Factors that make Japanese successful business people

Japan's economic growth has been characterised by many different aspects. Foremost among these are a strong sense of entrepreneurial spirit, and a willingness to firmly grasp technological innovations. It can also be said that as well as the complex factors driving business success in Japan, there are fundamental aspects to the Japanese character that lend themselves to strong achievement in the marketplace.

Amongst several national traits, one aspect of longstanding cultural significance is shame. Failure is often accepted as part and parcel of the business world in the West; in Japan it is far less likely to be treated so matter-of-factly. In medieval times, samurai warriors would commit ritual suicide rather than accept defeat in battle. While no-one would be expected to go to such extremes in the civilized 21st century, for many entrepreneurs success is an overwhelming driving force. Achieving less is still regarded as anathema in a wide range of circles, from bankers to politicians. This sense of always striving for the optimum results manifests in various other ways. The Japanese business person is far more likely to be focused on the most beneficial outcome for all concerned, with teamwork rather than individual success being a very strong priority.

Another national characteristic is to hanker for simpler times. For all the sophisticated urban hustle and bustle permeating Japanese society, many people observe more sparing and contemplative attitudes. Shoppers, for instance, are particularly keen on seeking out bargains. For all the shiny state-of-the-art computer equipment and mobile devices surrounding consumers, simplicity is still highly valued. Many shoppers are keen to seek out bargains and will hang around supermarkets near closing time, appreciating there will be big reductions.

This sense of austerity can be invaluable when it comes to business. Unlike some Western entrepreneurs who thrive on the unpredictability of the markets, their Japanese counterparts are far more likely to display caution, ultimately reaping the benefits of astute business decisions rather than spur of the moment reactions.

Japan is also characterised by its extremely hard working employees. The average worker toils for far longer hours than those in the USA, the UK or Germany. Officials at car plants in Japan are proud to boast that their teams can turn over a brand-new car in nine days, compared to the same vehicle taking well over a month to produce overseas.

Indonesia – the world's fastest growing social media hub

Unless you've had business or holiday reasons to visit Indonesia, chances are this Asian nation might not be as familiar to you as, say, India or China. But here are some facts you probably weren't aware of. As one of the world's major economies, Indonesia is a member of the G-20. It covers over 17,500 islands and, with a population approaching 240 million, is the world's fourth most populous country. What else? Indonesia is currently at the forefront of a technological revolution.

Indonesia's growing love of mobile phones

While the economies in the aforementioned India or China have experienced fluctuations in fortune, Indonesia has steadily been nurturing a taste for the latest in computer and telecommunications technology. In fact, according to recent economic trends, Indonesians will be purchasing over 60 million mobile phones during 2013. This eye-watering figure represents a 114% penetration rate.

This ferocious upsurge is being driven by two factors: the replacement market and, even more significantly, social media. Samsung are leading the way in the Indonesian marketplace, taking the lion's share of the two-thirds of mobile sales generated by international brands. Samsung, a South Korean conglomerate, are facing stiff competition from both local Indonesian retailers and the Chinese market (this chunk of the overall pie chart has risen to 37% and continues to grow). BlackBerry and Nokia are experiencing strong sales figures, although Apple is currently lagging some way behind.

Where the Indonesian market is really burgeoning is in sales of smart phones. Blackberry have seen their products shifting at a rate that represents a 30% increase. The 37 models they are offering in Indonesia have seen them taking around 50% of the market. Samsung, who have an even greater number of smart phones in their arsenal (some 225 models) have enjoyed a sales increase of over 130%, or 39% of the market.

Apple have not reached such impressive heights with their smart phones: their 13 models amount to a mere 2% of the overall sales. Similarly, the Nokia Windows phone (with 22 models) equate to 2% of the total. While they dominate the market in feature phones, they have come nowhere near matching Samsung's dominance in Indonesia.

Mobiles and social media

As with elsewhere on the globe, the potent driving force behind smart phone sales in Indonesia is social media. Everyone from commuters heading into Jakarta's financial district to farmers on the outlying Javanese islands are increasingly reliant on having virtual lifelines to the outside world in the palm of their hands. Interestingly, statistical research reveals that while one-fifth of the Indonesian population are connected to the web at home and 65% can surf in internet cafes, less than 10% possess PCs. This means that there is a vast pool of consumers who are reliant on mobile phones for maintaining network links, as well as providing entertainment.

Indonesians are particularly susceptible to social media. Meeting up with friends for chats and games, and getting together with likeminded people in groups, have been cultural mainstays for generations. These activities are more than catered for by mobile phone technology, which is one reason why smart phones have been so embraced in this part of the world.

Facebook and Twitter

Social media giants Facebook regard Indonesia as their fourth-largest marketplace. In the bustling capital, Jakarta, there are an estimated 11 million users. Of these, the most popular fan page subscribed to is Opera Van Java. The hugely popular improvised comedy show on the Indonesian Trans 7 TV station boasts 7.6 million fans. Other Facebook fan bases numbering well into the seven millions include Mario Teguh, the charismatic motivational speaker (7.3 million) and Dahsyat, the music TV show (7.2 million).

Twitter look upon Jakarta as the city at the foremost of their 140-character communication revolution, while the second city, Surabaya, follows at number six in their user tally. Every second of the day, the information superhighway is being bombarded by tweets – some 10.6 billion worldwide. The fact that 2.4% of these messages are emanating from Indonesia illustrates the scale of Twitter's popularity in this corner of Asia. Indonesians are making a huge imprint on the ‘twittersphere', typing out and sending a dizzying average of over 900 tweets every minute; that's 15 every second! 87% of all these tweets are composed on mobile phones.

Twitter's accounts in Indonesia can be further broken down to underline these enormous figures. Popular culture is just as all-pervasive here as anywhere else in the planet. The 26-year-old pop and hip-hop singer, Agnes Monica Muljoto, is followed by almost 6.8 million Twitter users. Songwriter and cultural ambassador Sinna Sherina Munaf, aged 22, can boast a tally of 5.3 million and rising.

Elsewhere in the Indonesian social media world, the most popular YouTube channels are malesbanget.com, with 4.1 million subscribers, Gadis Gery (2.9 million) and Pocari Sweat (2.85 million). Almost 1.4 Indonesians use LinkedIn, over 70% of whom are aged between 18 and 34 years old.

Indonesians aren't just using Twitter as another form of communication; they are truly embracing the powerful potential of this social network, with over half the messaging being retweets. This means that Indonesian topics are frequently ‘trending' in the overall Twitter listings.

This simple act of reading an original 140-character message and then passing it on has had a fundamental impact in many areas. When the Indonesian footballer Irfan Bachdim, who currently plays for Thai side Chonburi, tweeted an advert for his favourite isotonic drink (Pocari Sweat), many of his fans seized on his recommendation and retweeted. A trending topic snowballed, which had a significant sway on the global market. English Premiership football clubs, such as Arsenal, have realised the potential enormity of the market forces in the world's fourth most populous nation. The North London side have established a Twitter feed aimed at Indonesian ‘Gunners' fans, with messaging conducted in English and Bahasa.

The size of this market cannot be underestimated. Social media is embraced by an estimated 96% of the Indonesian population. This represents far more than the numbers reading newspapers or tuning in to the radio; in fact, this staggering demographic is a bigger ratio than anywhere else on the planet. Because Twitter and Facebook are now considered social mobile brands, they are gaining new users at a phenomenal rate as Indonesians engage with the expanding infrastructure that has been taken for granted in Asian countries, such as Singapore, for some time.

Demographic trends

Considering the Indonesian population is one clue to the phenomenal success of social media in the country. Two-thirds are over 15 years old. Of this total of 160 million people, all will own at least one mobile phone. (And, like anywhere else on the planet, a sizeable portion of the under-15s will also own these devices).

While Indonesia itself covers a huge area, with more than 6,000 islands spread over both sides of the equator, its far-flung population has been uniformly eager to embrace social media. Feature mobiles enjoy a 97% distribution, with the figure for smart phones standing at 78%. The latter are enjoying a surge in popularity as consumers are drawn to the availability of larger screens. There has been a particular flood in sales for 2-3 and 3.5 inch versions.

Indonesians are clearly enthusiastic about social media. Brands must be aware of this fact, as it is key to infiltrating the marketplace here. While the population have traditionally been drawn to local brands, the 10 most popular Facebook brands include BlackBerry, the Bali-based Surfer Girl, Samsung, Intel and Axe. Local brands feature far more prominently in Twitter.

But for any brand to gain a foothold in the Indonesia market it must engage with social media platforms. This point is crucial, with the preliminary stage of any campaign being to dip a toe into the Indonesian online community. Marketing executives must carefully analyse what is being discussed on social media, and understand the hot topics that are currently trending. A careful balancing act must be initiated, because unlike other Asian markets, such as Singapore, where a brand can be popular simply because it is widely-known and respected, Indonesians aren't necessarily impressed by ‘famous'. The long-established integrity of brands reflecting local interest are just as important.

There is much proof of the inexorable growth of Indonesia's social media, but a particularly telling instance was when popular Facebook game ‘Angry Birds' was launched globally. The choice for this event was a suburban mall in Jakarta. Enthusiastic fans turned up in their droves, hopeful of winning prizes, with children as young as five displaying their keyboard dexterity. This was an example of the direction the Indonesian market is taking, with a new generation of potential smart device users already waiting in the wings. According to the Asia Vice-President of Rovio, the company behind Angry Birds, the reasoning behind the launch was: “… to ignite the whole market of Indonesia. To get them to like Angry Birds on Facebook and then play the game online." He added that the Indonesian capital was selected for a simple reality: this nation has become the social media capital of the world.

Overview of Burma

While the large economies in the Far East are benefitting from having successfully weathered the storms that have greatly impacted other global markets, there are pockets of Asia doing less well.

Burma is a key example of a country that should really be doing a lot better financially than it actually is. It is a resources-rich land, with key industries including agricultural production, textiles, wool products, construction materials, metals and the mining of oil and natural gas. Ninety percent of the world's rubies are mined in the mountainous Mogok area (although many US and European jewellery companies boycott Burmese products due to concerns about working conditions faced by the ruby miners).

However, much of the country is completely off-limits to tourists, with pervasive government control also having a detrimental effect on the growth of the economy. Burma has begun exporting considerable amounts of natural gas in recent years, but little of the wealth generated has trickled downwards. In fact, almost one-third of the country's population is estimated to live below the poverty line, making Burma the poorest country in South East Asia.

Unfortunately the business climate is seen as opaque and corrupt, certainly not conducive for any amount of significant investment. Burma does generate considerable wealth from its export of natural materials and gemstones, but this is coveted by an elite group of military leaders and their business associates. The chasm in social status enjoyed by the minority at the top and the bulk of the population was exacerbated in 2011. State assets, such as considerable portions of real estate, were transferred to military families in an operation thinly disguised as a ‘privatization policy'.

Burma's economy suffers from similar imbalances, including multiple official exchange rates that deliberately overvalue the Burmese kyat, severe fiscal deficits, lack of commercial credit that is further distorted by a non-market interest rate regime, wildly fluctuating inflation rates, factually suspect economic data, and the regular failure to reconcile national accounts. There are few aspects of the economy that foreign investors would touch with a barge pole, except for the stalwarts of natural gas, power generation, timber, and mining. Alas, the exploitation of these natural resources does not benefit the wider population.

In 2011 the Burmese government took some steps toward reform, attempting to open up aspects of the economy by lowering export taxes and reaching out to international organizations. The government does enjoy good economic relations with neighbouring countries, but seismic shifts are required in Burma's internal political situation for there to be any serious promotion of foreign investment.

China's budding entrepreneurs

As China's economy continues to grow, its future looks more than assured given the degree of talent coming through its entrepreneurial ranks. The reasons for the confidence of the Chinese market in its continuing economic strength can be ascertained by checking out the scores of budding entrepreneurs.

By 2015 there will be over 500 million Chinese under the age of 50 - equivalent to the entire population of the European Union. And where these citizens differ drastically from previous generations is that they are no longer backward-looking or insular. In days gone by there would have been a strong tendency to idolise political reformers such as Deng Xiaoping. But China's new generation are far more likely to be hoping to emulate Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

Although scarcely a generation has passed since the austere days of Chairman Mao's communism, modern twenty-somethings are embracing entrepreneurship and the possibilities of market capitalism. Although China's large industries – banking, telecommunications, power supply and steel production – remain state-controlled, a huge portion of the economy is being driven by the vision of its dynamic new impresarios.

One senior associate at Katzenbach Partners, Stacy Palestrant, conducted a study of Chinese students. She adopted the phrase ‘the bridge generation'. “They grew up in communist China and in the 1980s the country started to change”. While their parents would be able to describe a very different world, where state control was the norm, a succession of communist leaders had fully recognised the direction in which the international economic winds were blowing. "So they have a foot in both worlds”, she concluded.

A typical example of China's bright new business stars would be Robin Chan. Aged a mere 32, he is typical of a generation growing up in a People's Republic that has inexorably become one of the globe's most powerful free market economies. Chan is the founder of XPD, one of money China's leading international social-gaming publishers. Chan hit upon a unique aspect of game development in China. While dozens of Chinese game developers wanted to access global social networks, they had little or no feasible methods for distribution. Chain stated: "The culture gap and operational limits are huge barriers for success in this industry". Beijing-based XPD are helping to unlock the planet's multibillion-dollar social-gaming market. One of its recent successes has been to publish a game called Medical Mayhem: in less than two months this has hooked more than 2 million users and over 100,000 Facebook fans.