[:en]Character versus Context: Understanding People’s Behavior[:ja]性格と背景事情:人の行動を理解[:]

[:en] I was recently coaching a small sales team and their manager. The energy level of the team was low in comparison with other teams I coach at the same company. Participation was reserved, few people asked questions, and no one volunteered for role plays. If this had been my only experience with this team, I might have concluded that these people are not suited for sales–that they have the wrong character for the job. However, I know this team. This session was the third in a series of five taking place over a few months, and I have worked with the same people in other projects for my client. […]

[:en]Qualities of Star Employees[:ja]優れた社員の素質とは[:]

[:en]Last week I was in Naples, Florida on business. Naples is a wonderful coastal city with great beaches and and even better restaurants. I had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant called Café Lurcat. The Hamachi sashimi avocado salad and the maguro tatami with sesame were exquisite, and the service was even more impressive. We had a waiter named John, who not only attentive and charming, but also extremely knowledgeable about all the wine of the wine list to the degree of an elite sommelier, and how each of the dishes are prepared in the kitchen, where fresh fish is sourced, how the saves are made, and more. He was […]

[:en]JAL First Class[:ja]JALファーストクラス[:]

[:en]I was flying JAL International First Class from LAX to Tokyo after a successful and productive trip to the United States. I was pretty tired not having gotten much sleep during my trip. About an hour into  the flight, I went to sleep before even having the first meal. I slept continuously until being awakened by a flight attendant one hour before landing. I asked if I could eat before landing. The flight attendant served one item after another, as if she were trying to give me as much as possible from the meals I had missed while sleeping. She was concerned that she had not lived up to my expectations and […]

[:en]Taking responsibility for your own accountability[:ja]自分との約束に責任を持つ事[:]

[:en]As a consultant, I coach managers and executives regularly. We all need coaches because like the best athletes in the world, coaches push us to go beyond our current capabilities and do better. They help us confront challenges and fears and overcome them so we can improve. I hold my coaching clients accountable. When a client agrees to do something before we meet next, I expect him to follow through or otherwise seek help. Recently, a coaching client of mine committed to a change in the way he was managing staff. At our next meeting when I asked  how it went, he told me he didn’t do it. When I […]

[:en]We Can’t Always Prepare for a Tsunami[:ja]常に津波に対する準備をしておくことは無理 [:]

[:en]was recently told a story about the Japan operation of the Swedish clothing retailer H&M. After the March 11 earthquake, acting CEO Hans Anderson contacted headquarters in Sweden to ask instructions on what to do. There was no plan or policy for the eventuality of a major earthquake with a tsunami and nuclear accident, and so he was told, “Use the company values as a guide and do what you think best.” And so he did. The company’s values including caring for employees and protecting the safety its staff and customers first and foremost. Hans Anderson decided to move operations from Tokyo to Osaka, and offered to pay for relocation […]

[:en]Goals versus Means[:ja]ゴールと方法との違いを見極める[:]

[:en]You know, the other day I was driving with my wife and son in the car taking us to a gymnastics practice for my son. My wife thought I took a wrong turn and told me. I was certain I had not, and insisted we were going the right way. My wife said no, it was definitely the other way. Now this argument over the best way to go went on for a while until we realized that we each had a different destination in mind. We each thought the gym practice was in a different place. As it turned out, I was wrong and my wife was right as […]

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