A Most Elegant Way to Help Japan: An Appeal and an Opportunity

It has been over one month since the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck Northern Japan 

The need for aid is inspiring communities around the globe to come together to raise funds and send relief.

My dear old friend Naoko Dalla Valle proprietor of  (Dalla Valle Vineyards) and a native of Kobe, Japan and Hiro Sone owner of restaurants Terra and Ame and a native of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan are both from the areas hit hard by earthquakes. 

They  have invited other Napa Valley chefs and vintners to join in raising funds for the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.  It will be a dinner and auction at the Napa Valley Reserve on May 11, 2011.  

Naoko, Hiro, The Napa Valley Reserve, Meadowood Napa Valley, Harlan Estate  and BOND have generously agreed to underwrite the event taking place on May 11, 2011, at The Napa Valley Reserve which will feature a dinner and auction.   

Auction lots will include a magnum of 1997 Screaming Eagle, a double magnum of Harlan Estate 2007, a double magnum of Maya 1992 and BOND St. Eden 2005 double magnum plus a special trip to Japan.  The serving wines include Harlan 2006, BOND Mulberry 2001, Maya 1994 and 2006 and Aubert Chardonnay and more.  The Meadowood Napa Valley is kindly extending a 25% discount off their published rack rate for guests of the event.

I  hope you will join them (and me if I can arrange my calendar) for a meal prepared collaboratively by Chefs Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani of Terra and Ame Restaurants, Chef Richard Reddington of REDD, Chef Ken Tominaga of Go Fish and Hana, and Chef Christopher Kostow of The Restaurant at Meadowood. Wines for the evening have been donated by Dalla Valle Vineyards, BOND, Harlan Estate, Aubert and The Napa Valley Reserve. Fritz Hatton and Ursula Hermacinski will preside over the auction, which will feature a small collection of very special items.

All of the funds raised by this event will be donated to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund 

through the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

Please contact JapanRelief@DallaValleVineyards.com or call (707) 944-2676 ext. 11 to be placed on the guest list. Dinner is limited to 100 guests. One thousand dollars per person.

The value of the dinner is $250 per person. 100% of the money raised will be donated to the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund. 

Naoko is an absolutely amazing human being. Those who are collaborating with her are equally also very special people. This is a rare chance to sit down with some of the top names in American winemaking and California cuisine, sample their incredible creative talents, and know that all the money is going to a great cause.

Recently I started blogging, it doesn't come easily for me - I really have to force myself to make things happen.

Recently in Tokyo business has been totally dead - for me and for most others. We really have to force ourselves to make things happen.


This morning the phone suddenly starting ringing again.


I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. " - Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Try it and you will see. Make the effort. Make your own luck!

Are you Truly "Professional"? What does that even mean?

EVERYONE in my firm (retained executive search  and  Odgers Berndtson) must think of themselves as a professional. 

Everyone - all the way from the most junior assistant all the way to the top - is regarded as a professional and everyone is expected to think and act like a professional. There is no room for those with a “salaryman” attitude (in the negative connotation of lacking initiative, originality, and self-motivation). 

PAC, the 3 keys to success: Passion*, Attitude, Communication

Nell Minow of the Corporate Library (a research firm for oversight on corporations and executive compensation)amplifies this to "Passionate Curiousity", an infectious sense of fascination with which some people approach life. 

See the NYT article Distilling the Wisdom of C.E.O.'s (sic)

What it takes to become a professional (consultant or anything  else)

1.      Personal Accountability (attitude)

        Embrace full personal accountability for understanding the basics and essence of our own

        business

2.       Personal Responsibility (attitude)

        Embrace full personal responsibility for understanding the basics and essence of our 

        client’s businesses

3.     Think big (passion)

      In any business in any situation, a person with aspirations to move to the next step must begin thinking and acting like (s)he is already in that position. This is particularly true in our firm – those people who demonstrate their capabilities, who grasp the opportunity, who willingly shoulder more responsibility, and who offer solutions rather than just an easy response without thought or initiative – or even worse, excuses - will be the rising stars and will naturally move up the ladder when (s)he consistently demonstrates through performance that (s)he is already beginning to work at the next level.

4.    Pay attention to the details (communication)

      The old saying “retail is detail” also applies to delivering any business solution. Thoughtful, intelligent attention to detail all the way from preparing for a new business development presentation, preparing a proposal with a process strategy and targets, doing research to get started, and throughout the engagement, preparing and presenting interim reports not only to clients but also internally to the team, thoughtfully crafting an approach letter or verbal presentation, interviewing, writing up  confidential reports, coaching and advising the client both pre and post interview, preparing an offer, through to the final closing and referencing. 

5.  Delight the client (passion) 

     We should not be happy with clients that are merely satisfied. Every single member of the team must have the same attitude and passion for excellence, the same determination to make the experience not only successful but delightful for the client as well as for the candidate.

6.  All Situations.

     These tenets can and should be applied to anything and everything we do. 

     Business or family. Social or private.  

     Take the example of good friend Mike Rogers. He recently wrote in his popular blog Marketing Japan: " Creating and Doing World Class Work Takes Planning". There are three things I always like to keep in mind whenever I am doing any project. These are things that I find I must force myself to do as they are not easy to achieve." 

       See a concrete example of how his focus on professionalism plus those three things resulted in a must-see and powerful documentary video on the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami: "Ishinomaki - Black Water"

     How does your company foster professionalism - or whatever term you prefer for these values - in your company? 

Some of My Favorite Quotes

 “Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”　William Faulkner

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. " - Henry Ford

“

It is not failure to fall short of all you might dream. The failure is to fall short of dreaming all that you might realize.” Dee Hock (founding CEO of Visa)

"There is no future in any job. The future lies in the man who holds the job." -- George Crane

Time to lighten up (literally)

Consider two critical data points:


1. We are now officially well into a weekend (TGIF was already yesterday)


2. Fukushima 1 has officially been  "upgraded" to INES Level 7 http://bit.ly/ejneeO (the same level as Chernobyl)


Instead of worrying I say kick back, relax, have a bit of fun, enjoy life.


Here is a way to get into the spirit of things. Glow-in-the-Dark Cocktails. 


No these are not really Plutonium Punch or Fukushima Fizz - but they kinda look that way.




Recipes for eight (count'em) glow-in-the-dark recipes can be found right here http://bit.ly/ecWgRc 




Relax the body, recharge the brain cells, and early next week we'll get back to business with some more serious topics.


Kampai.

Call me Soft: Personal visit to Tsunami Central

I thought I was a tough old fart. Been in the military during the Vietnam War. Have been an independent businessman for much of my life. Am I getting soft? Or am I (we) so used to viewing the world through a video screen, through the lens of the "embedded" journalist's camera, that it doesn't really seem real, doesn't really impact us any more?


This weekend Timo Budow, Ken Nishikawa, Mike Rogers http://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.com/,  Michio Hashimoto, and I drove a 2-ton truck + a carload of school supplies, children’s shoes/boots, and other necessities to Sunnet Nagomi, a distribution center and handicapped home in Ishinomaki http://bit.ly/eU0Vhj. Two of the crew (Ken and Mike) were also interviewing and filming a video which will be published by the end of this week. 

Timo was the organizer - this was already his fourth ! trip since 3-11.  For the rest of us it was our first visit. 

Our new friends at Sunnet Nagomi

It was a far more powerful experience than I could have imagined. Since early Sunday morning I’ve been trying start writing this piece but find the impressions so intense it has been more difficult than I thought possible. Walking around on the spot and seeing, smelling, touching is totally different than seeing the same images on television or in a magazine. One lasting impression is that there were so few people a ground zero. I couldn't help wondering if most were safe at refugee centers, or if they weren't with us anymore. 


This morning during our weekly staff meeting at the officeI showed the photos to my team. Nearly 48 hours after being there I thought I was able to have a bit of emotional distance. Funny though, the images struck me even harder. Still trying to sort those feelings out. 

I'd like to share some of what we saw with you:

On the way North through Fukushima

The lines for fuel weren't as bad as expected in the morning. But on the way home many stations were sold out.

Used to be a car. used to be a house.

Looking through the remains of someone's home.

We've all seen this on TV but it is somehow different "in person".

The bow of this boat is rammed through the second story concrete wall.

This was once in someone's kitchen.

Totally washed-out former Pachinko Parlor.

The Self Defense Forces were everywhere - even running a makeshift public bath.

This one haunts me. Where is the child who used to hug this Teddy bear at night?

These personal items get the imagination working.

Another haunting image. A child's string of a thousand paper cranes.

Boats were everywhere - except in the water.

This house is tipped over sideways.

The crew: Timo, Ken, Mike, Roger, Hashimoto-san.

 Over the next week or two I hope to write a few pieces recognizing specific business people who have stepped up to the plate during and after the crisis. Nominations (self or others) are welcome.


I know many of you are already contributing and volunteering. Doing a lot. Please continue to do everything you can. Thank you.


 http://www.google.com/intl/en/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html  

Leadership. Recognizing those who have it. And those who don’t.

This past weekend was in many ways a highly positive and even healing two days for me.

Friday I was honored to assist in a small way two wonderful people – Paul Guilfoile, Managing Director at Modo Group Japan, and Chuck Olson, President of Goldspan Japan (fruit importer) http://bit.ly/hgifGD . Paul and Ted Skillman have been driving trucks up to Tohoku with relief goods, and Chuck arranged a full pallet of fresh fruit (paid for out of his own pocket).

Although still a bit chilly, the weather was clear and sunny, and the cherry blossoms were blooming. Saturday afternoon and evening I followed my own advice from a previous blog http://bit.ly/e5w1eA  “to go out and have a good time with … friends and families, prime the economic pump by spending on food and drink…” We enjoyed the Sakura along the river in Nakameguro and we certainly primed the pump. Many of the street pub staff were wearing “Ganbare Nihon/Pray for Japan” T shirts and buttons. I bought the button.

Sunday evening found us in a Shibuya club venue where George Williams, and Taro Furukawa along with InterFM hosted a charity concert for the benefit of the people who have suffered during the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami crisis http://bit.ly/gdGKNN . George and Taro collected donations for the Japan Red Cross, and others collected separate donations for a truckload of badly-needed goods mainly for the kids in Ishinomaki. Timo Budow will be driving the truck up this Weekend.

These are but a few of the many wonderful people taking leadership and initiative to contribute in whatever way they can and support the unfortunate victims of the 3-11 disasters. They are not the ones who disappeared when the earth shook. They – and many others like them who did not turn tail and run when there was a crisis deserve to be in the leadership function as they fully realize their actions affect not only their own families, but also the families of all their employees.

Most of the best leaders – Japanese and non-Japanese – across a broad range of industry sectors are in Japan right now, rebuilding where necessary, and repositioning as appropriate to maximize the benefit to their customers, their employees, and to their businesses. Some left the country to take their families, particularly children, to places they could feel comfortable. But they ensured their employees were given the same opportunity to care for their families. They immediately came back to Japan to lead from the front. Good for them!

Last week I had dinner with the Japan head of a major global corporation that has top Japan market share in a very expensive (JPY10 million++) and highly sophisticated medical instrument. After the disaster demand from hospitals all around the country skyrocketed. He immediately implemented an emergency policy to provide the instruments and the materials required to operate them free of charge for the “duration”. No strings attached.

He is a westerner, has been living in Japan several decades, and instinctively knew that emergency rooms MUST have this equipment available without the usual red tape and without concern over when/how to pay. As a businessman and strategist he also knew that now matter whatever the short-term negative financial impact would be, those hospitals, their doctors, and their patients will never forget that they got what they needed, when they needed it, with no questions asked. It was the classic “social contract” at its best.

Did this man show strength, leadership, courage, compassion? Did he redouble the respect from his Japanese colleagues both in the company and in customers? Of course he did.

At the same time did he multiply the respect and standing of his company and their brand in the community? And create an opportunity for his company to prosper even more once the pain and suffering has subsided? I think so.

Last week I also had lunch with another senior European businessman – a banker - who has been here a long time. Not only did he NOT flee the country, he has been highly vocal in expressing his displeasure to the many journalists approaching him. Vocal about how many of those same journalists have been over-sensationalizing the situation in Tokyo, vocal about how his embassy literally relocated from Tokyo to Osaka, and vocal about how many of his countrymen immediately retreated from Japan leaving their colleagues behind. Some of them are trickling back, others may not return.

These and many, many others, each in their own way, have consistently demonstrated what they are made of, and what real leadership is about. No panic, no drama, no fanfare, no whining, no showboating. Just quietly and effectively getting the job done under extraordinary conditions.

Forget about the rest, these are the people I want by my side when the going gets tough.

Celebrating life on the Tokyo home-front

Exactly three weeks ago today (Friday, April 1, 2011) one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history struck off the northeastern coast of Japan near Miyagi prefecture.

Lou Kaplan, an old friend and San Diego based former client, has travelled and done business extensively in Japan. Lou has been very concerned about the over hyped alarmist media and broadcast reporting in the US. Yesterday he wrote to me and said that, “It would be nice for you to write a blog about what life is really like; how it is returning to normal and what 'work-arounds' people are doing to be safe. Your insights might help to cool people's fears.”

Okay, Lou. You asked for it, you got it!

We are finding, in Tokyo, that after the first week of shock - followed by a week of assessment - that companies and individuals are now taking the initiative to move forward again – both for rebuilding and for building anew. The beginning of this week there seemed to be a feeling almost akin to Spring in the air. Admittedly some of this feeling has to do with the fact that we’re on the cusp of hanami (cherry blossom viewing) http://bit.ly/f7gnSG season; and  some of it because we realize that we must get back to the business of life, and of business itself, sooner rather than later.

Tokyo Cherry Blossoms this morning

For those of us living outside the regions directly hit by the massive quake and tsunami the world looks almost totally normal - at least on the surface. Okay... Tokyo isn’t as glaringly lit up at night now like it usually is. Tokyo Tower remains darkened; major train stations and other public spaces have turned off half the lights; most street lights are turned off; many of the display cases in supermarkets and convenience stores are not lit; and most retail stores are closing early. Initially it felt a bit gloomy, but now it feels natural, and certainly appropriate as power consumption had to be reduced. 

I have a feeling that when we can use as much electricity as we like that having all that neon lit up (like we used to) will feel garish and wasteful.

The initial reports of food and gasoline shortages were, for the most part, overblown. Yes, it’s still hard to find certain dairy products (plain yogurt for example), but supermarkets are generally well-stocked. The long lines at filling stations and the 20 liter limits are very rare. 

I’ve been out for dinner and drinks with clients several times this week and the restaurants had pretty much everything in good supply, except one kind of seafood that came from the Fukushima area.

Which brings us to the nuclear reactor issue. Of course it is a disaster, and probably has some danger for the workers on site, and possibly a small risk for those who live nearby. As far as Tokyo goes there has been absolutely no significant radiation impact whatsoever. It is important to realize that the radiation exposure limits in Japan are set far below that of any other country in the world, so exceeding those limits in virtually every case has meant that we in Tokyo are exposed to an amount equal to or less than the natural background radiation in places like Vienna, Rome, Wales, Denver or possibly even the basement of your own house (Radon gas http://bit.ly/ezmZem . 

The biggest impact for us in Tokyo (other than electricity limitations) probably has been psychological. To put it very kindly, TEPCO and the government have not done a very good job in presenting timely, consistent, and confidence-building communications to the public.

One thing a close friend is pointing out to people is the really BIG story that is not getting told – in one of the largest earthquakes in the recorded history of mankind, most of the buildings in Tohoku, and ALL the buildings in Tokyo, remained standing, and have continued to hold up despite a inordinate number of M5+ aftershocks http://www.japanquakemap.com/today. (The tsunami, not the quake directly, is what wiped towns and villages off the map.)

Tokyo remains a safe, clean big city. Kids walk back and forth to school every day, housewives go shopping, people commute on the trains and subways. What we do need to do more of is to celebrate life, to rejoice in the fact we are alive and well, to go out and have a good time with our friends and families, prime the economic pump by spending on food and drink and shopping.  Of course we need to make sure we contribute in all the ways we can to the tens of thousands whose homes and lives have been devastated. 

If you could be so kind to open your hearts and help out those who have been displaced and need shelter and supplies in this critical time, I would thank you. See here: http://bit.ly/gZXJBw

Cheers! 

Calm voice of reason

Since the 3/11 Japan triumvirate of crises there has been a veritable blizzard of conflicting opinion - particularly on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant situation.

One of the clearest and most consistent voices of reason has been Mike (in Tokyo) Rogers.

Read his blogs here: http://modernmarketingjapan.blogspot.com/

Western expatriate executives in Japan - rats deserting sinking ships?

During the past week since the 3/11 Japanese triple-witching disasters there has been a lot of talk and a certain amount of controversy over how expatriate heads of Western corporate subsidiaries are personally responding to the situation.

Quite a bit of “news” coverage has reported the large-scale retreat of subsidiary presidents and country managers out of Japan - supposedly leaving their Japanese teams to fend for themselves. As with much reporting there probably is a kernel of truth in there somewhere but more often than not it has been blown out of proportion wither by the journalist or more often the editorial head to give it more punch.

Alarmist announcements by the French Embassy were harmful and misleading, followed later by the US and British embassies offering government chartered aircraft to “evacuate” any citizens of their respective countries to other “safe-haven” countries did not do anything to help the image of the foreign corporation and their executives.

I am not a journalist nor am I an editor. I run the Japan office of a global consulting firm specialized in helping corporations build their top leadership teams. Over the past several days I have had telephone discussions directly with the Japan and regional leaders of several globally-known companies. As these were privileged off the record discussions I will not mention names.

One of the top multinational enterprise software companies, had been receiving criticism that 2 of the top 3 expat leaders were not in Japan. What was not reported is that the Japan CEO and his executive team immediately announced to all Japanese (and other) employees that they were not required to come to the office and could work remotely. Next the Japan CEO convinced corporate HQ to fully fund relocation of up to 100% of Japanese employees AND THEIR ENTIRE FAMILIES to other cities in Japan, specifically Osaka and Fukuoka where the company has significant offices - on a voluntary basis of course. Already they have secured around 250 hotel rooms and other living facilities in Osaka and are working on a similar amount in the Fukuoka area. Journalistic reports neglected to mention that the reason some of the expat execs were not in Japan was that they were already attending a global meeting offshore when the earthquake hit and it was decided they could be equally effective anywhere in the world - also not reported was the fact that several Japanese executives were also on overseas business trips and they were treated in exactly the same manner - recommended they stay offshore until the situation stabilized. As of yesterday afternoon the relocation of Japanese employees to Osaka and Fukuoka was well underway. The expat execs will be back in Japan in a few days - one of them in Tokyo, the other in Osaka.

A global communications consultancy Japan President moved quickly to announce to all it’s employees that no one was required to report to the office and in fact were encouraged to work remotely from home or other location of their own choice.

The European President in Japan of one of the best-known consumer brands had along conversation with me Monday - he had called to ask my opinion and learn what other executives were doing. at the end of our discussion he decided to move his family to the Kansai area (Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto) and he would stay in Tokyo. He personally felt that the top corporate executive leaving for a safe haven is analogous to the Captain abandoning his ship and crew in a violent storm.

In my own firm we had the entire team in the office half a day on Monday and decided to close the physical office for the rest of the week, encouraging staff to be with their families wherever in Japan they might be, and work remotely via email and mobile communications.

The true test of leaders often comes in times of crisis and extreme stress. This is one of those times. How is YOUR company and it's leadership responding to the situation?