“Culture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.” – Edward T. Hall, an American anthropologist In international business, deals often fail not because the strategy was flawed, but because signals were misinterpreted. A recent guest on the Real Gaijin AMA podcast was @JapanIntercult (Rochelle Kopp), the founder and managing principal of Japan Intercultural Consulting, who is one of the most experienced observers of Japanese corporate culture operating between the rest of the world and Japan. In this short clip, Rochelle explains that although Japanese culture is generally considered to be high-context, Japanese managers can sometimes be very direct, especially when voicing displeasure about a subordinate. This approach can backfire in certain indirect cultures, such as those found in Southeast Asia or Mexico. Rochelle outlines a case like this that had drastic consequences. Click here for a link to the full, hour-long podcast, as well as a summary of some of the key takeaways. realgaijin.substack.com/p/am… #RochelleKopp #JapaneseCorporateCulture #ExecutiveCommunication #RealGaijin #リアル外人