People who can succeed globally are those who know how to "fight." - Logi-Late Thinking
Nowadays, global talent is in demand at almost every company.
However, looking at corporate global education programs, language training and cross-cultural exchange are the primary curricula, and I feel a bit skeptical about whether this really prepares people to compete with others overseas.
This is because global strategy is a "fight" and not about English proficiency or cross-cultural exchange.
In other words, if you don't know "how to fight," you cannot succeed globally no matter how fluent your English is.
What I am about to tell you is a story about my eldest son.
It is the story of when he joined a professional soccer team called XV de Piracicaba in São Paulo alone after graduating from high school and played there for about four years.
1. The first step to fighting globally is to show your "weapons"
In the São Paulo state league, there is a team called XV de Piracicaba.
My son ended up in a six-person dormitory without even being able to speak Portuguese properly.
From the moment he moved into the dorm, various things happened.
He couldn't understand the language and could barely communicate...
During practice, he was never passed the ball...
When he returned to the dorm, his belongings were gone, or his cleats were hidden, and he faced various forms of harassment...
One day, after spending several months living like this,
he returned to his room to find that the laptop he had left by his bedside was gone.
When he hurriedly asked his roommate who the culprit was, the roommate pointed to another roommate standing nearby, who ran away as soon as he saw my son.
My son chased him at full speed, and the guy ran into the bathroom, locked the door, and barricaded himself inside.
What did my eldest son do after that?...
He kicked down the bathroom door, grabbed the guy by the scruff of his neck, and just as he was about to throw a punch, many teammates rushed in to stop him, and everyone there apologized to him.
The next day, a miracle happened.
Even though he had never been passed the ball before, passes suddenly started coming his way, and everyone began reacting to his passes as well.
From that night on, his teammates started inviting him to meals and parties, and even invited him to church services every Sunday, and he was finally able to become a member of the team.
2. To fight globally, you must overcome being "assessed"
After he told me this story, the words that came from my son were shocking.
"Dad, they hid my cleats and my laptop, but that wasn't bullying; it was just mischief."
"They wanted to see what I would do, how I would react, and how far I would go. In other words, they were assessing me."
"Bullying and assessment are different."
"I think that was the only way for them to get to know me, since I had no brand and couldn't speak the language."
"Dad, you have the brand of a company, so you don't need to be assessed when you go overseas. Because the company brand protects you."
That one remark... it hit me hard.
In other words, for a non-branded Japanese person to fight in a country with a different language and culture,
"I am someone who can do X and achieve results through Y" is what you are required to make the other party recognize.
That is what it means to fight globally.
Companies are promoting English education and cross-cultural exchange, but they do not teach how to fight.
Of course, if you have the brand of a company on your back, you will not be judged.
However, you must show what kind of weapons you have and what you can do.
Young people who want to succeed globally in the future need to have overwhelming strengths of their own and acquire the skill to show them off to others.
I believe that is what it means to fight globally, but what do you think?