically the Japanese equivalent of our own UKTI (UK Trade & Investment), and LCCI (London Chamber of Commerce and Industry). That may seem like one acronym to many, but we have profited from getting to know these organisations in our development of Japanese business. And not just on a business level; my friend Shigeyuki Uchiba, former Director of Business Development at JETRO London and now back in Tokyo, taught me (among other things) everything I need to know about Shochu (Japanese alcoholic drink distilled from barley, sweet potato or rice). Not as flippant as it sounds - knowing about Shochu and how to drink it may well come in handy when doing business in Japan.
The introduction was by Miles Dodd, Visiting Professor at Nihon University. Miles spent 25 years living in Japan and is senior adviser to organisations such as Tokyo Inn and the Morimatsu Group, and has published several case studies on Japanese entrepreneurship.
The principal speakers were Jusuke "JJ" Ikegami (Associate Professor, School of Commerce, Waseda University), Rosemarie Hensley (promoting the EC's Executive Training Programme in Japan) and Cameron Mitchell (Operations Manager, Jaguar) who gave a fascinating insight into how Jaguar's presence in Japan was built.
The rather easy sounding title of this seminar is perhaps at odds with the nature of doing business in Japan, as there is seldom a 'quick-fix' route to success. It requires patience and diligence, as the whole thing is founded on trust and respect over a considerable period of time. Not such a bad business concept, if you think about it?
Understanding Japanese society can be daunting to the newcomer, but whilst a working knowledge is useful, it is by no means essential, and as Cameron Mitchell pointed out the Japanese are very forgiving of mistakes by us Westerners and are usually delighted if we show even a passing interest Japanese culture.
During my time in Japan I became deeply involved in kendo (pictured below). One of my former kendo teachers recently advised me to use my 'kendo mind' in the development of my business. Like everything else that I have learnt in kendo, I realise that this is just the tip of the iceberg, or perhaps the tip of Mount Fuji...
