{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"274 Martin Steenks - Previous Chief Orchestrator, Domino\u2019s Pizza Japan","description":"Deliver the win, then ring the bell. Make small mistakes fast; make big learnings faster. Think global, act local \u2014 but don\u2019t go native. Do the nemawashi before the meeting, not during it. Your salary is earned in the stores: go to the gemba. A 28-year Domino\u2019s veteran, Martin Steenks began at 16 as a delivery expert in the Netherlands. He rose to store manager, multi-unit supervisor, then franchisee, building his operation to eight stores by 2019. After selling his stores, he became Head of Operations for Domino\u2019s Netherlands, then CEO of Domino\u2019s Taiwan in 2021, and subsequently CEO of Domino\u2019s Japan. Previously he was Chief Orchestrator in Japan, focusing on operational excellence, culture, and scalable execution in one of Domino\u2019s most exacting service markets. He is known for hands-on store work, cross-training, \u201cFriday F-Up\u201d learning rituals, the Grow & Prosper bell for micro-wins, and quarterly \u201cGo Gemba\u201d days that connect HQ functions with frontline realities.  Martin Steenks\u2019 leadership arc runs from a three-minute job interview at 16 to orchestrating Domino\u2019s Japan \u2014 one of the brand\u2019s most demanding markets for service quality. The connective tissue is execution discipline: he has run stores, supervised regions, built and exited an eight-store franchise, owned national operations, and led two country P&Ls. That breadth gives him pragmatic empathy for franchisees and HQ alike, which he leverages to align incentives, simplify operations, and insist that every back-office salary is ultimately \u201cearned in the stores.\u201d Japan sharpened his leadership. Coming from low-context, fast-moving Dutch and Australian business styles into high-context Japan, he learned that meetings signalling agreement can still stall without prior nemawashi \u2014 the groundwork with middle management and other stakeholders. He now invests in pre-alignment, translating intent into culturally legible action: fewer big-room debates, more quiet lobbying, more ringi-sho style consensus building for irreversible decisions, and a clear bias to test-and-learn for reversible ones. Rather than trying to \u201cchange the culture,\u201d he adjusted himself \u2014 becoming more patient while preserving speed by separating decision types and sequencing alignment before action. His operating system is human and tangible. He set a weekly rhythm of learning with a \u201cFriday F-Up\u201d session, where leaders share mistakes and what was learned \u2014 a radical move in a high uncertainty-avoidance culture. He celebrates micro-wins with the Grow & Prosper bell to make progress visible, sustaining morale during long transformations. He bridged HQ\u2013store gaps with Go Gemba: each quarter, every function works a store shift; IT discovers why a workflow fails at the point of sale, marketing sees campaign friction at Friday night peak, finance hears cost-to-serve realities. He personally worked in stores four to five days a month, especially during crunch periods like Christmas, leading by example and rebuilding trust through competence. Marketing localisation is equally pragmatic. Deep discounting can signal poor quality to Japanese consumers; \u201ccustomer appreciation weeks\u201d preserve value perception while rewarding loyalty. Community building is pushed to the store level \u2014 managers engage local clubs and schools to turn footfall into fandom. Cross-training makes delivery experts confident product explainers at the door, restoring a human touch in a world where >90% of orders arrive online. Ultimately, Steenks\u2019 playbook blended cultural fluency with decision intelligence. He aligned stakeholders through nemawashi, codified learning rituals, chose language and campaigns that respected local signals, and keeps strategy tethered to the edge where pizzas are made, boxed, and delivered hot. The title \u201cChief Orchestrator\u201d wasn\u2019t just whimsy; in a business of many specialists, he conducted tempo, harmony, and timing \u2014 the difference between noise and music.  What makes leadership in Japan unique? Japan\u2019s high service standards and high-context communication demand leaders who are both exacting and empathetic. Success depends on pre-work: nemawashi with middle managers, thoughtful ringi-sho style consensus for high-impact choices, and visible demonstrations of respect for the frontline. Uniforms (like Domino\u2019s iconic race jacket for store managers) and rituals create shared identity that motivates in a group-oriented culture. Why do global executives struggle? Low-context leaders often misread meeting \u201cyeses\u201d as commitment. Without groundwork, nothing moves. Impatience backfires in high uncertainty-avoidance environments; public criticism shuts people down. Leaders must separate reversible from irreversible decisions, secure alignment offline, and then move decisively. They should also avoid copy-pasting global marketing: in Japan, steep discounts can be read as \u201clower quality,\u201d eroding trust. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan is less risk-loving than many markets, but teams will take smart risks when safety and learning are explicit. Stanks normalises small, fast experiments, celebrates micro-wins, and protects people when bets misfire. This reframes risk as controlled uncertainty with upside \u2014 a shift from avoidance to improvement. What leadership style actually works? Lead from the front and the shop floor. Work stores every month. Tie HQ metrics to store impact. Use rituals \u2014 Friday F-Up, the Grow & Prosper bell \u2014 to institutionalise learning and momentum. Celebrate teams more than individuals, and praise privately when cultural norms warrant it. Think global, act local, but don\u2019t \u201cgo native\u201d: retain an outsider\u2019s clarity about pace and standards. How can technology help? Digital tools amplify decision intelligence when paired with gemba reality. Store-level dashboards, route optimisation, and digital twins of peak-hour operations can test scenarios before rollouts; telemetry from ovens, makelines, and delivery routes can reveal bottlenecks that nemawashi then resolves across functions. Tech should reduce operational complexity, not add it. Does language proficiency matter? Fluency helps, but intent matters more. Demonstrating effort \u2014 basic greetings, store-floor Japanese, and culturally aware email etiquette \u2014 earns trust. Tools that translate bidirectionally unlock participation, but leaders still need to read context and invest time with the middle layer. What\u2019s the ultimate leadership lesson? Do the cultural homework, orchestrate alignment before action, and keep your hands in the dough \u2014 literally. When people see you respect their craft, protect their learning, and tie strategy to execution, they\u2019ll go all-in. Timecoded Summary [00:00] Origin story: hired at 16 as a delivery expert in the Netherlands; stayed through school; first \u2014 and only \u2014 job interview; early leadership as store manager, then multi-unit supervisor. [05:20] Entrepreneurship chapter: buys a struggling store; builds to eight locations with his wife\u2019s support; sells in 2019 to become Head of Operations for the Netherlands, trading entrepreneurial freedom for strategic impact. [12:45] Asia leadership: becomes CEO Taiwan in 2021, then moves to Japan; discovers that despite common Domino\u2019s DNA, markets differ; Japan\u2019s service bar is the highest. [18:10] Cultural recalibration: early meetings show apparent agreement but slow follow-through; learns nemawashi and middle-layer alignment; patience becomes a leadership muscle; adopts \u201cChief Orchestrator\u201d title to reflect cross-functional reality. [24:00] Store-first operating system: cross-training (makeline \u2194 delivery \u2194 service); >90% of orders online makes the delivery interaction critical; community outreach by store managers; hands-on leadership with 4\u20135 store days per month and peak-period shifts. [31:30] Learning rituals: Friday F-Up meeting reframes failure as fuel; Grow & Prosper bell celebrates micro-wins to sustain momentum; public recognition calibrated to cultural comfort; Domino\u2019s manager jacket signals identity and pride in Japan. [38:05] Marketing localisation: avoid pure discounting (quality signal risk); position as \u201ccustomer appreciation\u201d; test premium, limited campaigns; keep operations simple for peak. [43:20] Bridging HQ and field: quarterly Go Gemba embeds IT\/Finance\/HR\/Marketing in stores; internal surveys (anonymous) surface issues; visible follow-through flips scepticism to trust. [49:40] Leadership philosophy: lead by example, protect experimenters, separate reversible vs irreversible decisions, and use decision intelligence (telemetry, digital twins) to derisk change while moving faster. Author Credentials Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie \u201cOne Carnegie Award\u201d (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales, and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers \u2014 Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery, and Japan Presentations Mastery \u2014 along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have also been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigy\u014d (\u30b6\u55b6\u696d), Purezen no Tatsujin (\u30d7\u30ec\u30bc\u30f3\u306e\u9054\u4eba), Tor\u0113ningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemash\u014d (\u30c8\u30ec\u30fc\u30cb\u30f3\u30b0\u3067\u304a\u91d1\u3092\u7121\u99c4\u306b\u3059\u308b\u306e\u306f\u3084\u3081\u307e\u3057\u3087\u3046), and Gendaiban \u201cHito o Ugokasu\u201d R\u012bd\u0101 (\u73fe\u4ee3\u7248\u300c\u4eba\u3092\u52d5\u304b\u3059\u300d\u30ea\u30fc\u30c0\u30fc). In addition to his books, Greg publishes daily blogs on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, offering practical insights on leadership, communication, and Japanese business culture. He is also the host of six weekly podcasts, including The Leadership Japan Series, The Sales Japan Series, The Presentations Japan Series, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan\u2019s Top Business Interviews. On YouTube, he produces three weekly shows \u2014 The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan\u2019s Top Business Interviews \u2014 which have become leading resources for executives seeking strategies for success in Japan.  ","author_name":"Japan's Top Business Interviews Podcast By Dale Carnegie Training Tokyo Japan","author_url":"http:\/\/japanstopbusinessinterviews.libsyn.com\/website","html":"