Leading High Performing Remote Teams
How can leaders ensure that performance remains high in remote or hybrid-work environments?
Content Marketing
In this course, you’ll learn how compelling blogs, videos, podcasts, and other media can reach customers and drive sales. You’ll also learn steps for creating an effective content marketing plan, and some important ways to measure its impact and success.
Content marketing is a essential digital marketing strategy for companies looking to provide relevant and useful information to support your community and attract new customers.
Get started on your content marketing journey today.
Sustainable Innovation in Times of Disruption: Choices for a Better Society
There are opportunities for progress all around us. The key is to innovate on these opportunities sustainably.
To help identify most effective path forward, you'll need to gain a global perspective to these challenges in an open discussion. How can Japan and the world take action to create a more sustainable, innovative world? Where do you fit in?
It's time to find out.
Social Media & Digital Communications: Impact on Global Public Opinion
Social and digital media have dominated the communications industry for decades. But it's no secret that social media has the power to sway public opinion, and the way in which many companies use these platforms could be seen as manipulative.
What do companies need to be aware of when utilizing social and digital media? How can these mediums be used to better communicate strategically with the world?
Discover what top media and communications experts have to say.
CAGE Distance Framework
Want to expand overseas? The CAGE distance framework can help ensure you're constructing a solid global strategy in four areas: cultural, administrative, economic, and geographic. Learn how to leverage useful differences between countries, identify potential obstacles, and achieve global business success.
Servant Leadership
There's more to leadership than driving a team to profit. In fact, there's a word for looking beyond self-interest to prioritize individual growth: servant leadership. Try this course for a quick breakdown of what that is, how it works, and how it can lead to organizational success.
Strategy: Creating Value Inside Your Company
Have you ever wondered why certain companies are more successful than others? The answer is strategy: internal processes that control costs, allocate resources, and create value. This course from GLOBIS Unlimited can give you the tools you need for that strategic edge.
Strategy: Understanding the External Environment
To plan strategy on any level, you need to understand your company's external environment. In fact, your level of understanding can impact hiring, budgeting, marketing, or nearly any other part of the business world. Want to learn how to do all that? This course from GLOBIS Unlimited is the perfect first step!
Using Japanese Values to Thrive in Global Business
Japanese companies have unique cultural, communication, and operational challenges. But they also have values that have led to remarkable longevity. Check out this seminar to hear how these values help earn trust from overseas head offices and develop employees.
Marketing: Reaching Your Target
Every company works hard to get its products into the hands of customers. Are you doing everything you can to compete? In this course, you’ll find a winning formula to turn a product idea into real sales. Follow along through the fundamentals of the marketing mix and see how companies successfully bring products to market.
Basic Accounting: Financial Analysis
Want to compare your performance vs. a competitor? Or evaluate a potential vendor? Then you'll need to conduct a financial analysis. This course will teach you how to use three financial statements and evaluate financial performance in terms of profitability, efficiency, soundness, growth, and overall strength.
Career Anchors
What drives you to be good at your job?
Career anchors are based on your values, desires, motivations, and abilities. They are the immovable parts of your professional self-image that guide you throughout your career journey.
Try this short GLOBIS Unlimited course to identify which of the eight career anchors is yours!
Leadership with Passion through Kokorozashi
The key ingredient to success? Passion.
Finding your kokorozashi will unify your passions and skills to create positive change in society. This GLOBIS Unlimited course will help you develop the values and lifelong goals you need to become a strong, passion-driven leader.
I got off the plane at the Beijing Airport, withdrew some yuan, and caught a taxi to downtown Beijing. As I stared out the window at the familiar view, I realized nothing seemed particularly new anymore. The weather was warm and the window was open. Hot air flooded in, making me sweat. I turned my attention to solving some Go problems and, with classical music playing on my iPod, wondered how many times I’d made this trip before.
Downtown Beijing was dusty, perhaps because of the yellow sand. I arrived at the hotel and quickly checked in.
I’d come to speak at the Asian Technology Roundtable Exhibition (ATRE), an event organized by my friend, Alex Vieux. It was the sixth time I had participated in one of his events. The first was the European Technology Roundtable Exhibition (ETRE), the European version of this event, in 2001 in Seville, Spain. I’d also attended the 2004 event in Cannes and its ATRE counterpart in Seoul in 2002 and in Shanghai in 2004. I was at the 2004 retreat held in Seattle, along with Bill Gates.
Since my first ETRE, I have always attended as a speaker, though on earlier occasions, I was a panelist in a break-out session. This time, I was invited to deliver a keynote address. The preferential treatment may have been due to my appearance on the front cover of Forbes Asia. Whatever the reason, I was a little nervous, but welcomed the chance to speak before such a large audience.
My speech was scheduled to start at five o’clock on the day I arrived. I checked in to my hotel at three and had two hours until my turn. The woman at the front desk said rather curtly that the ATRE organizer wanted to speak with me and asked if I could wait. The standard of service in Beijing is not yet very high. After a while, the ATRE staff person appeared and apologetically explained that, while my speech was scheduled for five, somehow the program said it would begin at 12:30. At twelve, of course, I hadn’t shown up, so they planned for me to go on at five, as scheduled.
This explanation just didn’t seem to make much sense.
The schedule I had with me clearly noted that my speech would be at five. Evidently, there had been a last minute change that no one had told me about. There was no point in getting stressed, though, so I went to my room, took a shower, changed into my suit, and headed for the venue.
About a hundred people had gathered—startup company managers in the technology industry and venture capitalists—most of them Chinese. As usual, the meeting was behind schedule. It was highly unusual for things to run on schedule at events that Alex organized. That said, he’s very charming and always asks witty questions, and so his reputation remains intact.
When it was my turn, Alex, already on stage, called my name. I confidently strode up to join him. I wasn’t on the schedule anymore, and I had the feeling that there were fewer participants than planned. Alex and I firmly shook hands, and after a hug, I sat down on the sofa. Alex is a Caribbean-born Frenchman. Hugging and backslapping were customary whenever we meet.
The discussion began.
“Why is there such little venture capital in Japan?”
“Why have there been no global venture companies in Japan since Sony?”
“Why is M&A among Japanese electronics manufacturers not gathering momentum?”
“Why do the Japanese have such a hard time with English?”
Despite his bewildering barrage of questions, I did what I could to respond, half resigned.
“Why is reform in Japan so slow?”
“Why is GLOBIS running a business school and managing venture capital?”
“What are you really hoping for?”
Looking directly at Alex as I did my best to respond, I found myself kind of enjoying the discussion. I was smiling in spite of myself. My English seemed pretty solid, and I also felt my body language was coming across. I suppose this was the result of having participated in this kind of event over and over, or maybe of reading the Financial Times everyday with a dictionary in my hand.
When he asked about my ambitions, I told him that there are three things I want to accomplish.
First, I want to create the No. 1 business school in Asia. North America has Harvard, Stanford, and others, while Europe has INSEAD. Today, however, there is no top-level business school in Asia. I assured him that GLOBIS would occupy this position within the next 10 years and told him to remember my prediction.
Second, I want to establish the No. 1 venture capital firm in Asia. Silicon Valley is home to famous venture capital companies like Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital. Yet, there are no internationally recognized companies in Asia today. We want to create the next Honda or Sony and raise many companies to be recognized around the world. We also want our investors to receive four- to five-fold returns on their original investments. We want to prove to the world what can be achieved by Japanese venture capital.
Finally, and most importantly, as the father of five children, I want to raise my children successfully. (This got a good laugh.)
With that, we wrapped up the discussion.
A relatively large number of Japanese panelists were attending this ATRE event, and they seemed to be the best speakers. eAccess chairman Mr. Senmoto’s speech was particularly impressive. Also speaking at the event were the Vice President of ACCESS, Mr. Kamata, and CFO Kobayashi of Softbrain. Mr. Sekiguchi from the editorial board of the Nikkei Shimbun was actively involved as a moderator, and Mr. Izuka, the president of Digital Forest, gave a 12-minute presentation to the assembled venture capitalists.
I have recently been struck by the vitality of Japanese venture enterprises. Their comments seemed to be both broader and more impactful. Next year’s event will apparently be held in Japan. This will be good opportunity to have the world witness the strength of Japan’s venture enterprises. Also next year, Japan will host the President’s University (a semi-annual international conference) sponsored by the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization and Young Presidents’ Organization. The WEF (World Economic Forum) will hold its Asia-based meeting this June, as well.
Whatever the relative impact of the Japanese economic upturn, the eyes of the world are being drawn back to Japan. I intend to use as many opportunities as I can to raise awareness of GLOBIS and Japan.