Since it's free to speak up, let's assert our own ideas
I spent about four years of my university life in Europe when I was young, and that was when I realized how smoothly things run in Japan. In Italy, mail wouldn't arrive, or if it did, the contents of the package would be stolen, leaving only the outer shell. In France, planes wouldn't fly every summer due to strikes, and in the UK, the subway would stop for the same reason.
Also, public institutions like universities and government offices took a long time to process paperwork, and just when I thought the process was finally finished, there would be a registration error. It felt like, 'Hey, why would an economics student sign up for a linguistics class?'
From these experiences, I learned to appreciate Japan's smooth operations, and at the same time, I learned that in Europe, you cannot rely on others; you must take initiative and assert yourself to achieve your goals.
I also gradually came to view the situation in Europe positively. The reason is that even if something is outside the established rules, if you can persuade the other party through assertion, your request will often be granted.
The attitude of asserting and trying to persuade is also effective in business, especially in foreign-affiliated companies and flexible Japanese companies. Today, I will talk about an experience where I was able to advance things without being bound by internal regulations or rules by actively asserting and negotiating.
Table of Contents
If your argument is accepted, exceptions can be applied to internal rules
Even if it's not accepted now, lay the groundwork
Summary
1. If your argument is accepted, exceptions can be applied to internal rules
I worked at a US-based company for many years, and although there were formal regulations and principles within the company, exceptions were often applied depending on the interpretation or conditions. (Of course, fraud is not allowed.) Therefore, many managers, including myself, believed that if a proposal ultimately leads to an increase in company value, it is 'negotiable' even if it does not follow internal principles, and we could persuade management to obtain approval.
Once, when I was going on a business trip to Brazil for market research, management told me, Since there is a limit on the number of people traveling for the entire company this year, it is limited to two people including yourself this time. At the time, I was the project leader and wanted to take both of my subordinates to the site. Or rather, considering the feelings of the subordinates left behind and their subsequent motivation for work, there was no choice but to go as a team of three.
So, I thought about how to negotiate with management to go on the business trip with all three people instead of two.
The grounds for going on the business trip with three people were...
It is the most important project for the company.
All members will understand the market directly on-site and increase the accuracy of the project's success.
The motivation and sense of unity of the entire project team will increase.
Increase employee satisfaction.
In particular, the last one, employee satisfaction, is an indicator that shareholders and management of large US companies are very concerned about, so I dared to include it.
However, management is not so naive as to approve it just with this. So, I included the condition of 'We will go on the business trip with three people, but we will keep it within the travel budget for two people'.
Specifically, I proposed a cheaper ticket via Europe with a long flight time, rather than the shortest flight via the US.
By doing this, I argued that while keeping costs within the company's budget rules, we could expect a sense of unity with the project and an increase in employee motivation, thus maximizing the ROI (return on investment) of this business trip, and I successfully received approval.
The trip itself was quite tiring as it involved two 12-hour flights before arriving at the destination, but even that fatigue became a good memory. Since I was able to tackle the subsequent project with passion as a team, I am glad that I asserted myself without being bound by internal company rules.
2. Even if it's not accepted now, lay the groundwork
When I was in my 30s, I tried to transfer to an overseas branch of the company. This was when a one-year limited vacant position was posted internally because the person in charge at the London branch was going on maternity and childcare leave.
When I found this, I thought it was a good opportunity and wanted to take on the challenge, but at the same time, I also thought that my boss would definitely not say yes because the department was short on personnel.
Therefore, even if it was impossible in the short term, I used this job posting to lay the groundwork so that I could definitely have the opportunity to work at an overseas branch in the future.
First, before talking to my boss, I checked with the local person in charge to see if it would be impossible for six months. I thought that perhaps, even if one year was impossible, there might be room for my boss to approve it if it were for six months. Unfortunately, the reply from the local side was NO. But that was also within my expectations.
When I talked to my boss about the application, as expected, it was not approved. When I asked for the reason, the answer was that they couldn't cover the hole I would leave for a whole year, but they might consider it if it were three or six months. So, when I told them that I had actually negotiated with the other party for six months but was turned down, my boss took it positively, saying, Oh, you really understood the situation of the department and checked the possibility of shortening the period with the other party in advance.. It also seemed to convey that I was passionate about wanting to work overseas.
Fortunately, about two years later, I was approached by the Spanish branch to participate in a limited-time project. By this time, the Japanese management team had known for years that I was interested in overseas work, so they sent me off willingly without any particular negotiation.
From this experience, I learned that even if an individual request cannot be fulfilled in the short term, by negotiating with your boss or company with passion from a long-term perspective, and by building a track record or gaining trust during that time, your request can eventually be accepted.
Also, I thought that asserting your wishes from a long-term perspective could be used for things like transfers. It's okay even if it's a long shot. Even if it's impossible now, it's good to appeal your requests at an early stage with an eye on the future. By doing so, what kind of conditions need to be met, what is lacking in your own abilities and so on will become visible.
3. Summary
The above is my experience from the past when I asserted my requests in my own way and negotiated over time.
As I mentioned at the beginning, unlike Japan, in Western countries, even in public institutions, administrative procedures do not always go smoothly, but on the other hand, because the rules and procedures are loose, there is flexibility, and depending on how you negotiate, your claims may be accepted as an exception sometimes.
From now on, due to the evolution of technology and rapid changes in the economic environment, Japan will also no longer be able to cope with existing rules and frameworks like before, and flexibility will be required.
With that in mind, I think it would be good to assert your own opinions and negotiate, both at work and in society. It's free to just say it, so please try various things with a long-term perspective.
Thank you for reading until the end today.