Monday, February 22, 2010

Best Job in the World- Housing and Relocation?

Today I was priveleged to meet Ben Southall, who was the winner of the "The Best Job in the World" offered by tourism Queensland. Ben was chosen from amongst 35,000 other applicants for the position that involved marketing the Great Barrier Reef to the rest of world. Under the contract he won, he received a salary of 150,000 Australian dollars and a free 3-bedroom holiday house that looked out on the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef for the entirety of the 6-month contract.

Here is the video that got Ben the job.



What was interesting with Ben at the lunch today, is that it made me realize that not only do I have the best job in the world for me, but that I should be aiming to create a company whereby everyone else considers that they have the best job in the world too.

Ben made me think about;

- How we tend to get too caught up in ourselves and "life as it should be", which has been defined by our parents, friends, society....when there are other ways to live it

- There is much more to life than just do a job. You gotta make it fun and you gotta believe it's the best job in the world

- How what you experience by travelling and meeting different people equips you with many skills that are necessary in business

- How we should live everyday like its our last, but also live with a purpose.

- How the world around us is changing so much in how a company should market its products or services. Just look at how Ben got his job, and how he is promoting Queesnland Austrlia around the world on http://www.islandreefjob.com.au and through other mediums such as Twitter, You Tube, etc.

- How far Japan is behind on the marketing of its Tourism Industry

Ben is continuing his position with Queensland Tourism as thier Toursim Ambassador. We should all continue to be Ambassadors ourselves and make our companies into the places with the best jobs in the world!

H&R Group. MORE THAN JAPAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com
More Than Japan Housing, More Than Japan Cars and Furniture, More than Japan Service Apartments, More Than Japan Destination Services, More Than Japan License Conversion, More Than Japan Information!
The H&R Group is MORE THAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com

Friday, February 19, 2010

Food for Thought

I enjoyed this. A British dude who has decided that he will dedicate his life to teaching Americans how to eat properly.

Such fantastic presentations skills.



Terry Small taught me this in his brain seminar and Breakfast Toastmasters in Tokyo has also taught me that presenting is all about giving simple messages in a way that everyone understands them. Using images to back up what you are saying and to make the point and connect all the points.

Keep your message to 3 points. Keep it simple!
LESS IS MORE.


H&R Group. MORE THAN JAPAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com
More Than Japan Housing, More Than Japan Cars and Furniture, More than Japan Service Apartments, More Than Japan Destination Services, More Than Japan License Conversion, More Than Japan Information!
The H&R Group is MORE THAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com

Brain Power in Relocation

I was privleged to meet Mr. Terry Small last week. He taught me all about my brain and how to look after it. In such a busy relocation industry, I have ignored alot of things that are good for my brain. Time for change!

1. Your brain thinks in pictures, not words

ie. In order to remember something, or in order for people to remember something, you have to convert things to pictures; either in your head, or when you present things to people. Your brain simply does not remember words.

2. The No. 1 priority of your brain is to remain alive

3. Learning happens when your brain checks something exists and creates a connection with some previous event

Related to number 2, the first thing your brain does to stay alive, is check whether the information received already exists and if so, it creates a connection. This connection is how learning occurs. If there is no connection, nothing is learnt and probably not remembered.

4. Laughter increases the performance of your memory, and extends your life span by many years

This is something about the chemical release when laughing happens, but basically the more you laugh the better, and the healthier your brain becomes.

5. The best breakfast food for the brain is orange juice

Your brains fuel is glucose. Orange juice is the perfect provider of glucose.

6. Remaining hydrated is important for your brain
Drink lots of water all day long!

7. The best drink for your brain is “tea”

Green tea, brown tea or oolong tea. Indians are said to have the healthiest brains due to all the oolong tea they drink all day long.

8. The 20 best foods for your brain are (in order of goodness);

Prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, kale, cranberries, strawberries, raw spinach, raspberries, brussel sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, steamed spinach, broccoli, beets, avocado, orange, red grapes, red pepper

It is also said that fish is good for the brain, and it is recommended that you have fish at lease one a week. Salmon and sardines are best.

9. Your brain needs the right foods and drinks!

Your brain is made up of 80% water, and it burns 30% of your calories. Make sure you take notice of the foods and drinks mentioned above.

10. Your brain needs the right information

You should never stop learning (never stop creating connections)

You should never stop reading things

* The number one factor in student intelligence is proved to be “How much children were read to in their childhood”. Reading is very important to the health of our brains.

11. Your brain needs the right music

Baroque music (Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, etc) is said to increase your learning by 25%- 40%

It is said that Baroque music soothes your heart beat and body into the correct “atmosphere” for learning.

Time to get a healthier brain!!

H&R Group. MORE THAN JAPAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com
More Than Japan Housing, More Than Japan Cars and Furniture, More than Japan Service Apartments, More Than Japan Destination Services, More Than Japan License Conversion, More Than Japan Information!
The H&R Group is MORE THAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Accomodation in Tokyo- Stay with Bureau!!

Last weekend I spent some time in Tokyo with my friends at Bureau Serviced Apartments.

Ruth Shiraishi was kind enough to let me have a trial stay in their fantastic Shinagawa location. My wife Mayumi and daughter Kate joined me on Friday night in Tokyo and we had a fantastic weekend out of our second home in Shinagawa. And thats how they made us feel there at Bureau in Shinagawa; at home. All the staff we met were so friendly, and the room was equipped with everything you need for a weekend stay or a 6-month stay.

Take a look here;



The Shinagawa location is great if you are spending time in Tokyo. There is quick access to Tokyo Station, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Roppongi and all the good parts of inner Tokyo.

The facility itself is fantastic. One the top floor there is a nice little bar and lounge area that is open until 23:00 most days, and even a Japanese "daiyokujo" or large public bath. It is just superb! And the views from the 24th floor are wild!

If you need to spend time in Tokyo, get in touch with our friends at Bureau. They have locations all over Tokyo and even in Yokohama! Go here for more information!
http://www.space-d.co.jp/en/

Who is the Client in Relocation?

As the world becomes a more global place, the relocation industry has also become more global. Multi-national companies hold global relocation contracts with "3rd Party Relocation" companies or what we commonly call in the industry "Relocation Management Companies" or RMCs.
Our business receives quite a large amount of business through RMCs to provide relocation services in Japan; Tokyo and Nagoya.
However, recently the way RMCs are handling this global business is getting out of hand and on the ground here in Japan, we see the client being forgotten.
For us, when an RMC is involved, we can have up to 5 clients for each relocating person.

1. The RMC is our client. Regularly they have their head office in the US, and we maintain communication with this US Office.

2. The RMC will often have another office in Asia, to manage business on the same time zone as us. We have to maintain communication with this office. Naturally, they are also our client.

3. The Global HR Department of the Multi-National company is our client. The RMC will often dictate this relationship and not want us involved, but ultimately we do need to communicate with them.

4. The local HR Department of the Multi-National company is our client, as they are responsible for the person once he relocates to Japan. We have to maintain this relationship.

5. The relocating person, often called a "transferee" or an "assignee" in our industry is also naturally our client. We have to manage their expectations, make them happy with their relocation to Japan and make sure that their life is set up smoothly here.


Increasingly, we find we are placed in a very awkward positions between our 5 clients. The RMC on paper is our direct client, so they like to push us around. Often the communication between the RMCs offices is not up to scratch, so we take the burden of mixed messages that contradict each other. The RMC in the US tells us one thing, but the RMC in Asia tells us something else. The RMC is the client, so we do our best to get things done, while the RMC offices take days to sort out their message into a consistent one.

Communication between Global HR and Local HR in Japan is often poor. Often the Japan Office is playing off the Global Office because they don't agree with policies that don't fit Japan, and we become the scape goat for anything that gets missed in between their power battle. The RMC tries to ignore that this power struggle exists, and conducts their business with no consideration of the local HR (which is also their client) and tries to push global policy through us onto the local HR and the transferee, and we get blamed for anything that doesn't work inbetween.

In the middle of all this, all of the parties lose focus of who their client actually is. We lose focus, because we receive demands for all 5 clients, not just one. The RMCs are completely missing clients 4 and 5 on my list above. They appear to forget that our job in relocation is to manage employee expectations, make them happy with their relocation to their destination and make sure that their life is set up smoothly in that location.

I highly recommend that everyone in our industry steps back and thinks a bit harder about who the client actually is in our industry. Ladies and Gentleman, the client is the person who is moving country, moving their family, moving their home, moving their office. Let's not lose focus of what we are all working for in this industry.

Can You Believe Japan Right Now?

The concern that many of us have had with regard to Japan has come to light in recent weeks. I ask the question, does Japan really understand what is necessary in the new norm? Can they see the world around them? A world that is moving forward while Japan sits still and acts if as 1980 is going to come back.....?????

POLITICS
Does the new government get it? Do they understand what drives trust in their voters. Primeminister Hatoyama receives 13M dollars from his mother, claims he didn't know that she was giving it to him, but then agrees to pay the 6M dollars in tax. Hatoyama might have some money, but can you honestly say you knew nothing about 13M dollars from you mother? Come on. We are not stupid.

Ozawa claims he is innocent. Three of the people who worked for Ozawa have been arrested and charged. Ozawa is their leader, but insists he is innocent. Lets put this in terms of a company in Japan. The President claims he is innocent. Three of the people who worked for the President have been arrested and charged. The President is the leader of the company, but he insists he is innocent. Make sense? Wouldn't you see the President bowing prefusely to apologize for his staffs action? So, what is Ozawa doing? Think about it. Guilty secretary, guilty Ozawa. Get the dirt out of Japanese government. What will he lie about and brush under the covers next? Your pension? Your job? The next building he buys and the money he shifts around to disguise its purpose. Get the dirt out of Japanese government.

BUSINESS
JAL: Can you believe it. Everyone in favor of their own pension to the extent they bring down their own company. Are you proud to be a former JAL employee? Basically, Japan's former employees have ruined it for their current employees. Fantastic guys! What a company! You have really done Japan proud in the global community. Time to wake up!
TOYOTA: Having spent the last 12-months concentrating on how to bring down their costs after over capitalizing themselves in the US, Toyota forgot that the quality of what they produce is actually more important than their costs..... Shocked by their loss of profits, their internal focus shifted straight to internal issues..... they forgot their customers and how important their brand is. It was all about reducing the red as soon as possible in an economy when everyone was losing money. They had the reserves to get through without a problem, so it should have been about protecting their clients interests with a view to how to make profits in a better economy. But no, they went for creating black in a non-performing economy. Greed is the term that comes to mind. It wasn't good enough to make profit every year since they started. They wanted more every year, forever. Well, even the best have lesssons to learn, and Toyota now knows they are not invincible.

Ladies and gentleman, the above are examples of public and private decision making in Japan. Does it make you confident about the future of Japan?

We have entered a global era. Look at the above. Nothing within the above, public or private, suggests that focus has shifted from what is going on domestically to what is going on globally (Toyota is still viewing the current situation from Japan; the President of Toyota should be in the US right now feeling out just how much damage has been done to his brand........where is he? Reading the newspaper in Japan?). It is the global situation that is important, not the domestic situation. Get your head out of your arse Japan, what you are doing in the world is important, what you are doing domestically is irrelevant in the long run. Get with the global economy or lose big time quickly.....but is anyone listening.......

H&R Group. MORE THAN JAPAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com
More Than Japan Housing, More Than Japan Cars and Furniture, More than Japan Service Apartments, More Than Japan Destination Services, More Than Japan License Conversion, More Than Japan Information!
The H&R Group is MORE THAN RELOCATION! www.morethanrelo.com