The Weekend Wind-Down #39 - November 24, 2024

I'm writing this while I'm sitting on a train headed to Mt. Takao near Tokyo. I had a productive week working with the team here and am taking the opportunity to check out more of Japan before I fly out. Here's this week's list.

This week's podcast guest

On Thursday my latest episode of Before We Get There will release. My guest this week is Glen Lee, an amateur MMA fighter with a record of 5 and 1. Glen works as a strength and conditioning, jiujitsu, and Muay Thai coach for Field Assembly and Physio Circle in Singapore. In this discussion, we talked about how he got into martial arts and how he balances training multiple disciplines, getting prepared for fights physically and mentally, how he finds the best training regimes for his clients, the challenges of switching paths in the middle of his education, and much more. Stay tuned for the episode links, or check out all the episodes here.

How I felt in Japan this week

Somehow in 15 years of living in Asia, I'd never been outside an airport in Japan before, so it was great to be here this week. I experienced all the amazing things Japan is known for - politeness, helpfulness, unbelievable food, efficiency, unique culture, etc. I also experienced a lot of similarities to other places I've been - kids having a meltdown in a mall, people hurrying to beat the rush hour commute, colleagues trying to figure out what to eat for lunch, and many more things we all have in common. I always look out for these everyday experiences and enjoy recognizing them and appreciating how much more we have in common than is really different. With a similar climate to Seattle, I am feeling right at home and appreciating the cool weather. The food has been amazing, of course, but even better than I imagined. I appreciate how easy it is to get lost in Tokyo, most of the restaurants and bars I went to were filled with locals just going about their day. It reminded me a lot of Shanghai that way, a massive city with thousands of travellers everywhere, but still lost in the midst of the giant mass of people that live there.

What I listened to this week

Marc Benioff was on the WSJ Tech News Briefing talking about AI, WFH, and more. I thought it was interesting that he shared that he has always worked from home as the CEO and is more effective for certain people. But then he says that at certain points people's careers they need to be physically in the office with other people. He also thinks people are overselling AI as an answer to everything and we are a lot further from the AI revolution than some people are saying. He says LLMs are reaching their upper limits and it could be a while before the next leap. Definitely worth listening to!

What I learned from a CFO roundtable in Tokyo this week

We talk about how different countries and markets are from each other and how important localization is. But just like my last point, sometimes the similarities are downplayed. This was an important event so we used a local agency with expertise in roundtables, we followed their advice for format - having a presentation before the discussion followed by dinner, and there was a formal stage and mic for a toast to start the networking party. But what I noticed as I watched the event unfold is that there were far more things that were the same as a roundtable in another market than there were different. Guests were still quiet when they first came in, the good speakers got laughs, people relaxed once drinks were served, etc. All of the elements that make a good roundtable in Singapore or Jakarta were there as well, just that 10%-20% of the details were localized to Japan. The key is getting the basics right and finding which part of the last twenty percent will make the difference.

Have a great rest of your weekend!