About
ten years ago, when I was working as a consultant for a pharmaceutical company
in Japan,
I arranged a series of meetings for managers from various departments who
normally did not work together to share experiences. As expected, the managers
were polite, but suspicious. They did not initially seem to see the value of
exchanging opinions and ideas with colleagues whose jobs differed from their
own. However, after they had met a few times, the managers almost unanimously
agreed that the meetings were meaningful. Through them, the managers were
better able to understand how their own jobs fit into the overall flow of
business and better understand the challenges and pressures faced by
colleagues.

I
strongly encourage experience sharing because none of us will ever be able to
experience the many different types of jobs that must be performed in a
multinational business. Even a fast-track employee who is deliberately being
rotated through the organization for development purposes, will only experience
three or four functions at the very most. Below, I share the ten top Life
Lessons I have learned during the decade that I have lived and worked in Japan. Some of
them are not new. Far more famous individuals than I have shared some of the
same lessons. I state them here as a reminder because I believe they are
powerful truths that will serve you well.

Life
Lessons

1.     Perseverance will take you further than
potential—Never Give up!

2.     Treat others the way you would like to be
treated yourself

3.     Surround yourself with talented people and
learn from them.

4.     Life is like playing the stock market. You
succeed by ignoring the daily ups and downs, focusing your energy on the
long-term trend.

5.     Learn from your failures. They are the best
teachers you will ever have.

6.     Model the behavior. Showing people makes a
greater impact than telling them.

7.     Flexibility is key. Life is not about being
right all the time but about get along.

8.     Relationships are important. Invest time and energy in
others.

9.     Pursue your dreams even in the face of opposition from
those around you.

10.             
Take
calculated risks.

For information on how to purchase a copy of this eBook , please contact info@global-c.biz.

1. Why are you interested in establishing or expanding operations in Japan through an M&A? What is the overall purpose of the anticipated merger? To acquire existing accounts in Japan from the target firm? Acquire a turnkey operation in Japan? Have you considered other alternatives to am M&A to achieve your goals?

2. How would you describe your company’s business model? How would you describe your core competence?

3. Who are your major global competitors? Major competitors in the Japanese market?

4. Who are your key suppliers?

5. What size target company are you interested in terms of:   A. Annual Revenue;  B. Number of employees;  C. Price to acquire?

6. Do you have a preference regarding location in Japan? As you are probably aware, economic activity in Japan is heavily concentrated in Tokyo. For this reason, some acquirers prefer targets in the Kanto area.

7. Do you intend to send headquarters staff to Japan to manage the company or do you plan to leave local management in place following the merger? In either case, would you need transition-period management services?

8. How do you plan to finance the acquisition?

For more information, contact Joseph Gabriella (j-gabriella@global-c.biz)

A service of Global-C Corporation, this blog aims to introduce small and mid-sized Japanese companies that would be suitable acquisition targets for foreign companies interested in strategically investing in Japan for long-term growth. If you are interested in learning more about the companies profiled in this blog, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation about our services. Our mission is to ensure you meet your strategic business goals here in Japan.

 Introduction of Global-C

Global-C is a boutique consulting firm that focuses on small and mid-sized strategic investments. Our core strengths lie in our ability to match acquiring companies with targets appropriate to their Japan market-development goals and in our end-to-end service to optimize post-acquisition integration and operation.

Global-C was founded and is managed by Mutsuo Inaoka, CEO, with the assistance of Joseph Gabriella, General Manager. Before founding Global-C, Mr. Inaoka was a senior manager at an Osaka-based company, where he was employed for twenty years. During that time, he was stationed in Brazil for two years and in the US for over a decade. While in the U.S., he established his company’s office there, then served as its Chief Financial Officer. In this position, he was directly involved in mergers and acquisitions and other high-stakes transactions. Bilingual and bicultural, Mr. Inaoka has extensive experience transacting international business. Mr. Inaoka holds a bachelor’s degree in management science from Otaru University of Commerce (Japan) and has attended MBA courses at San Francisco State University.

Like Mr. Inaoka, Mr. Gabriella is bilingual and bicultural. He grew up in the United States, but moved to Japan in 2000 to work as an assistant manager for a Japanese-American internet joint venture. Since that time, Mr. Gabriella has worked as a manager in both Japanese and foreign companies in industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, restaurant management, and financial services. He has conducted training seminars on corporate strategy, leadership, change management, project management, and performance management in both Japanese and English. Mr. Gabriella has a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania; an MBA from Pepperdine University; an M.S. in International Business and Strategy from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he also attended medical school; and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Education and Research from the University of South Florida.

http://www.global-c.biz/english/index.html

Mutsuo (Mark) Inaoka   (m-inaoka@global-c.biz)

 Joseph Gabriella  (j-gabriella@global-c.biz)