Jul 12, 2014

High construe and low construe

I just stop by some marketing symposium that discuss about consumer psychology that I saw the sign held in 7th floor. I had just lunch today and had several hours to kill time i usually spend time to read books or prepare for next class starts at 6 PM. i have time, so just went up and jump in and there are bunch of marketing students that are not so familiar with even in the same MBA course.  I am in the Strategy course.

Anyway one of leading marketing professor here from Waseda MBA greeted and introduced agenda  for today and after one professor, a Japanese name professor in fact, a Japanese American started talking about construe relates to consumer psychology. He argues that construe is different from what one is physical distance from objective but how one process the mind and feel the distance. anyway continue talked self control. and showed us some of the results from experiments that compare high construe and low construe how they are tempted to self indulgent. result showed that high construe has better control over self indulgence than the other.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3153425/

i knew this is not self-help class and it has to do with implementation. but how you set up construe is the key. if you are high construe you are good at self control and vise versa.
it's matter of definition or label. if you are high construe you are strict on yourself, on the other hand, if you  are low construe you are low self indulgent. i am not sure that.
It maybe that matter of implementation, so i wonder if we could make someone from low construe to high construe. i thought it something to do with word play.
because construe conditioning, expetimenter would provide limited words for each depend on object.

Jul 12, 2012

Monday Morning Smile

It is Thursday now but,,
My father's friend used to send all of his friends include business friends funny short lines on every Monday morning as monday morning smile. Clinically monday morning is especially 3-5 AM the zone many people die. I wonder monday is really blue even retired people but some stats shows still lots of people hate monday. I remember when i was student drunk until monday morning and saw lots of people came out of subway station and most of them are really depressed. I am not sure why but monday is still difficult to tackle with.

So dad's friend Duane-san send us jokes to cheer up. He has done every Monday like 30 years? The duration is very much impressive, and he stop doing that because he retired his business at his 70. That doesn't mean he withdraw from all social activities. In fact, he seems busier than used to be by leading lots of volunteer projects. Anyway, his activities are set free from business activities that often involve negotiation requires tons of pressure and patient. He had sent jokes to business counter parts as well. That is great generosity and contribution and as the result it was great his branding as well. 

Show humanity even to one's enemy

Apr 30, 2012

キムキドク「悪い女」

しかし「悪い女」と邦題付けた奴なんてセンスがないんだろう。英題は、a birdcage innだよ。こちらが原題に近いんだろうか、余程ましだ。悪い女なんてセンスは、悪い女なんだ、ってことにしていしまい、そこで思考が完結するとこにあ る。いわゆる典型的な女性に対する男の幻想という凡庸な認識に過ぎない。もちろん、下手に社会派じゃないとこが、キムキドクのいいとこかもしれない。ある 意味、暴力的な映画だった。キムキドクの映画デビューは96年以降だが、この物語の設定は明らかに、90年代以前のものだろう。といっても韓国の知識がからきしないので、どの時代なんだかピンとこない。民宿に住み込みの娼婦という以外に職業選択のない時代なんていつだろう。これは、むしろ、溝口の描く近世 日本じゃないかとおもる。特に娼婦や女性へのやさしさが溝口的。哀れんでいるわけでなく、彼は女性になりたいのではと思わせるフシがある。一方で、男性に 関しては、波止場で見せたマーロン・ブランドを思わせるものがある。特に、主人公の娼婦を食い物にする男がブランドと同じような格好をしていた。この映画では、男性同士の友情などはほとんど描かれなかったが、男性同士を描いたものを見てみたい気がする。また、キドクの残虐性は今村昌平に通じるものがあると思われる。娼婦が、無抵抗に次々と男性に身体を許すシーンは基本的に不快なものであるが、このような不快さをわりとストレートに出すのがショーヘイ・イマムラである。最近、キムキドクはサマリアという、この映画と通じる少女二人の話で、ベネチアを騒がせたらしいが、サマリアのイントロも決して主流になれな い匂いがする。キムキドクは、決して正規の映画教育を受けた訳でもなく、画家を志しパリに滞在したこともあるようだ。ともかく、反主流の匂いがする点も、 鈴木清順という東映の売れっ子に対する、イマムラの位置と似てないだろうか。まあ、鈴木清順からしたら、向こうは、ちっとも売れない映画をつくり、海外で賞をもらいやがってということらしいが。売れない映画を作る事を許された特権的映画監督。



Apr 24, 2012

Ginza is Flagship for Chinese

We have big shopping street in Ginza where kind of like 5th avenue in New York City where the major brands have flag ship shops. Ginza the major shopping street in center of Tokyo is holly mecca for Chinese shoppers now. There are tourists bus stop by every second packed with unstable shopping fever. So having flagship store means to impress chinese people who travel to Japan and their word of mouth spread over the continent and that's how those major brands are branding. So Asia is getting more like one area to expand business. CEO of Tommy Hifhfilger said that have big store in Ginza for branding in China. He doesn't expect to grow much in Japan but there are lots of Chinese people are visiting so have flagship in Tokyo.

Mar 10, 2012

What I do ②- Sayonara Japan

International sales could be applied 3 things to me.

1, in-out ad campaign; support clients who want to reach various local market from Japan..
2, out-in campaign; opposite of in-out. Help clients outside Japan to Japanese local market.
3, new to recent acts; reach Japanese in out side Japan. 

I want to mainly talk about the third one in here.
Current economy in Japan as well as yen hike damage and decided many companies to look and shift the market outside Japan. 90% of Japanese GDP composed domestic market used to be. Only 10% earned outside 10 years ago. It seems different now. Revenues of many companies come from outside Japan. They are working with local clients Toyota sells cars to Americans. But i think there is business opportunities targeting Japanese outside Japan. Well I am in media business deal Japanese language our audience are mostly Japanese. The number of Japanese living in entire Asia surpassed the number of north America that used to be most populated. The reason is that a number of Japanese companies are doing business in Asia especially China. We not only Japanese are aiming at China though. Japanese resides in Shanghai is now over 100,000 that is more than in NY. 

As of Media business, there are number of free papers are circulated among Japanese in various cities and countries. I used to live in SF there were several local free paper in Japanese language. It's about sushi restaurant and massage parlor. None of serious business issues are talked about.. I think still not many business media for Japanese outside Japan is mature enough. So i think we are the media should do ahead to others. Market will be more border less and especially with Asia there is no boundary so more and more Japanese are going outside. 

What I have to do? It should be simple. We have to build Asia channel that covers what's going on business around SEA and China. Business folks around Asia can read English and even local languages, but it's better to read in native language. If our site could provide quality and hot issues to them, it would produce some new  business opportunity for us. Sayonara Japan. 

What I Do -① Support B to B Marketing

I haven't touched what I am doing in office. Here is what I do and think most of week day.

I am working at a media company and i am an ad sales lead and international sales leas as well.
I have mission to expand business and revenues both domestically and internationally.
And my clients are asking either SMB or large enterprise basically B  to B marketing solution.
It's bee barely used that simple banner ads for campaign except few super generous clients.

Since the KPI, banner ads are shifting to ad-network is common thing. So those who spent huge amount of money on banner ads even buying regular price is contribution and their focus is to build relationship with media that I have to appreciate. Of course, media needs lots of investment to keep good service.  Anyway what clients spend especially in B to B field is on generating and nurturing leads. Marketing object by using online media especially business sites like us is shifted to sales driven from simply raising awareness. So providing numbers of leads is key and nurture to provide hotter leads is even better instead of reporting numbers of clicks. How media can nurture leads is the issue and that what I am tackling now.

I come to think client's point of view to see what they really want for media. To be honest, I don't have experience working in run ordinary business except media or ad production so i have to imagine and sometime feel like it's nice to have experience to operating business and use media and ad agency from outside. But I assume how to generate revenue is similar in any industry.

Anyway business aspect in terms of operation here in Japan is valued still more keiken, kan, and dokyo which are experience, intuition, guts. No one deny those aspects still important but at the same time we don't have to deny sophisticated methods as well like business applications such as automated marketing system to sales force activities. Here in point is to visualize what effective and not effective throughout the revenue pipe as rational possible. It's crucial to track each client's how each one of them contribute your revenue things like that. And the point of nurturing is to make potential clients to become royal customer. So whole thing is about building relationship especially good one.



As a media, how we can be partner with clients is that how we can help clients process of building relationship with their customers; from potential clients to royal. Generating leads is one opportunity and nurturing them on media is another. For us they are readers and site visitors and once generated as leads, they become potential clients for advertisers. Business sites thus is wanted to how many qualified business persons such one has authority and budget to get around.

As a sales I provide lead generation opportunities for clients. But if our media is not supply good leads then lose the revenue source. So my another mission beside sales is to make royal fan around media. Key is contents as well as site service.

Mar 7, 2012

Ballad of Narayama is Fiction Now

Ballad of Narayama is a sad but true story that leave old lady abandoned mountain for sake of young in poor village.  Modern Japan is getting poorer and facing the conflict of generation but not as it was, the young are less preserved than elders now.

Think of democracy in Japan. Young people are least privileged, because they are minority constituency and their feeling of lack of power impacts negative spiral. Here young people include myself late 30s. Because they are political minority so depressed enough not going to vote to change the world. As the result, they feel more repressed and not going or doing anything.

Vice prime minister said that they will cut hiring of public sector 40% for next fiscal. In Japan, public sector get paid better than most of mid and small size of company and their employment is guaranteed and pension plan is much better than regular plan. So well people complain about increase of tax raise unless spending is cut. Then democratic party choose not to hire young instead preserving 3 or 4 times well paid elder ones. Because it's much easier not to hire than cut people already in particularly public sector. Literary it's impossible force someone to leave unless committed serious criminal acts. As usually consequence of Japan, young people lose the conflicts of interest among generations.  This is understandable that current political party to reflect will of political majority so does democrats. but seriously lacks vision at all. Short term relationship type of democracy.

But it harms the course of nation itself. Young people are ones who will build up the country and if they are not preserve even slight hope the country barely could have vitality. Thus killing youth is very harmful for long term course of this
country. 

dvd-1343.jpg
                                 Ballad of Narayama is total fiction now

Feb 5, 2012

Adapting Globalization is Urgent Matter for Japan

It's season of disclosing fiscal financial conditions, and i hear IT related service companies such like DeNA, Glee, social game service provider for mobile phone users are expanding their business. But those traditional home appliance giants such like Panasonic, Sony, NEC and etc are disclosing tremendous amount of deficits that we haven't heard for a while. Affecting the earthquake, super strong yen, and sluggish domestic economy, Euro Crisis, etc etc, they can name many cause of negative performance. And experts points out major reason of their declining performance actually losing their share against Korean, Taiwan, and Chinese counterparts especially TV business.
CEO of Panasonic
explains wimpy result



Biggest reason losing is the price. Japanese TV's are okay in terms of quality but price is way up compare to competitors because the production line is still in Japan or even outside that are not efficient enough. Traditionally Japanese has strong sense in monodukuri, manufacturing for their strength and have myth that they never get lose in this category but in fact, they are losing. They have strong belief that their superiority in making things but sadly it's no longer effective by viewing the all those deficits are reported. I think Japan needs to get out the belief that they are tough in this section without evidence.

Mind set is still trap how they change their organization and catch up with competitors. So bottle neck is that they are so conservative enough not to change and assimilate global stage. But blind folded not see the fact of losing. I think myself used to work in an American global company and i thought their strength is people that come from all over the world to join and participate to make company better. People are diversified and the diversity is the biggest strength of the organization of course they are smart people. Because our business environment is changing rapidly and homogeneous which many of Japanese enterprises still are, hard to catch up the what's happening around world. Less flexibility thus no speed on decision etc. Homogeneous way worked well when world was simple to create simple set of products. The world we belong no longer works that way, but to see rapidly changing environment and decides what's to do. That makes possible is to mixed of many different ways of thinking to prepare change.
Students are still adapting to homogeneous
 recruiting culture in Japan

Japanese companies are starting to hire foreigners or foreign experienced Japanese students even for their HQs. Until recently, many of fresh graduates join the same company, most of them have similar back ground and spend many years together in the same company. But now it's more likely your coworkers are coming from different places and so get different values and thoughts. That's quite new experience at many work place in Japan. But i think that's few thing that Japanese companies can be flexible and be quicker thus be stronger.

Feb 3, 2012

Queen Never Makes Mistake

I remember that my father's friend used to work at GE and rose up to top of consumer appliance division in APAC but fought against Jack Welch at the time, and eventually he left  the company and started his own business which is analogue record player. But the player is unusual because the needle isn't made of ordinary metal, but involved some kind of laser technology.

http://www.laserturntable.com/

Since it doesn't scratch on record physically, it doesn't get damage by playing year by year. That's amazing technology. However, it costs a lot as well. I heard least costs 3 million yen, which is like US$40,000. I also heard that Stevie Wonder came to buy 3 of them. And one day, a guy from UK embassy asked to my father 's friend. The Queen is interested in the Laser turntable. Yes and actually she bought it. Thing is she paid 3 million Great Britain Pound instead of 3 million yen. Of course, the supplier of turntable send a letter to UK embassy, she paid in wrong currency. It's quite amazing that the embassy replied he didn't need to pay back because Queen doesn't make mistake.

As a consequence, he got 500 millions yen for selling one player. But even that he isn't that rich, because he spent so much money to invest to develop this product. Yeah he is passionated guy even he fought Jack Welch.


Jan 21, 2012

Much Ado About Nothing

A famous comedian confessed how he ended his popular TV show started since 1990. The show is about bunch of young ladies talk and expose about their experience of love relationship of much ado about nothing. Young ladies talked how crazy guys to get ladies like giving them houses, luxury cars etc. Even not that costly, a guy put Christmas electric lights on his body at the beach to raise attention of the lady etc. Their episode were outrageous and hyper active in a way. But year after year, as Japanese economy went sluggish, economic activities between both sexes toned down like give counter part neck less. Less hustle means less funny so the comedian came to terminate his popular TV show.I liked the show and hope to back it one day.

Choosing Life Partner

Friend of female friends discussed about how she choose life partner.
She is attractive enough that several guys are approaching and some guys are attractive even from my perspective from guy makes multi million dollar a year to corporate elite. The former guy is from country side and his education stop at elementary level but his vitality and street smartness pushed him to contract from local government and he is very rich. There are several guys type of this have been approaching to her. A business owner type. But my friend doesn't like any of gangster like personality too much masculinity everything has to be under control. I kind of respect that made up his own world with strong will and action.

On the other hand, the latter guy works at one of top fortune company as manager in his early 30's. He obtained Ph.D from one of best school in the nation and his father is air line pilot and mother is professor at university and he earns figures. At first glance, his status is way above average and so do think many young ladies. He is absolutely eligible bachelor. There are also this type of corporate elite with good education type who are approaching her This type is less income to business owner but more stable. Both type owns house or two and prestigious cars like porsche, lexus or mercedes.  Both type of guys are attractive enough for young ladies who look for life partner in terms of status.




It is important status where income and position that indicate how you are functional in the society and how you brought up. But it also make sense to focus on one's personality and value how she approaches life and interpret the world things like that. Especially when you think of sharing life for long time, probably a little more make sense to focus on value than status.

Jan 19, 2012

Gamification: life does need game

Gaming is everywhere and buzz word now.
Broad mean is home appliance and web and mobile device have aspect of game like x box, social game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification
Game is entertainment. I think major aspect of game is to be more skillful. There was master of game who was respected millions of kids because he is master of the game like super martial artists. So Zen like existence of game master could be applied for any aspect of life.
Life is most fun and hard target to master. Life is too vary and rely of individual choice and given situation. Wherever you start from, you have to have to grow and step up like playing role playing game. Of course, real life goal is up herself.
I think it's basic to get back to my resolution of year 2012, to sum up, losing weight is relate to how you eat and choose daily food so up to my life habit and life style consist my body. So is Gamed life. What the goal of life is consist of what we spend time now. Of course, I can't stick hard stoicism strict agenda, so i need to come up some fun aspect game. I need to bring game aspects for life.

Jan 15, 2012

Memo: Regression Analysis

These 4 clips of video will really help you to understand basic concept of regression analysis. Lot more helpful than reading standard text. Thanks!










And here is video using regression analysis for hypothetical real business practice.







企画・戦略スタッフのための「入門」科学的意思決定


Jan 14, 2012

Year of Dragon , Year of Change

It's been couple weeks past 2012. Some might already feel breaking up the resolution.
I got 2 things myself; 1, lose weight, 2, start to do business with China. For1, i am already not checking my weight. I just rather reduce consumption of alcohol that i believe the great help.

This is year of change that i heard 5 of major UN permanent countries leaders are ready to change. Only one not changing is the Briton BTW. I think those are powerful leaders that affect our daily consequence somewhat. So I hope smart leaders to make better society. But I'd rather want to focus on to practice to pursue my happiness that eventually brings happiness to society as well. In this sense, I hold libertarian perspective.

As Andrew Carnegie said that when he got old he sees not what men say but what they do. I getting that sense now. We are in the full of blah blah blah. Yeah so i don't have to just say lose weight but rather just lose weight. I came up the idea the losing 200g every week bring to lose 10 kg in the year end. What i have to do is stick to the plan and revise the regimen when hits slump. As I came up, cut beer consumption is great and If I can make it lee beer life as habit that the  way to go. Too much indulgent like Epicurean won't bring anything that already ancient Greek said it though today's Greek people seem spoiled a bit. Habit is consist what she do everyday. Better life habit bring the better quality of life i just don't need to say but conscious my way of thinking in everyday life.  so i should shut my mouth and just do it . Eventually It's nothing to do with year of dragon or change. I hope you to have great year end.

Jan 9, 2012

Richard Rorty's definition of Ironist


(1) She has radical and continuing doubts about the final vocabulary she currently uses, because she has been impressed by other vocabularies, vocabularies taken as final by people or books she has encountered; (2) she realizes that argument phrased in her present vocabulary can neither underwrite nor dissolve these doubts; (3) insofar as she philosophizes about her situation, she does not think that her vocabulary is closer to reality than others, that it is in touch with a power not herself.
— Richard Rorty, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, p.73

Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity


【課題書】統計学

自然科学の統計学 (基礎統計学)

自然科学の統計学 (基礎統計学)

これよさそう。統計をしっかり理解するのはやはりこちらか。本屋で見かけてはいたのだけど。

Jan 8, 2012

The Rational Optimist

Good stuff to read. The author Matt Ridley has enormous knowledge on from human history to facebook and current technology. Based on evidence and stats to explore how our life has evolved better way even though current turmoil of economy and regional wars. Shows "How Prosperity Evolves"  I think my weekend is drown to this book.

Jan 4, 2012

Rupert Murduch's China Adventure

The biggest 20th (and 21) century media mogul's China advernture

Rupert Murdoch's China Adventures: How the Worlds Most Powerful Media Mogul Lost a Fortune and Found a Wife

I had this when I visited Shanghai last year.

China Market Memo Jan 2012

There are several ways who think and come up idea of Marketing Strategy like me to go into China.

1, PR and Marketing support
2, Media business
3, Merchandise products like food and drink or consumer appliance.

I think above 3 are important aspects have to be related and run altogether in terms of making profit.

I am in the Media business so I need to pivot three from Media business perspective. I think important aspect of Media is to give better information to what people are looking for and provide for better business opportunities for partners most of sense advertisers. The company where I belong runs web media and all contents are free so almost all of revenue relayed on advertisement. That is relating to marketing support. More and more clients, require to best match to their target audience that they don't want to waste penny for ad. We have to provide more precise and better ROI that means the ad result should be prospered in clear numbers that give selling to them. So the contents of media means to attract more number of attractive audience. Site power means not only the number of people has visited but if there are  quality audience. Quality audience has purchase power of at least influence decision to purchase. How many people who affects casting vote is also important factor. Those people are usually read predominantly quality "papers".  Is there quality website? Sure it is.  Quantity and quality both there serious aspects for site business.

This is what we are going to aim at in Japan. How we can implement site business strategy when we go into China?  I am not even sure that what we do here works there. But anyhow fundamental of media role is to release quality information to readers and provide best matching opportunities for clients.

And as of contents business from Japan, fashion design, Anime, and manga kind of things Chinese people are interested the most. And Manga publisher like Shueisha is sponsors Manga artist contest to attract local audience and many fashion design publishers are providing magazines for local people. Those have more possibility than other contents like literature, business, politics, and economics and business stuff.

Messaging is first step but not enough. We have to come up how to endorse way of revenue. Find client who advertise is one way, but when the site is start up we can't support enough inventory and result for advertisers. Probably good way to support is to sell something on our own like food or consumer products. Again, Chinese people are attracted Japan's design and quality of many things, so we can sell some package food and drink. One good model is that The New York Times is selling their members selected 6 bottles of quality wines every month for $100. The member of wine club gets wines which NYT selects every month. I think audience of NYT trust what they choose and actually it's easier for audience not to have to select. I think this can be tied up media with some quality liquor brands. This way subsidise the way revenue from ad. It could be branded rice, any product is fine.