Australia 🇦🇺: The Secret Arts of 'Requesting' and 'Questioning' to Get Close to Others, Learned in a Laid-Back Country ⑨
1. Melbourne's Pride: 'Don't Make Differences Into Mistakes'
Australia, and Melbourne in particular, is known as the 'coffee capital of the world.' There is a thrilling legend passed down here: Starbucks once tried to enter the market but couldn't compete with Melbourne's unique culture and was forced to make a massive retreat.
Hundreds of carefully curated independent shops line the streets everywhere. The people of Melbourne overwhelmingly supported individuality—'even if it's unfinished or quirky, that's what makes it good'—rather than a 'uniform correct answer' that tastes the same everywhere.
'Differences aren't mistakes; they are values.' This generous spirit of 'mutual consideration' feels like a wonderfully comforting salvation for Japanese people, who are often bound by rigid rules.
2. Honestly, You Can Win by Borrowing 'People's Power' Even If You Can't Speak English
Let me be honest and share a slightly embarrassing story about myself. Actually, believe it or not, I am a graduate of the English Literature department at Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College. It doesn't exist anymore, but it was a pretty good school back then. I should be decent at reading and writing... but when it comes to speaking, I was a bundle of mental blocks!
'I graduated from an English department, so it would be embarrassing if I couldn't speak perfectly.' That pride got in the way, and I wasn't good at it at all.
But after being tossed around in the real world, I realized: **'There is absolutely no need for you to do everything perfectly yourself.'**
My boss in Russia was fluent in Russian. My sales manager in Australia was fluent in English. In that case, the goal is to figure out how to make the best use of that 'ultimate weapon (my boss) 🤣' (laughs).
I gave up on polishing my own language skills early on! I realized it was much smarter, and above all, easier and more profitable, to pour my energy into making sure my ultimate weapon (my boss) could fight comfortably.
Besides, AI is a reliable ally these days, too! We can borrow the power of others or tools to overcome language barriers, and use our energy for the more important task of 'conveying our will.' Right? Hahaha 🤣
3. Don't Blame 'Laid-Back' Behavior. 'Set the Stage' So It's Easy for the Other Person to Answer
Instead of English proficiency, what I polished was the art of 'setting the stage.' Laid-back Australians aren't good with details. Attacking them with logical arguments like 'Why didn't you do this!' is not the Sawazu style.
I take on the points where I think, 'They'll probably forget this' or 'They won't notice this,' and break them down into 'questions that can be answered with a YES or NO' or 'requests that allow them to act without hesitation' before throwing them their way.
I follow up on the 'details' they aren't good at and adjust things in advance so they can act easily. Getting close to them in that way ultimately became the shortest path to maximizing my boss's negotiation power.
4. The 'Staff Officer's Secret Art' That Doubled the Manager's Power and Supported One-Third of the Profits
As a result of thoroughly implementing this adjustment of 'following up on the other person's weaknesses and drawing out the strengths of my allies,' my manager's fluent negotiation skills were utilized 120% in the field.
The deal, which the whole team worked on together, eventually grew into a major pillar that accounted for one-third of the company's profits.
What I did wasn't to argue fiercely in English, but to grin and ask, 'Manager, please do something about this! (laughs)' while perfectly adjusting things behind the scenes to make it easy for the other party to say YES. I just shamelessly 'borrowed people's power' like that.
Negotiation is not about fighting alone. It's about 'refreshingly and shamelessly' borrowing the power of those around you to achieve a happy result for everyone. That is a 'secret art to make your life invincible' that you can use right now, at home or at work.
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