13 Aug Future Leaders Seminar: Audio Download
The AJBCC’s energetic Future Leaders Group held their 3rd seminar by video link across Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo thanks to AJBCC member company MinterEllison and with the support of Austrade.
The theme of the meeting was Japan and Australia’s Evolving Relationship: Lessons for Disrupted Times.
With over 60 attendees across the three cities, the seminar featured an in-depth discussion and question-and-answer session with panellists:
Kaoru Nishinakagawa, Co-Founder, Innovation Dojo
Kaoru’s observation of notions of efficiency about working in Japan in a Japanese company and then in Australia in an Australian company:
“….Australians [tend to] focus on important things without focussing on different scenarios – in Japan people prepare for it, in case something happens – we are apt to think of different scenarios in advance which [in fact] might not be utilised later…”
Jason Hayes, Partner, PwC Australia∙
Jason made an observation about the small number of Australian companies established in Japan, despite the level of business between our two countries over a long period of time. He also commented on how to overcome the Australian fondness for “going it alone”:
“…….Don’t go it alone – because you don’t have a track record of being successful. You need to approach it differently. [There are a lot of people with knowledge about Japan]. If you are able to tap into that and leverage the stakeholder community that exists [both in Australia and in Japan] to help you go into a market like Japan then you are going to be all the more successful. Unfortunately, [Australian businesses] have a history of “going it alone”……”
Ayumi Takaku, Business Development Coordinator, Global Japanese Practice, KPMG
Ayumi’s comment about the gap in business culture and the long view [Japanese] and short term [Westerners] thinking:
“….[there is still] a mismatch of understanding of business culture. There is a theory that the westerners are hunters and the Japanese are farmers. It’s very simple – the hunters think about dinner tonight so everything is quick, short term and effective, whereas for the farmer he needs to think and invest a lot of time for the long lasting harvest in the future….”
David H Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer, AJBCC
David’s observation on whether in an era of a faster pace of disruption Japan will have to adjust its “long term business culture” view:
“……The challenge for Japan and also for us [Australians] in interacting with Japan – and for the [AJBCC] Future Leaders is you don’t want to lose the really good things and there is a bunch of really good things that come out of the long view and [equally] the short term 90 day cycle [thinking]….how can we adjust and get both sides? ….or in the business transaction how can you appreciate this is where it is coming from…..”
Your can listen to the full one hour seminar here.
The AJBCC Future Leaders Program is designed to support the development of the “next generation” of Australia-Japan business leaders.