Reading between the lines in the Japanese workplace

While every culture is unique, since we want to work in Japan or do business with the Japanese and hence some experiences are noted here. Several of us have gone through such experiences -hope these could be of use to you:

• Recently I went to ask a client about the feedback of a recently dispatched onsite engineer, the first thing the client congratulated me was on the excellent choice of the engineer and that she has been never late in the past one month. She mixes with the people – very polite with all of them & that the work will start in next few days. (Nothing about the actual /tech abilities)
• On a certain project our PMs were saying that all was good & under control when the client suddenly called me up for a meeting. When I met them, they said that the project is going through rough situation and might get closed unless I make some major changes. They were not getting reports (in the way they wanted) and on time.

These and many such situations baffle us and hence getting to know as to when things are good & when things are bad is extremely difficult in Japan. Hence reading between lines becomes very much important & could give you an edge.

1. No news is not good news.

In many firms in Japan, every day there is a meeting of what things are planned for the day (morning) & to check the accomplished tasks (eve). So managers always need information on a daily basis. While your weekly reports might fulfill contractual obligation of a project but the line manager appreciates some inputs on a daily basis.

When things look good and client is not giving any feedback at all, then there are chances that there are serious issues somewhere. The Japanese (if they still trust the person /firm) will try to raise issues, point out mistakes, ask for changes from time to time in subtle ways. If nothing is being raised, then either they have decided to let you go OR they see no value to mend the situation. Japanese like to hear the bad news first. So being practical /pragmatic and updating the client about situation will help you earn their trust.

2. Everybody is watching and knows everything

In the initial few days, while nobody says anything, everybody is observing you – as to when you arrive at the workplace (reach atleast 10 min early then the start time), what you do (do not do personal tasks in the office), when do you leave (leave atleast 30 min late), how you maintain your deskspace (keep it clean), how you respond to greetings by other people (greet back people when they greet you), how you work in teams (help or give info in case you know something) and so on. And believe me, everybody knows everything.

3. Language helps but not the only thing

There are many foreigners who without the knowledge of Japanese language have jelled well in Japan while excellent bilinguals have been asked to leave workplace. Offcourse language helps you to position better and understand the culture & the subtleties but “How sharp is your antennae to gauge the situation at the workplace” is what really matters. If they are using sentences such as “we could have done better” or “we need to work hard” or “we need to further improve productivity” it is safe to assume that here the “we” could be “you”.

4. Persistence or continuously honing yourself is the key

Too much brilliance is not required. Sudden ups and downs or instant solutions rather are a NO-NO. Whereas continuity & persistence is rewarded. You are supposed to find your own solution despite the fact that everybody already might know it. Here you are checked for persistence, approaches you have taken or the reason behind it, how you analyzed the problem and so on.

5. Do not jump in a discussion without understanding. Speak Last.

The meetings or discussions could start with something & end with the complete opposite. Deliberately the initial argument is set to something that eventually everybody will oppose or find flaws with & hence do not throw weight behind the initial argument. Watch everybody and their line of thoughts and keep your say to minimum or neutral if not sure. Offcourse do not shy away from adding your points without pushing it to either good or bad.

6. When asked for silver give silver – nobody asked for gold

In an eagerness to please the client, we end up giving some ideas that we can do this /that & when the client actually asks for it, the delivery team is unable to deliver it. Giving some other freebies to cover up for the lack of quality delivery also doesn’t work as you will be at a weaker position to negotiate.

So while the above might sound mysterious or difficult it is something that is quite applicable in any parts of the world but followed religiously in Japan. While again these are just few tips and your client could be different or your experience could be different, I sincerely hope that this gives you some extra edge.

For any exchange on views on above or IT services / Product localization (for Asian / Japanese / Indian markets) /Consulting queries, please contact us at 03-6261-3309 or email at salesfidel@fideltech.com

Ref. No- FTB08201105