EA-TOKYO INTERVIEWS
TERRIE LLOYD
LINC MEDIA
August 04 2003 - Mr. Terrie Lloyd, CEO and President of Linc Media - BiOs, Daijob.com, Japan Inc. Communications, and Layer-8 Technologies.
1. What is the role of failure in an entrepreneur's life?
In Japan at least, failure is not an option -- it is shameful and basically precludes you from doing business as a trusted entity from that point onwards -- and frankly, failure isn't really an option anywhere else either (except maybe in Silicon valley). Note that a failed company is not a failed entrepreneur, so long as the entrepreneur continues to survive. The answer to prevent a failed venture, even when things look their worst, is to listen to the market and to morph and provide services and products that the market actually wants. A company that climbs back out of the hole through selling the public genuinely sort after products and services is a company that can recover.
2.Give us a personal example of failure in the Japan market and what you learned from it.
I have had failed companies. I shut them down and moved on. I would say that about 20% of my ventures have not made it past the first stage of development (me running around madly, trying to establish a business model while training managers at the same time). Those companies where the product/service was in demand, and where the managers understood their job roles and believed in the company, however, are the ones that recovered from any temporary setbacks and went on to become successful.
Companies in Japan almost always fail because of execution -- Japanese customers are hard to please, they're very finicky, and they don't tolerant teams that are still learning their businesses.
3."In Japan, avoiding failure is more important than achieving success." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
Absolutely, which is why people, including many entrepreneurs, are reluctant to take risks. Failure creates major stigma around the businessperson and cripples them in terms of removing the "trust factor" from their personal networks. Since almost all business in Japan is done on the basis of trust and who you know, loss of these assets can be a fatal blow to someone's business ambitions.
Terrie's Links:
www.linkmedia.com
www.terrie.com
www.japaninc.com
www.daijob.com
www.workinjapan.com
www.japan.com
www.layer-8.com
www.biosjp.com
www.advanceserv.com
www.chakumatic.com
www.thetamusic.com
