WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE"Now I knew that was impossible. The tools are the key to
making a good die cast. Making a good tool is hard work and
takes far longer than four days. I told the committee, through
my translator, that they couldn't get a tool made in four days.
There was a lot of back and forth talk between the committee
and my translator, and finally I was told, what they are trying to
say is that if they had a tool, they'd get the candlestick in four
days.
"Why didn't they say that? Well ... He couldn't answer that,
but I knew the real reason. They didn't want to hurt my feelings.
I might feel disturbed if they told me the truth, and I might
even go to a competitor. They'd rather lie to me and tell me
what I wanted to hear. Had I accepted the four day assessment,
I'd return to find it not ready. If I said, 'But you told me four
days!' they'd say, 'Very sorry. Unforeseen difficulties.''
In doing business in Japan, Anthony stressed, you must under-
stand that subtext, "We do not want to hurt your feelings." To
break through the subtext, you must phrase your questions properly.
Don't ask "How soon can I have the sample?" The time you stay
in Japan would determine the answer. The questions should be:
"How long will it take you to make a set of tools?" "Do you
make the tools here, or do you subcontract them out?" "What
will they be made of?" All these details will help you to pinpoint
the real answer.
According to all the people I have talked to, there are two
languages in Japan. One has a subtext that says "We want you
to be happy," and the other has a subtext of reality. To get at
that subtext, your questions must be specific, not general.
The Japanese habit of wanting to make the customer feel good
can be a defeating one. You can't run a modern business by
continually disappointing your customers. To compensate for this,