Read Online Resolve and Fortitude : Microsoft's ''SECRET POWER BROKER'' breaks his silence by Joachim Kempin - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Joachim Kempin
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French country manager, gets kudos for recognizing and rewarding the French souls’ artful and esoteric aspirations. IBM PC popularity therefore took longer in France than anywhere else to take hold and dislodge Apple from the top spot. Bull needed an improved version of MS Windows ASAP, to compete and win! As usual, we were working on one.
Visiting the Far East for the first time was enlightening, with a little culture shock thrown in. Ron Hosogi, who managed my Far East (FE) group, had planned our trip thoughtfully. A Japanese American who spoke the language fluently, Ron knew his crew well and was well respected, having been MS’s first Japanese subsidiary manager. Ron was analytical, understood technology well, and had a good memory for the different political vagaries of each subsidiary. I quickly learned that office politics were a way of life in Asia.
The first stop was Tokyo, where we showed up at Nippon Electric Company (NEC), Toshiba, Hitachi, and Sharp. MS’s Japanese subsidiary, ran by the smart and eccentric Susumu “Sam” Furukawa, had been MS’s first foreign one. He managed to establish excellent relationships with NEC’s management and her nearest competitor, Toshiba. Our market share in Japan was close to 100 percent, with only a few supersmall OEMs, comparable to US screwdriver shops licensing from DRI.
For a German, the gatherings in Japan were truly amazing. With the exception of our friend, Mr. Kaoro Tosaka from NEC, most executives preferred speaking Japanese instead of English. I came to rely mostly on translations provided by Ron. At once, my patience was stretched thin. Ping-ponging to and fro via intermediaries stretched the meetings into infinite exchanges. A congenial atmosphere was predominant. Any emotions customers experienced were hard to judge as their facial expression hardly ever changed. I was instructed by the local team to contribute only when I was handed a piece of paper—under the table—containing the proper answers the local team leader had predetermined. I ruefully obeyed. Nonetheless, this style of evasive communicating drove me nuts! Being the new guy on the block, I played along humbly and respectfully, but only on this first visit.
I later discovered most real negotiations were done in drinking clubs late in the afternoon, often lasting long into the night. You were considered a kind of kin if invited, and you were allowed and expected to cry. Yes, cry! Most Japanese managers lived in densely complex political environments following strict etiquette. Confrontation on company premises potentially endangered their jobs. The off-premise private-club meetings provided a kind of relaxation and release. They could let go, and no mention would be made of it later, ever. An unwritten but religiously followed rule. Confidentiality was held in highest regard. I came from a sharply contrasting cultural background and enjoyed a less prescriptive operating style. Admittedly, I struggled with their exotic social mechanics and delicate rules of communication. Before leaving Japan, I informed NEC of our intentions to enter the printer software market, and her management showed sound interest in reviewing our plans.
Next stop: South Korea and a totally different business culture. Many of the executives I met, such as the ones from Samsung and LG, 15 spoke English reasonably well. Antithetical to the Japanese, the customers were refreshingly direct. We had a reasonable market share, but various medium-size OEMs were licensing from DRI. The customers I met knew precisely what their competitors were up to and perpetually mentioned DRI by means of prying price concessions from me personally. Luckily, they exported most of their systems; otherwise, DRI would have taken more business away from us. The various execs I met had remarkably close bonds. Most of them knew each other from attending business schools together. The word confidential was unknown to them; it was replaced by foremost
Visiting the Far East for the first time was enlightening, with a little culture shock thrown in. Ron Hosogi, who managed my Far East (FE) group, had planned our trip thoughtfully. A Japanese American who spoke the language fluently, Ron knew his crew well and was well respected, having been MS’s first Japanese subsidiary manager. Ron was analytical, understood technology well, and had a good memory for the different political vagaries of each subsidiary. I quickly learned that office politics were a way of life in Asia.
The first stop was Tokyo, where we showed up at Nippon Electric Company (NEC), Toshiba, Hitachi, and Sharp. MS’s Japanese subsidiary, ran by the smart and eccentric Susumu “Sam” Furukawa, had been MS’s first foreign one. He managed to establish excellent relationships with NEC’s management and her nearest competitor, Toshiba. Our market share in Japan was close to 100 percent, with only a few supersmall OEMs, comparable to US screwdriver shops licensing from DRI.
For a German, the gatherings in Japan were truly amazing. With the exception of our friend, Mr. Kaoro Tosaka from NEC, most executives preferred speaking Japanese instead of English. I came to rely mostly on translations provided by Ron. At once, my patience was stretched thin. Ping-ponging to and fro via intermediaries stretched the meetings into infinite exchanges. A congenial atmosphere was predominant. Any emotions customers experienced were hard to judge as their facial expression hardly ever changed. I was instructed by the local team to contribute only when I was handed a piece of paper—under the table—containing the proper answers the local team leader had predetermined. I ruefully obeyed. Nonetheless, this style of evasive communicating drove me nuts! Being the new guy on the block, I played along humbly and respectfully, but only on this first visit.
I later discovered most real negotiations were done in drinking clubs late in the afternoon, often lasting long into the night. You were considered a kind of kin if invited, and you were allowed and expected to cry. Yes, cry! Most Japanese managers lived in densely complex political environments following strict etiquette. Confrontation on company premises potentially endangered their jobs. The off-premise private-club meetings provided a kind of relaxation and release. They could let go, and no mention would be made of it later, ever. An unwritten but religiously followed rule. Confidentiality was held in highest regard. I came from a sharply contrasting cultural background and enjoyed a less prescriptive operating style. Admittedly, I struggled with their exotic social mechanics and delicate rules of communication. Before leaving Japan, I informed NEC of our intentions to enter the printer software market, and her management showed sound interest in reviewing our plans.
Next stop: South Korea and a totally different business culture. Many of the executives I met, such as the ones from Samsung and LG, 15 spoke English reasonably well. Antithetical to the Japanese, the customers were refreshingly direct. We had a reasonable market share, but various medium-size OEMs were licensing from DRI. The customers I met knew precisely what their competitors were up to and perpetually mentioned DRI by means of prying price concessions from me personally. Luckily, they exported most of their systems; otherwise, DRI would have taken more business away from us. The various execs I met had remarkably close bonds. Most of them knew each other from attending business schools together. The word confidential was unknown to them; it was replaced by foremost
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