ビジネス日本語講座

What does it really mean to be strict with yourself but generous with others? In this episode, I reflect on different types of managers I encountered during my career. Some highly capable people expect everyone around them to meet the same standards they set for themselves. Other...

Paying for someone else’s meal may seem like a small gesture, but it can reveal a surprising amount about a person. In this episode, I reflect on my experiences of being treated to meals and drinks while working in Thailand and Vietnam. Some people paid reluctantly or immediately...

Should you turn what you love into your work? In this episode, I explore why our interests and preferences should matter when choosing a career. Following your passion does not guarantee success, and financial stability cannot simply be ignored. But choosing a job only because it...

Can we really train ourselves to stop caring about what other people say and do? In this episode, I question the popular idea of developing a thicker skin. Perhaps sensitivity is not something we can simply switch off. Instead of trying to become less sensitive, I suggest another...

Perhaps many people secretly want to withdraw from society more than they are willing to admit. In this episode, I reflect on my own tendency to stay home, avoid unnecessary social interaction, and struggle with conventional institutions. I talk about leaving high school, later g...

Customers have their own timing when it comes to buying. In this episode, I reflect on my years of experience in sales and a difficult truth every salesperson faces: sometimes you can explain everything clearly, answer every question, build trust, and still fail to close the deal...

Years ago in Bangkok, a recruitment agent impressed me by instantly recognizing a pattern in my job search. When I said, “You know the industry well,” he replied, “It’s an occupational hazard.” For some reason, that phrase stayed with me. In this episode, I explore why it felt sl...

Why do people who sell shortcuts rarely take shortcuts themselves? In this episode, I explore a strange contradiction in the online business world. Many successful marketers promise faster results, proven methods, and ways to avoid unnecessary mistakes. Yet they often spent years...

How can you tell whether a business opportunity is already burning out? In this episode, I examine “slash-and-burn” business models, especially those built around teaching people how to make money online. The early entrants may succeed, but problems arise when students become sel...

What if the self-help industry has its own supply chain? In this episode, I look at self-help through the lens of manufacturing. Ideas such as mindset, personal branding, resilience, and journaling are imported, translated, adapted, shaped into familiar formulas, mass-produced as...

Why are modern people so obsessed with optimization? In this episode, I explore the possibility that optimization helps us cope with uncertainty. Life has no clear roadmap, but goals, numbers, routines, and success formulas can make it feel like a game with rules. We want success...

Why does self-help thinking sometimes seem Teflon-coated? In this episode, I explore how certain ideas appear designed to repel criticism, failure, social problems, and even self-doubt. When reality challenges the message that “everything depends on you,” another positive slogan ...