How are Japanese corporate leaders facing up to the challenge of disruption?

As companies in Japan try to adapt to a future of almost continuous disruption, our report reveals who is succeeding and what steps are essential to thrive.

No-one is immune from disruption. Not even innovative companies that once led their industry. Changes in markets or technology can mean a rapid fall from grace. And disruption doesn’t respect industry or national borders. This creates unique challenges for those companies and their partners.

So how are they likely to handle this? How are the leaders of Japanese companies, including corporate management and boards of directors, evaluating those disruptive market changes? What management practices are they implementing?

Report on disruption

For a clearer picture, and to form the basis for a report, executive search consultants from Odgers Berndtson Tokyo interviewed over a dozen directors and management executives of Japanese companies, across a variety of industries.

Our aim was to understand how leadership is reacting to the change and challenges facing Japanese companies and discover what separates the winners from the losers.

"We are not simply competing with other companies in the same industry. Today, the market has a diverse range of players and there are companies from other industries who are finding success in our space.”

Our report covers:

1. Japan’s particular vulnerability to disruption and the culture best expressed by the phrase "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down".
2. How Japanese companies are viewed by outsiders experiencing Japanese business culture.
3. How some Japanese companies are using change as an opportunity for aggressive moves.
4. What Japanese corporate leaders need to do to achieve corporate transformation.
5. The role of the company president in creating the environment for change.
6. The three-point action plan for Japanese companies to ensure future success.
7. The importance of the corporate brand as the foundation for navigating through the business environment in an age of uncertainty.
8. The importance of hiring qualified external talent.
9. The role of the board of directors.

Leadership Disrupted in Japan

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