Leading a Project in Japan

Dear Rami Kaibni , back to the topic of "Leading a Project in Japan". 

First, apologies for the delayed response regarding your personal website sharing. I have just had a chance to read through it, and I truly appreciate you sharing your thoughts. However, I did like to gently offer some feedback, as I feel a few of the statements may be a bit too generalized. For example:

"They were always efficient."

To provide some additional context, Japan’s productivity has ranked the lowest among G7 nations for 50 consecutive years. You might find this article insightful:
Japan's Productivity Ranks Lowest Among G7 Nations for 50 Straight Years.

Another example of overgeneralization is the statement "They do not argue." From my own experience in Japan, I have observed that while people generally try to maintain harmony, this does not mean arguments never occur. People may avoid open confrontation, but disagreement and debate do still happen, and I have witnessed arguments and conflicts myself on occasion.

Also, regarding the article title "Japanese Approach to Project Management", I noticed that much of the content focuses on general project management principles, such as teamwork, openness and honesty, efficiency, attitude, precision and accuracy, organizational charts, humility, and a sense of ownership. Aren't these more general approaches that apply to any project management, regardless of culture or country?

Specific approaches that originated in Japan, such as Kaizen, Lean, and other methodologies, are more representative of a distinct "Japanese approach." I just wanted to offer this perspective, as I believe it’s important to distinguish between general best practices that apply universally and those that are uniquely influenced by a particular culture.

While I truly value your personal experience, I think it’s important to remember that personal experiences can differ from broader realities, and they should not be overgeneralized. Just because someone has worked with a Japanese company doesn’t necessarily mean he/she fully understand the broader work culture in Japan.

Professional Project Manager should always rely on facts and data to guide decisions, avoiding overgeneralizations. By grounding the approach in evidence and specific insights, project manager can address challenges effectively, provide clear direction, and maintain credibility with stakeholders and the team.

Just observations & thoughts I wanted to share. Nothing personal.
I hope this serves as constructive feedback, and that we can continue the discussion while remaining professional and focusing on facts, if needed.

Dear Aaron Porter , thank you for sharing your experience. It’s always insightful to hear how different cultures approach projects. Your point about balancing thorough documentation with progress really resonates. While too much focus on perfection can slow things down, a lack of clarity early on can lead to confusion and wasted effort later. Striking that balance is definitely a challenge, and it’s important to approach these observations without overgeneralizing, as every situation and team is unique.

I also really appreciate your perspective on commitments and handling delays. In project management, it’s so important not to take setbacks too personally and to stay professional. Focusing on solutions instead of assigning blame helps create trust and keeps the team motivated.

Your ability to bridge cultural differences and guide your team through these challenges is inspiring. It’s a reminder of how much we can learn from each other’s approaches and experiences.

My experience stems from being in charge of the IBM business in EMEA for 12 years with a Japanese MNC. This allowed me to meet many Japanese managers and executives in Europe, and I also went to Japan two or three times for a week or so. My business started with SAP rollouts across Europe, selling and delivering outsourcing contracts, implementing IBM SW Services, and more.

I could write a book. Some remarkable moments were when the global CIO told our American colleagues to' be patient' (he spoke Japanese otherwise), when our Japanese colleagues taught us root cause analysis (dig deeper, why-why-why) after a datacenter failure when we pivoted a proposal pitch overnight with a shared team of Japanese and Europeans and the Japanese were surprised how we Europeans yelled at each other when arguing over options (diversity in problem-solving). When I asked about ownership of an application, the reply was: everybody.

I experienced the importance of trust, hard work, pride, and diversity. And yes, they have the best food. I am thankful for this part of my life.

Thomas Walenta Wow, your experience sounds absolutely fascinating! I can really see how much your time managing IBM's business in EMEA and working closely with Japanese teams shaped your perspective. The way you describe the cultural nuances, like how the Japanese approach problem-solving with patience and deeper analysis, really resonates with the principles behind the Ishikawa diagram (also known as the fishbone diagram), developed by Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s to help identify the root causes of issues in manufacturing and quality control. The approach of digging deeper with 'why-why-why' to uncover the true causes of problems, rather than just treating the symptoms, feels like something that really aligns with your experiences. I can imagine how powerful that method must have been, especially when you had to pivot proposals overnight or work through challenging moments like the datacenter failure.

With your experienced in Japan, I’m sure you could write an incredible book with all the insights and stories from those years!