Welcome to our GLOWW Program:
Aligning Japanese teams with International Standards
to remain at the Top in ever-changing Global Market
GLOWW: GLObal Ways of Working
Our Global Ways of Working program in Japan:
Facilitate Behavioral & Process Shift
from Rules-based
to Flexible Problem-solving Approach
Introducing GLOWW (Global Ways of Working)—a transformative program (EN/JP) designed to align your Japanese workforce with international work practices. We focus on fostering a flexible mindset, autonomy, problem-solving abilities, and assertiveness—key attributes that drive success in today’s global business landscape.
The Challenges we address:
1. Japanese Work Culture Hinders Global Competitiveness
Japanese companies operating worldwide report a 30% lower success rate in international markets compared to their Western counterparts.
Japan’s business culture, characterized by a slow pace of change, limited transparency, perfectionism and risk aversion, that hinder its competitiveness on the global stage. These ingrained habits demand excessive resources and time, limiting agility.
2. Rules solved 80% of your problems. What about the complex remaining 20%?
A rules-based approach will handle 80% of your routine daily issues. But what about the remaining 20%? These are the complex problems that rules can’t solve. They demand a proactive problem-solving approach. This 20% is where you’ll find opportunities to create real value for your customers and drive innovation. Don’t overlook them – they’re just as critical and urgent as the 80%.
3. Western Leaders Face Hurdles in Asia
Western managers often struggle with local regulations and cultural norms, making effective leadership difficult. The standard 4-year assignment period limits their ability to implement lasting changes, jeopardizing business goals and relationship with Headquarters. Conversely, global HQ often imposes rigid programs, exacerbating the situation and undermining collaboration.
4. Both sides resistance is not addressed efficiently
Beyond language proficiency, cultural barriers in Japan lead to resistance against foreign management, causing misalignment and lack of accountability.
Top managers often remain unaware of these business dynamics and lack the expertise to proactively address these challenges, further intensifying the negative effects of resistance. Despite high investment in training, Japanese companies fail to improve behaviors on a daily basis leading to disengagement and poor performance standards that ultimately hampers strategy execution
The GLOWW Program (EN/JP): Four Steps to Success
Step 1: Assess Your Progress (0,25 Day)
As a manager, you’ve faced challenges with your local Japanese team and tried various approaches with limited success. We start by assessing your current situation. You will receive personalized feedback on your current approach limitation, to be completed by team insights using our proven methodology. This helps us tailor our approach to your unique strengths and areas for improvement.
Step 2: Trigger the Change Mindset (0,5 day)
We build awareness of the benefits of a problem-solving mindset, ensuring everyone is on board: Why change? Which risks if we don’t? Do I want to change? Do I have the skills to perform and behave differently?
Our external perspective brings fresh insights and cross-cultural experience, helping your team see challenges differently and value proactive problem-solving.
Step 3: Learn Problem-solving techniques (1 day)
In this step, we introduce key problem-solving techniques, breaking each technique into its component steps and explaining how each step contributes to solving problems effectively. We provide a Japanese-language support with a native coach.
Step 4: Share a Roadmap (0,25 day)
Finally, we work with you to build a roadmap for sustaining these new processes and behaviors. This includes setting clear milestones, establishing accountability, and providing ongoing support to ensure long-term success.
Why Choosing our Global Ways of Working Program?
The other way around
Unlike most HR solutions focusing on teaching Foreigners about Japan, our approach equips Japanese staff with an international mindset and attitudes to excel in a global market.
Immediate Results
Our steps are designed to deliver immediate, tangible results that you can see and feel, far away from the traditional training methods.
Practice in a Safe Space
Our methodology is designed to address resistances and foster new behaviors though dedicated mechanisms (safe space): We provide a Japanese-language support with a native coach.
Leverage Our Experience
Benefit from our 20+ years in change management, leadership and business psychology. Our global team offers insights across industries and continents to drive results.
