Since beginning my recruiting career in Tokyo in 2001 I’ve been fascinated by one BIG question: Why are some people extremely successful in growing their careers in “gaishi” companies in Japan while others, with the apparently the same basic level of talent, continually struggle?

One of the primary missions of gaishido.com is to explore this question and provide you, my regular (I hope!) readers with fresh, fun and useable ideas on how you can learn to easily and naturally go down the road of success and avoid the painful road of failure.

This blog is built on Web 2.0 principles, with input by YOU encouraged. Go ahead, make some comments on the posts, the videos, and the podcast audios. This is a two-way conversation, not my soap-box. I’m also very open to articles from guest experts as well as user-generated videos and audios.

At this stage, it is still the seed of an idea, but my intention is to make this site grow to become the leading source of information on how and why bilingual professionals in Japan can maximize their potential for success and become leaders in international corporations in Japan and beyond.

You’ve probably already figured it out, but gaishido is a play on words of the ancient Japanese concept of “bushido”, known in English as the “Way of the Warrior”. Bushido consists of 7 principles, as does the conceptual spirit of gaishido: Vision, Strategy, Tactics, Communication, Knowledge, Energy, and Creativity. The importance of mastering these concepts is fundamental to the “Way of Success for Gaishi Company Leaders” and each of these will be explored in a way that helps you develop that mastery.

If the path to success is what you choose, I invite you to join myself and all the readers of Gaishido.com along on the journey.

Here’s a true recruiting story….A candidate came to my attention via one of my colleagues on a Tuesday. I saw his resume and knew immediately that he was a perfect candidate for one of my clients. He looked great “on paper” and I was really excited to meet him to see how he was in person as there’s never a sure match between the resume and the actual person.

I asked him to come see me as quickly as possible and fortunately he was available the next day. We met on Wednesday, and he exceeded my expectations. He was truly excellent with strong qualifications, a track record of achievement, a positive results-oriented attitude, and he was seeking a challenging new position. Perfect.

Fortunately, he was interested in the specific company I am recruiting for and agreed to be put forward to them. Within 15 minutes of sending over the resume, the CEO called me and said “I want to meet him. Tomorrow.” Unfortunately he wasn’t available on Thursday, but he was on Friday.

On Friday, the candidate met the CEO and three others at the company. The CEO called in the afternoon and said “We want to hire him.”

At first I thought to myself “Great!”, but then the concerns started rolling in…is everything moving too fast? Isn’t this like asking someone to marry you after the first date? What his he going to think about all this? (To be continued…..)

Here’s a true recruiting story….A candidate came to my attention via one of my colleagues on a Tuesday. I saw his resume and knew immediately that he was a perfect candidate for one of my clients. He looked great “on paper” and I was really excited to meet him to see how he was in person as there’s never a sure match between the resume and the actual person.

I asked him to come see me as quickly as possible and fortunately he was available the next day. We met on Wednesday, and he exceeded my expectations. He was truly excellent with strong qualifications, a track record of achievement, a positive results-oriented attitude, and he was seeking a challenging new position. Perfect.

Fortunately, he was interested in the specific company I am recruiting for and agreed to be put forward to them. Within 15 minutes of sending over the resume, the CEO called me and said “I want to meet him. Tomorrow.” Unfortunately he wasn’t available on Thursday, but he was on Friday.

On Friday, the candidate met the CEO and three others at the company. The CEO called in the afternoon and said “We want to hire him.”

At first I thought to myself “Great!”, but then the concerns started rolling in…is everything moving too fast? Isn’t this like asking someone to marry you after the first date? What his he going to think about all this? (To be continued…..)Here’s a true recruiting story….A candidate came to my attention via one of my colleagues on a Tuesday. I saw his resume and knew immediately that he was a perfect candidate for one of my clients. He looked great “on paper” and I was really excited to meet him to see how he was in person as there’s never a sure match between the resume and the actual person.

I asked him to come see me as quickly as possible and fortunately he was available the next day. We met on Wednesday, and he exceeded my expectations. He was truly excellent with strong qualifications, a track record of achievement, a positive results-oriented attitude, and he was seeking a challenging new position. Perfect.

Fortunately, he was interested in the specific company I am recruiting for and agreed to be put forward to them. Within 15 minutes of sending over the resume, the CEO called me and said “I want to meet him. Tomorrow.” Unfortunately he wasn’t available on Thursday, but he was on Friday.

On Friday, the candidate met the CEO and three others at the company. The CEO called in the afternoon and said “We want to hire him.”

At first I thought to myself “Great!”, but then the concerns started rolling in…is everything moving too fast? Isn’t this like asking someone to marry you after the first date? What his he going to think about all this? (To be continued…..)

“It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste time.” –Henry Ford

One of the best things I did 20 years ago was invest in a time management system by Frankin Quest. As a naturally unorganized person who is easily distracted and interested in a lot of things, I realized I needed something to keep me focused, on time, and as organized as possible.

As mentioned in my PowerUp Principles eBook, I HIGHLY recommend that everyone find a system that works for them and give it a try. There are lots of different systems out there and they all have their own approach to time management, but the best ones align you with your short and long-term goals rather than simply being a way to manage time and track tasks.

I’m currently using Simpleology, which I absolutely love and recommend, but it is web-based and you may prefer to have something analog that you can carry around with you (Franklin is good for that). Simpleology doesn’t have a built-in calendar so I actually schedule my activities in Outlook. What Simpleology does is really help me with how I choose to spend my time and what I focus on, which is the most important element of time management.

A Harvard Business Review article (Bruch & Ghoshal 2/02) reports that 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective activities. Can you imagine if you could dramatically reduce your time-wasting activities and get more done in less time? Well, if you’re not using a system, maybe it’s time to go and try one…