When we came up with the idea that ultimately became “Executive Summary” our intention was to use the monthly feature as a kind of MBA-level, sound-byte machine, delivering choice morsels of executive experience, insight and corporate wisdom, with a dash of irreverence. In this case, Japan’s business culture of tight-lipped conservatism made the questions embedded in the Executive Summary format more challenging for some than we had expected. Speaking candidly about one’s personal faults and offering insight into the most intimate aspects of one’s executive management strategy can be a rather grueling exercise in delicate candor for many accustomed to the Japanese method of subtlety-first business communication.
Nevertheless, it is the very discomfort and tension that these questions sometimes engender that typifies the challenges of international and cross-cultural business communication we will all need to excel at as the planet shrinks due to easier modes of travel and the increasing commonality of tele-presence business transactions. It is our hope that these personal messages from some of the most dynamic executives and entrepreneurs in Japan and America have given you as much insight and excitement as they have given the Journal team. The following are some of the more interesting quotes from the 2010 series of Executive Summary appearances. Enjoy!
David Taylor
Author of “The Naked Leader”
Illustrations by Adam Fitzcharles
“All of my decisions are made more on the basis of emotion first, and then I stack up the logic to support that first decision. In this 100 percent decision by emotion, I am exactly the same as everyone else in the world. Everyone makes every decision on the basis of one or two emotional factors–will it move them away from pain or closer to pleasure.”
Joi Ito
CEO, Creative Commons/Venture Capitalist
“I try not to involve emotion in my decision-making and I believe very little of my decisions are based on emotion. However, logic is also not enough. I always allow a healthy dose of intuition in my decision-making.”
Nobuhiko Hidaka
President, Gartner Japan
“I try to base my decisions on logic 100 percent of the time. Sometimes, however, I need to make strategic decisions based on my intuition because I have learned that there is rarely an absolute ‘right,’ or ‘wrong’ answer in business.”
Jon Yongfook Cockle
Director, Glamour Sales/Software Developer
“I tweet quite relentlessly so my life is quite open on both personal and professional levels. My advice: Be as transparent as possible, but keep an ace up your sleeve once in a while. People like to be surprised now and again.”
Wally Amos
Founder of Famous Amos Cookies
“I’m at a point in my life where I know what I ‘don’t know,’ which is humbling. I know that I don’t always know the answers, so that keeps me open to receiving answers from everywhere.”
Shervin Pishevar
Founder of Social Gaming Network
“I thrive on mistakes. When you are living on the razor’s edge of innovation you have to have a thick skin. The key is how fast you iterate, adjust and pivot, and how far out your tentacles are sensing the signal noise of market and consumer trends. The greatest lesson I’ve learned is about people and timing.”
Steve Rubel Senior
Vice President, Edelman Digital
“I try to base the majority [of my decisions] on logic, pulling in multiple opinions from people who think differently than I do, especially my teammates. It’s something I picked up from studying President Obama.”
Heather Russell
CEO, Rinkya.com
“Whenever anyone gets something wrong, we all sit down and talk about the what, when, why and how regarding how to prevent that mistake from happening again. Admitting one is wrong not only plays into the notion of teamwork, but also reinforces the overall cohesiveness of the team.”
