By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, SiliconEdge


That Japan like any country, be it developing or developed, has her share of problems is not in the least bit surprising or at least it shouldn't be.

However, what has surprised me over the years is how many foreign "Japan watchers" and "Japan pundits" always seem to miss the crux of what's really going on on the ground in Japan and more importantly what's going on in the mind of the Japanese.

When articles are written or comments made about the supposed dearth of Japanese startups, the author or speaker almost always boils this down to several factors such as Japan's Shima-guni mentality (Island Nation / 島国), the so-called Galapagos Effect (which as I've continually pointed out is really just a misnomer for an industry or marketplace rife with ossified, rent-seeking incumbents and regulatory capture), Japan's supposed lack of talent, Japan's supposed lack of diversity and Japan supposed lack of creativity.
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With that said,  there is another popular myth and meme that comes up regarding the lack of Japanese startups and that is the idea that the Japanese have an almost in-born fear of failure.

I'm not here to argue that Japanese don't have a fear of failure because they do. We all do. Just as most other peoples around the world do, including those in the US and even including those working in Silicon Valley.

People fear failure. 

But to hear the pundits tell it, "Japanese need to get over failure and embrace it". These pundits act like the fear of failure in Japan is simple a psychological construct* like it is in parts of the West like in the US.

By James Santagata
Executive Director, Asia-Pacific Coaching Alliance

We're pleased to announce that Bill Gluth, Business Vision Mentor (Interview 1) (Interview 2) is offering a free initial consultation to all APCA Members to help us blend our talent with our brand to stand out from the competition. 

Bill is also offering 10% off of any mentoring package when you tell him that you came from the APCA website.

More Details:
http://billgluth.com/services/

The questions that we posed to Bill during our time together:

1) Bill can you please describe what a Business Vision Mentor is and does?

2) The coaching marketing is becoming / seemingly very crowded today. How can coaches stand out from crowd and reach the people they can best serve and make a difference in the world?

3) What trends have you seen in the market since the 1990's, 2001 when you enter coaching and now  today?

4) What do you say to strong (certified) coaches who can't develop a solid book of business while some coaches with no certification have developed a strong book of business? What's the difference? What can they do?

5) How do you define a brand?

6) What do you say to people who don't feel comfortable in selling or marketing themselves? Is there a way around that? Is there another way?

7) You talk about having a pressure free sales technique because "there is no sale to make". What are the mechanics of that?
(hint: Presence, Attraction, Invitation, Collaboration)

8) What does the psychographic category "group cultural creative" mean and why should coaches care?

9) What is an Enlightenpreneur?

10) What do you mean "the energy of business has changed" 
and why do you say that? Please give us some examples?

11) How can coaches re-align themselves to the new energy of business and the new marketplace?

The Coach For Impact!™ expert interview series kicks off with Denis Roberts, founder of The Networking Firm.

Denis Roberts Profile:
Today's guest is Denis Roberts (based in London), an Organizational Psychologist and founder of The Networking Firm.
The Networking Firm is a virtual organization primarily composed of consultants and coaches and which has an objective of developing a sustainable collaborative network of independent professional service practices and which also has a virtual action learning community.

Topics Discussed Include:
Where coaching has been
Where coaching is going
The trend and movements to self-employment
Disruptive technology and its impact on bricks and mortars
How to unleash the earning power of coaches and consultants (from 50% of their value to 85%)
Sustainable collaborative networks
Development and sustaining of an action learning community
Comparison of face-to-face learning and virtual learning
Tribal Leadership

We're happy to announce that the new High-Impact Coaching membership badges are now available for APCA members in good-standing. 

It's available as both a PNG file (which retains transparency and is used in almost all situations except when you have a white background) and a .JPG file which is used when you have a white background.

Note: If you have a white background you'll want to use the .JPG file rather than the .PNG

We're happy to announce that the new Coach For Impact! High-Impact Coaching certification badges are now available for High-Impact Certified Coaches. 

It's available as both a PNG file (which retains transparency and is used in almost all situations except when you have a white background) and a .JPG file which is used when you have a white background.

Note: If you have a white background you'll want to use the .JPG file rather than the .PNG

We also have our graphic artist hard at work created a revised badge for general membership of the Asia-Pacific Coaching Alliance, so please stay tuned!

Hi Everyone,

We're very excited to be rolling out our new series of High-Impact Coaching Training under the
Coach For Impact!™ series.

We have four titles in the training series including:
1. Introduction To High-Impact, Ethically-grounded Coaching: $75 USD**                         
2. High-Impact Communication Certification: $1,480 USD
3. High-Impact Business Development & Client Management: $1,980 USD
4. High-Impact Coaching Certification: $2,500 USD

** This can be applied as a credit against the High-Impact Coaching Certification.

More details will be unveiled in the coming months!