The FocusCore Podcast

Are you doing business in Japan, or would like to, and feel like you could use some guidance on how to maximize your time and effort?  If you are an APAC or global business leader, and looking to navigate the business landscape in Japan and build successful, long-term partnerships with Japanese companies, it's essential to approach business in Japan with a mindset of respect, cultural sensiti...

Eelco Modderman , a Dutchman, has spent the last 15 years living in Asia and considers himself a bridge between East and West. It's no surprise that he is now as the Managing Partner, Asia Pacific for The Gap Partnership , a company specialising in negotiation training. He started his journey with The Gap Partnership in 2017 in Hong Kong before relocating with his family to Tokyo last year to expa...

Finding his perfect career was no easy feat for this podcast guest. He is an inspiration and a great example of how pivoting can lead you to where you are meant to be. Hiroki Kosugi shares how he grew up in Sapporo, was recruited to a Shizuoka soccer club, became a salaryman and burned out, backpacked around the world and learned English in New Zealand, studied a Sports Business Management degree...

Pascal Gerbert-Gaillard is the APAC Manager for SES-imagotag , the world leader in smart digital labels and retail IoT solutions for physical retail. He’s had a long love affair with Japan, first visiting in 2002 when he learned Japanese.! He also loves martial arts and has trained in Kendo , the Japanese art of cutting. Pascal shares his insights on the digital technology space and how retail is...

Love or hate them, great Human Resources professionals are worth their weight in gold to organisations when you have the right person. Without them, businesses struggle to retain and attract top talent, navigate compliance and legal labour laws, and create an inclusive company culture. In Japan, hiring the right HR director is absolutely critical for successful businesses, not least because they n...

Simon Jelfs, Managing Director at FocusCore Japan, makes his debut on the podcast. Simon has trodden the path many who come to live in Japan have walked - as a JET teacher. Those early years as an English teacher set him up for a lifelong career as a teacher, coach, and recruitment consultant. He’s a keen runner, a former Morris Dancer, a rugby fan, and a YouTuber at Just a Rugby Dad in Japan . In...

Recruitment expert, Hisato Wakaizumi returns to the podcast in 2023 to chat with host David Sweet on: Difference between Japanese and Western companies and how to make it work for you Internal career development versus external career development and what you should consider before you look for a new role The secret to delivering a successful webinar How to beat the competition in a competitive jo...

David Sweet, CEO of FocusCore Japan talks about the three sins of hiring executives in Japan and the common mistakes he has seen over the last 25 years in Japan when hiring. And not one to just point out the problems, he’s also sharing how hiring managers can avoid them. This episode is a short and jam-packed listen with insights for anyone who is looking to hire in Japan or for APAC professionals...

Rob Williams is a British financial planner based in Tokyo, and started AP Advisors Limited in 2004 to provide financial advice to expatriates. He Co-founded Knights in White Lycra with a few fellow British friends out of a desire to get fit and give back to the communities impacted by the March 2011 disaster. They began a fundraising bike ride in 2013 and have not looked back since. Since then, K...

David Sweet, CEO, and Founder of FocusCore Japan discusses the single most critical skill a manager needs to succeed - how to lead up. Leading up has many names in the English vocabulary; sucking up, brown-nosing, minion, and lackey. But what these terms don’t recognize is the importance and the skill it takes to manage upwards and the value it can add if you want to develop your career in managem...

Jonathan Cant, Executive Consultant at FocusCore Japan is back for round two on the podcast. This time, David and Jonathan chat about the steps needed to transition from an accountant inputting data to telling a story with those numbers and becoming a valued and trusted business partner at a Fortune 500 company. In this episode you will hear: What is finance business partnering? What are the impor...

The windy road to work in Japan has been a long one for today’s very special guest. Nina Michels-Kim is the Director of Partnerships, Korea and Japan for the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) . She’s bilingual in Japanese and English, born in Japan having been raised by a Japanese mother and an American father, and received her college education in the United States. However, her dream was...

Hisato Wakaizumi was born and bred in Tokyo, studied in the United States, worked as a tennis coach in Florida teaching young children to 95-year-old ladies, and now has a successful career as a Consultant at FocusCore Japan in Accounting and Finance. His unique international experience makes him the perfect person to answer the question - what do tennis coaching and recruitment have in common? In...

Japan is opening up for tourism! After more than two years of border closures, Japan is back in the news recently as it begins preparations to welcome people back to the land of the rising sun. And while Japan has always been open for business, it has been a lot harder for people to come and work in Japan with border closures, and there is a renewed interest in working and living in Japan. My gues...

In this episode, David Sweet speaks with fellow FocusCore Japan colleague, Jonathan Cant about the differences between local and regional stakeholders. Jonathan is an Englishman who has made Japan his home first as an English teacher, then by building a career in training and management at Z-kai Inc, and now as the Executive Search Consultant for Finance and Accounting at FocusCore Japan. He share...

We are back on the podcast this week with a solo episode with FocusCore Japan’s Founder and CEO, David Sweet. David shares his 25 years of working in Japan experience and wisdom on finding the power bases in Japanese companies. This is a must-listen episode if you are working or joining a Japanese company and want to succeed. APAC leaders and Western companies often put Japan in the too-hard baske...

You might be thinking about your next career move if you have stumbled upon this episode. You know you need to craft your resume, apply for a few jobs on LinkedIn, and then you cross your fingers that your resume gets a look and you get an interview. And then you need to jump through hoops with multiple interviews. It’s a lot of work! Trust me when I say this, I have been there. Every career journ...

This week’s episode with Yuta Hasumi, Managing Director of Ikigai Authentic is brought to you, especially to celebrate Pride Month. We dive into diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the workplace and discuss the key difference between Japanese and international organizations approaches to diversity and inclusion.   When foreigners make up only 2% of the population of Japan, you would be...

Naomi Takase is a Kiwi living in Japan who has built an 18-year (and counting!) career in recruitment having worked both agency and corporate sides. She’s currently the Talent Acquisition Director at LVMH Japan and shares her top advice for those wanting to work in the luxury goods industry or have a listen even if you just want to know a little bit more about talent acquisition for a major global...

We hope everyone had a wonderful Golden Week. We’ve taken a little break from podcasting but host, David Sweet is back with a brand new guest on the show this week. William Nealy Jr. started his career journey in Japan as a teacher on the JET programme and turned his early education teaching experience into a successful career in senior management in Learning and Development where he has worked fo...

This week on the podcast we are doing something different. I wanted to share with you an interview I did with Andrew Hankinson from the first podcast that I ever recorded.  Developing operations in Japan to be efficient and profitable can be a challenge when you run six top brands, over 30 retail shops, and a factory of the German company, Zwilling J.A. Henckels. For over 30 years, Andrew has...

Do you want a better way to hire employees that will save you time, money and ensure you are hiring the best candidate to join your team? In the latest episode of the FocusCore podcast, host Dr. David Sweet takes you through a proven and tested hiring method and shares a simple five-step strategy to hire the A-player candidate. Introducing you to Topgrading , a recruitment methodology proven effec...

Today’s podcast guest is a former FocusCore alum and the current North-East Asia Talent Acquisition Manager at Maersk , Wayne Yoshida , or as he is officially known as, Supply Chain Wayne™ . Wayne is a Quebecer who has called Japan home for the past 15 years and has built an enviable career and reputation in recruitment for the transport industry.  This episode looks at two sides of the recru...

Cory McGowan is an American by birth who has made the mountains of Minakami, Japan his forever home with his family. He is a coach, husband, father, and a bear dancer. In this week’s episode, FocusCore Podcast host, David Sweet chats with Cory about his coaching business, Adventure Partner , which he launched in November 2020, and how Covid and past career trauma has led him to this new career pat...

Hello and welcome to the FocusCore Podcast with your host David Sweet. In this episode, David speaks with Hideo Goto, Country General Manager of Henkel Beauty Care Japan and Korea. Hideo has a long career history in beauty and personal care spanning over 20+ years and has been in senior management roles at Henkel Beauty Care since 2017 where he has accelerated business growth by strengthening bran...