How To Use Speaking To Promote Your Personal Brand
We live in a publisher's world. If you want speaking gigs that grow your brand in Japan, stop waiting to be discovered and start creating searchable proof of expertise.

Q: Where do I start with speaking if I'm not a writer?
A: List ten buyer problems you hear repeatedly. Record short answers if writing is hard; transcribe later. Clarity beats polish.
Mini-summary: Begin with your clients' questions and answer them clearly.

Q: What is a flagship article and why create one?
A: Stitch related posts into one substantial piece and submit it to industry or Chamber magazines. Edits are normal; publication adds authority and a link you can use in pitches.
Mini-summary: One published piece creates credibility and search visibility.

Q: How do I repurpose my content without feeling repetitive?
A: Break the flagship back into single-issue blogs. Post on your site, email it and schedule to social. Add a speaking call-to-action with outcomes, not slogans.
Mini-summary: One idea → many assets → steady visibility.

Q: How do I pitch to event organisers?
A: Send the published article, three talk titles with promised outcomes and links to short clips. Offer Japan-relevant examples. Ask about content gaps, not just open slots.
Mini-summary: Lead with proof and relevance, not a long bio.

Q: Should I use podcasts?
A: Yes. Guest on niche shows first; later, start your own if you can sustain a rhythm. Afterward, post clips, quotes and show notes on your site.
Mini-summary: Podcasts expand reach and feed your content engine.

Q: Do I need fancy video gear?
A: No. Phone, tripod, clip-on mic, one metre away. Hook, one idea, one example, one action. Add captions and repurpose the transcript.
Mini-summary: Simple setups beat silence; publish fast and often.

Bottom line: Think like a publisher. Publish, repurpose and pitch. The more quality touchpoints under your name, the easier it is for organisers and buyers to find you.

About the Author
Dr Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is a veteran Japan CEO and trainer, author of multiple best-sellers and host of the Japan Business Mastery series. He leads leadership and presentation programmes at Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo.

Really Understand Your Expectations Of Your Sales Team
We hire people, expect instant results, then churn the headcount when numbers lag. In Japan's tight market, that revolving door is costly. Here's how to realign expectations with reality.

Q: Are you hiring farmers when you need hunters?
A: Farmers maintain; hunters create. In Japan, farmers are more common. Ask candidates where their current clients came from. Leads, handoffs and orphan accounts signal farming; proactive prospecting and conversions signal hunting. Neither is "better"—mismatch is expensive.
Mini-summary: Hire for the outcome; verify hunting in the interview.

Q: How fast should new reps ramp?
A: Replace hope with evidence. Build a ramp curve based on your last 5–10 years of records. Track monthly revenue for the first four quarters, drop the best/worst outliers, average the rest and set quarter-by-quarter goals and coaching.
Mini-summary: Use your data to set realistic ramp benchmarks.

Q: Do your incentives drive the right behaviour?
A: If maintenance and net-new pay the same, you'll get farming. In risk-averse Japan, high base salaries dull prospecting. Shift the mix to a sensible base, fair commission and a kicker for first-time wins—simple, transparent, predictable.
Mini-summary: Pay for hunting if you want hunting.

Q: How do you set targets that motivate?
A: Stretch, don't snap confidence. Break the annual number into weekly leading indicators—conversations, meetings, proposals, follow-ups. Coach to those, diagnose bottlenecks and avoid moving goalposts weekly.
Mini-summary: Lead with indicators; keep confidence intact.

Bottom line: Audit recruiting, ramp benchmarks and incentives, then align them with the growth you want—from new and existing clients. That's how you stop the churn and stabilise performance.

About the Author
Dr Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is a veteran Japan CEO and trainer, author of multiple best-sellers and host of the Japan Business Mastery series. He leads leadership and presentation programmes at Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo.

Accountability In Your Team
We all want accountable teams, yet deadlines slip and quality wobbles. People don't plan to fail—but vague ownership and weak rhythms make it easy to miss. Here's how leaders in Japan turn "own it" into a daily standard.

Q: Where should leaders start?
A: Start with time. Time discipline sets tone. Make planning visible, prioritise crisply and protect deep work for the tasks only you can do. When leaders respect time, teams respect commitments.
Mini-summary: Your calendar sets culture; model time discipline.

Q: Why do leaders become time-poor?
A: Priorities are fuzzy and too much is done solo. Many tried delegation once, hit friction and reverted to "it's faster if I do it myself." That caps output and stalls succession.
Mini-summary: Weak prioritisation and poor delegation create time debt.

Q: How do you make delegation actually work?
A: Delegate outcomes, not tasks. Frame the Why (intent), What (results & quality), and How (options, resources, guardrails). Ask for the plan back to confirm understanding. Set check-ins, decision rights and an escalation path.
Mini-summary: Transfer outcomes with Why/What/How and agreed checkpoints.

Q: What's the role of coaching in accountability?
A: Orders create compliance; coaching builds ownership. Give context and constraints and use milestones so progress is observable. If accountability lags, increase coaching before pressure.
Mini-summary: Coaching converts assignment into ownership.

Q: Why are milestones critical in Japan?
A: Milestones surface slippage early and keep alignment warm in consensus-driven environments. Without them, bad news arrives at the worst time—right before reviews or audits.
Mini-summary: Milestones are the heartbeat that prevents surprises.

Q: How should leaders handle shifting scope?
A: Publish a clear definition of "done." If scope changes, explain the trade-off and reset the plan. Accountability thrives on clarity and dies in ambiguity.
Mini-summary: Protect clarity; declare and reset when scope changes.

Q: What habits make accountability stick?
A: Replace heroics with habits: weekly three must-wins; a delegation cadence with coaching; short, rhythmic milestone reviews; mood management—guard sleep and script the first 30 minutes.
Mini-summary: Small weekly habits scale accountability and results.

Bottom line: Change how you manage time, delegate, coach and review progress. Accountability becomes how we work; trust compounds and results stick.

About the Author
Dr Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is a veteran Japan CEO and trainer, author of multiple best-sellers and host of the Japan Business Mastery series. He leads leadership and presentation programmes at Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo.