Today, I talk with Takahiro Shikano, a global marketing strategist and partner solutions leader specializing in launching and growing sales of cutting-edge technology products across Fortune 500 partner networks who is currently a Global Account Marketing lead at Microsoft Corporation. In today's conversation, he shares his insights into what diversity and inclusion looks like in a Japanese professional context, as well as what his experiences have shown him it takes to be an effective leader cross-culturally.

Today's Phrase: おきゃくさまはかみさまです
o-kya-ku-sa-ma-wa ka-mi-sa-ma-de-su
meaning: The customer is god. [roughly the Japanese equivalent of "the customer is always right"]
with kanji: お客様は神様です

Taka's Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/takashikano0219/

Related Episodes:
Discovering Ma: Finding Success in Japan by Learning to Pay Attention with Byron Barón (https://anchor.fm/businesssuccessjapan/episodes/Discovering-Ma-Finding-Success-in-Japan-by-Learning-to-Pay-Attention-with-Byron-Barn-ejiru4)
On Being an Effective Communicator in Japan with Anthony Griffin (https://anchor.fm/businesssuccessjapan/episodes/On-Being-an-Effective-Communicator-in-Japan-with-Anthony-Griffin-el1v9m)
Navigating Gender, Race, and Culture in the Japanese Workplace with Jessica Kennett Cork (https://anchor.fm/businesssuccessjapan/episodes/Navigating-Gender--Race--and-Culture-in-the-Japanese-Workplace-with-Jessica-Kennett-Cork-enu4ro)

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