So, What is Hansei Actually?

Summary

The video script discusses the Japanese concept of Hansei, a practice of reflection and regret used when things go wrong. Rochelle Kopp, founder of Japan Intercultural Consulting, explains that Hansei involves acknowledging mistakes, taking responsibility, analyzing what happened, and planning to prevent future occurrences. The lack of Hansei is a common complaint from Japanese working with non-Japanese, who often focus on external reasons rather than taking responsibility. Kopp emphasizes the importance of understanding and applying Hansei in cross-cultural business interactions with Japanese colleagues.

Takeaways

• 🌪️ A typhoon led to the sinking of an American cargo ship carrying Japanese products, causing a dispute between the two companies.
• 🤝 The Japanese company demanded an apology from the shipping firm, but the firm refused, citing the typhoon as an 'Act of God'.
• 🇯🇵 The concept of 'Hansei' is a crucial part of Japanese culture, involving reflection, regret, and improvement after a negative event.
• 🔍 Hansei is used to look back on events, consider how they could have been done better, and what actions can prevent future occurrences.
• 🚨 A lack of Hansei can lead to negative interactions in Japanese business culture, as it is seen as avoiding responsibility and making excuses.
• 📈 The story of an American sales manager reflects the cultural clash between the American and Japanese approaches to failure and responsibility.
• 🇺🇸 Americans tend to focus on external factors when explaining failures, whereas the Japanese expect an internal reflection and commitment to improvement.
• 🗣️ In Japan, an apology is expected, followed by an honest analysis of what went wrong and a plan to prevent future issues.
• 📚 Rochelle Kopp, founder of Japan Intercultural Consulting, explains Hansei and its importance in Japanese business interactions.
• 📈 Understanding and practicing Hansei can lead to more positive experiences when working with Japanese colleagues.
• 🔗 Resources for learning more about Japanese business culture, including Rochelle's book and Japan Intercultural's website, are available for those interested.

Q & A

What was the situation involving the American cargo ship and the Japanese company?

The American cargo ship was transporting products from a Japanese company to the USA when it sank due to a typhoon. The Japanese company sought a formal apology from the shipping firm, which refused, citing the typhoon as an 'Act of God'.

What is the Japanese concept of Hansei?

Hansei is a Japanese term that translates roughly to 'to reflect' or 'to regret'. It is used when reviewing situations that did not go well, with the aim of identifying how things could have been done better and what steps can be taken to prevent similar issues in the future.

How did the American sales manager's response to poor sales figures anger his Japanese boss?

The American sales manager focused on external reasons for the poor sales, such as lack of budget for advertising and product mix issues, instead of taking responsibility or suggesting improvements. This lack of Hansei, or reflection and taking responsibility, was not acceptable to his Japanese boss.

What are the three steps of Hansei?

The three steps of Hansei are: 1) Apologize and take responsibility for the situation, 2) Reflect on why it happened and provide an honest analysis, and 3) Discuss plans to prevent the same issue from recurring in the future.

How does the concept of Hansei differ between Japanese and American cultural perspectives?

In Japanese culture, Hansei involves taking responsibility and reflecting on one's actions to prevent future mistakes. In contrast, Americans tend to focus on external factors and may not apologize for things that are not entirely their fault.

What was Rochelle Kopp's advice for working with Japanese colleagues when something goes wrong?

Rochelle Kopp advised that when working with Japanese colleagues, one should apologize, honestly discuss what happened without focusing on external reasons, and present a plan to ensure the issue doesn't happen again, following the steps of Hansei.

What is the Japanese term for preventing a re-occurrence of an issue?

The Japanese term for preventing a re-occurrence of an issue is 'Saihatsu Boshi'.

How did the lack of Hansei affect interactions between Japanese and non-Japanese in the workplace?

The lack of Hansei led to misunderstandings and frustration, as Japanese individuals felt that non-Japanese made too many excuses, shifted blame, and did not apologize or take responsibility for issues.

What is Rochelle Kopp's bestselling book in Japanese about?

Rochelle Kopp's bestselling book in Japanese is titled 'How to Deal with Americans Who Don't Hansei', addressing the cultural differences and challenges faced by Japanese individuals working with Americans who do not practice Hansei.

Where can one find more information on Japanese business practices and intercultural communication?

For more information on Japanese business practices and intercultural communication, one can visit japanintercultural.com, which offers articles, e-learning courses, and other resources.

How can one stay updated with Rochelle Kopp's discussions on Japanese business terms?

By subscribing to the channel where the transcript was sourced from, one can receive updates on future videos in the series on Japanese business words and gain access to a more extended discussion on Hansei.

What benefits does the monthly newsletter from Japan Intercultural offer?

The monthly newsletter from Japan Intercultural provides a variety of materials on Japanese business, as well as discounts on training, enhancing the understanding and knowledge of those working with or interested in Japanese business practices.

Outlines

00:00

🌪️ The Typhoon, Hansei, and Cultural Misunderstandings

This paragraph discusses a conflict between an American cargo ship company and a Japanese firm after the ship sank due to a typhoon. The Japanese company sought an apology, but the American firm refused, citing the typhoon as an 'Act of God.' The Japanese company's expectation of Hansei, a practice of reflection and regret in Japanese culture, was not met. The founder of Japan Intercultural Consulting, Rochelle Kopp, explains that Hansei involves acknowledging mistakes, reflecting on how to improve, and planning to prevent future occurrences. A story illustrates the negative reaction of a Japanese manager to an American sales manager's failure to practice Hansei, highlighting the cultural differences in handling failure and responsibility.

05:01

🤝 Embracing Hansei in Cross-Cultural Business Relations

The second paragraph delves into the Japanese perspective on non-Japanese individuals who do not practice Hansei, often leading to frustration and perceived excuse-making. Rochelle Kopp's bestselling book in Japanese, 'How to Deal with Americans Who Don't Hansei,' reflects the common issue. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding and following the three steps of Hansei when working with Japanese colleagues: apologizing, analyzing the situation honestly without deflecting blame, and outlining plans for improvement. The paragraph concludes with a call to subscribe for more content on Japanese business practices and offers resources for further learning.

Keywords

💡Act of God

The term 'Act of God' refers to an event or circumstance that is beyond human control, often used in legal contexts to describe natural disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, etc. In the video, the shipping company cites the typhoon as an 'Act of God' to absolve themselves of responsibility for the sinking of the cargo ship, highlighting a cultural misunderstanding with the Japanese company expecting an apology and reflection on the incident.

💡Hansei

Hansei is a Japanese concept that involves deep reflection or regret, particularly in response to a failure or mistake. It encompasses acknowledging the issue, expressing regret, analyzing what went wrong, and proposing corrective actions to prevent future occurrences. In the video, the lack of Hansei by the American sales manager leads to a negative interaction with his Japanese boss, emphasizing the cultural importance of taking responsibility and planning for improvement in Japan.

💡Intercultural Consulting

Intercultural Consulting refers to the practice of providing advice and guidance to organizations or individuals on how to navigate and effectively communicate in a multicultural environment. Rochelle Kopp, the founder of Japan Intercultural Consulting, offers insights into the concept of Hansei in the video, illustrating how cultural understanding can improve international business relations.

💡Reflection

Reflection in the context of the video refers to the process of thinking deeply about a past event, particularly a mistake or failure, to identify what could have been done differently and how to improve in the future. It is a core component of Hansei, emphasizing learning from past experiences to prevent repetition of errors.

💡Accountability

Accountability is the expectation that individuals or organizations will accept responsibility for their actions and the outcomes of those actions. In the video, the Japanese company seeks accountability from the shipping company through a formal apology and a commitment to prevent future incidents, which is a reflection of the cultural value of Hansei.

💡Cultural Perspective

A cultural perspective refers to the way in which the values, beliefs, and practices of a particular culture influence individuals' behavior and interpretation of events. In the video, the cultural perspective of the Japanese is highlighted through the concept of Hansei, which contrasts with the American sales manager's approach to explaining poor sales figures.

💡Prevention of Re-occurrence

Prevention of re-occurrence, also referred to as 'Saihatsu Boshi' in Japanese, is the proactive step of planning and implementing measures to ensure that past mistakes or failures do not happen again. It is a critical part of the Hansei process, focusing on future-oriented solutions rather than dwelling on past issues.

💡Excuses

Excuses are justifications or explanations given to avoid taking responsibility for a mistake or failure. In the video, the American sales manager's focus on external factors rather than taking responsibility is seen as making excuses, which is frowned upon in the context of Hansei and Japanese cultural expectations.

💡Non-Japanese

The term 'Non-Japanese' in the video refers to individuals or cultural groups that do not originate from Japan and may not share the same cultural practices or values, such as the concept of Hansei. The video discusses the challenges that arise when non-Japanese individuals interact with Japanese colleagues without understanding these cultural expectations.

💡Business Etiquette

Business etiquette refers to the professional behavior and communication norms expected in business settings. In the context of the video, understanding and adhering to Japanese business etiquette, particularly the practice of Hansei, is crucial for successful interactions with Japanese colleagues and partners.

Highlights

An American cargo ship carrying Japanese products sank due to a typhoon.

The Japanese company demanded an apology from the shipping firm, which refused, citing the typhoon as an 'Act of God'.

The concept of Hansei is introduced as a key element in Japanese business culture.

Hansei translates roughly to 'to reflect' or 'to regret' in English.

Hansei is used when reflecting on failures and considering how to improve.

A story is shared about an American sales manager who did not practice Hansei, leading to a negative interaction with his Japanese boss.

The Japanese president expected the sales manager to take responsibility and reflect on the poor sales figures.

In Japan, acknowledging mistakes and apologizing is the first step in addressing issues.

Hansei involves analyzing the reasons behind a failure and discussing how to prevent future occurrences.

The term 'Saihatsu Boshi' refers to the prevention of a re-occurrence, a crucial part of Hansei.

Americans tend not to apologize for things that are not entirely their fault, which contrasts with Japanese expectations.

Japanese people often express frustration with non-Japanese for not practicing Hansei.

Rochelle Kopp's bestselling book in Japanese addresses the issue of non-Japanese not practicing Hansei.

When working with Japanese, it's important to follow the three steps of Hansei: Apologize, Analyze, and Plan for Improvement.

Adopting the practice of Hansei can lead to more positive experiences with Japanese colleagues.

Rochelle Kopp's insights into Hansei are valuable for understanding Japanese business culture.

More detailed discussions on Hansei and other Japanese business terms will be available on the channel.

Resources for learning about Japanese business are available at japanintercultural.com.

A monthly newsletter with materials on Japanese business and training discounts is offered for free.

Transcripts

An American cargo ship was carrying a Japanese  companies' products from Japan to the USA.

The ship was caught in a typhoon and sank.

The Japanese company demanded a formal apology  from the shipping firm, but they refused.

They said a typhoon was an ‘Act of God’ and it was not their fault.

The Japanese company was furious.

The shipping company's response  was not nearly good enough,  

as they had refused to engage in Hansei.

To answer this, I asked the founder of Japan  Intercultural Consulting, Rochelle Kopp,

a few questions about Hansei.

Take it away, Rochelle!

This is one of those Japanese terms that  there's not an exact equivalent in English.

Probably the closest would be  ‘to reflect’ or ‘to regret’.

Hansei is always used when there  is something that didn't go well  

and you're looking back on it and thinking,

‘How could I have done better?’

‘What should I have done differently?’

And related, ‘What could I do in the future?’

Now, let me share a story of someone at  a Japanese company who did not Hansei  

and it led to a very bad interaction  with his Japanese manager.

So, this is the head of sales for the  American division of a Japanese company  

and he was called into his  boss, the president's office,

his boss is Japanese, and he was  given a scolding for the poor  

sales numbers that had just been  reported for the American operation

and the sales manager proceeded to talk about  

all the reasons that these poor sales figures  had happened that were outside of his control:

That he had asked for more budget for  advertising but that he hadn't received it,

he had requested the parent company  to be providing a different mixture  

of products that was better  suited to the American market,

and when he heard this, the Japanese president was  absolutely livid and ended up screaming at him,

because he was so unhappy with that attitude.

And if you look at it from a  Japanese cultural perspective,

the Japanese president would have been expecting  something different based on the idea of Hansei.

In Japan, when something doesn't  go well, like poor sales,

the expectation is that the first thing you  would do is acknowledge it, you would apologize,

and you would take responsibility  for it and say something like

‘I feel really badly that this  happened, I wish we had done better.

I don't feel good about this result  and I'm taking responsibility for it.’

Then the second thing that would be expected  as part of Hansei is to reflect or talk about  

why this happened.

And this assumes that you have probably done  some research or some thinking about it.

And so, if the president had said,

‘Well, you know, I think that there's  three main reasons why this happened…’

And in these reasons it shouldn’t be focusing  on the things that were outside of your control,

but rather the things that you  could have done differently.

And then the third part of Hansei is to talk about  

‘What are we going to do  differently in the future?’

And there's actually a Japanese term for this too:

‘Saihatsu Boshi’, prevention of a re-occurrence.

And so, this is the how Hansei always finishes up,

with a description of ‘What  are you going to do different?

Are you going to put some  new procedures into place?

Are you going to do some training?

Or are you going to try to  do things a different way?

What is it that you're going to do to  make sure it doesn't happen again?’

Now, if you look at it from a cultural  perspective from outside of Japan,

I'll talk about Americans, for example,

we tend to not apologize for things  that aren’t clearly 100% our fault.

And so, like the American sales manager, we  

tend to talk about all the reasons  that were outside of our control,

all the extenuating circumstances  

behind the problem before we talk  about what we could have done.

So, in the United States, if you're  late for work, people would be like,

‘Oh, I'm sorry, I'm late! There was  this huge traffic jam on the I-95!’

Rather in Japan, people would talk about,

‘Oh, I'm really sorry that I'm late.  Next time, I'll try and leave earlier.’

When I do seminars for Japanese who are  working with people from other countries,

the lack of Hansei is something that  comes up literally every single time.

Sometimes they'll just say,

‘We don't like it that non-Japanese don't Hansei.’

Or they'll, say things like,  ‘They make too many excuses.’

Or, ‘They try to shift blame or  responsibility to other people.’

Or, ‘They don't apologize for things.’

And those are all really talking  about the lack of Hansei.

And in fact, my bestselling book in Japanese is  ‘How to Deal with Americans Who Don't Hansei’

and I find when Japanese look at it, they  immediately have this laugh of recognition like,

‘Oh, how did you know that that was  the thing that really drove us crazy?’

So, when you're working with Japanese it's  very important if something goes wrong  

to follow the three steps of Hansei:

Apologise.

Don't try and talk about all the reason why wasn't  your fault, just admit that it was your fault.

Talk about what happened honestly and  why you think it happened, your analysis.

And then your plans for making sure  the same thing doesn't happen again.

Now, if you take that approach,  you're likely to have a much more  

positive experience with your Japanese colleagues.

Thanks to Rochelle for great insight  into Hansei and thank you for watching.

A longer version of Rochelle's Hansei discussion  will be available on this channel soon,

so subscribe for that, as well as for future  videos in this series on Japanese business words.

If you're interested in learning  more about Japanese business,

you can visit japanintercultural.com for  articles, e-learning courses and more.

You can sign up to our monthly newsletter  for free and receive a variety of materials  

all about Japanese business as  well as discounts on our training.