Mike Alfant, Group Chairman and CEO at Fusion Systems and Chairman and CEO at Binfinity AG delves into his experiences leading in Japan. Mr. Alfant previously held the position of Vice President for The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and currently is the President of the Tokyo American Club. In addition to this, he is also on the Board of Newport, Pasona Tquila and Healios KK, and has also advised at Stanford University and lectured at Keio Business School, Kyoto University and Temple University.
Mr. Alfant’s wide range of experiences clearly shows that he is true leader in the fintech industry of Japan. Mr. Alfant originally grew up in Brooklyn, New York and worked on Wall Street for roughly 10 years in the technical side of investment banking with his Computer Science background. Mr. Alfant became fascinated with Japan after a business trip, prompting him to move to Tokyo to start his first company, Fusion Systems.
Mr. Alfant explains the difference in work culture and leadership style between the US and Japan, in which he describes the former to be achievement oriented, and the latter to be process oriented. He explains, “what I needed to do [in New York] was clearly articulate a goal and essentially get out of the way. What I found in Japan was that I really needed to flush out the process and the process would then enforce itself based on the characteristics of the employees and the culture here.” Mr. Alfant additionally points out that Japan-based leaders need to have a long-term mindset like a marathon-runner to achieve definite results.
In order to increase employee engagement and motivation, Mr. Alfant tries to avoid interjecting and let others take initiative. He also makes many of his employees shareholders of the company so that they feel more ownership within the company. In order to build trust with his employees, Mr. Alfant talks about being consistent with his behaviour, and understanding how people pay attention to action rather than just words. He also adds leading a healthy lifestyle with meditation, exercise, and eating well has helped him achieve this.
Lastly, Mr. Alfant leaves excellent advice for those who wish to successfully lead in Japan.
He advises newcomers to “limit the scope of your vision and goals” and focus on achieving one or two business goals. Secondly, he advises people to have thick skin, and accept that Japan is a unique culture that will not easily change. Thirdly, Mr. Alfant advises people to explore the beautiful places in Japan as “the real Japan is not Tokyo. The real Japan is outside.”
