{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"283 Beat Kraehenmann \u2014 Managing Director, Levitronix Japan","description":"\u201cDon\u2019t be the loud foreigner who just says we do this and this and this.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s okay to make mistakes if you identify them, if you learn from them in the future.\u201d \u201cIf you have an open mind, just listen first.\u201d \u201cYou cannot spend enough time on just talking and communicating with people.\u201d \u201cFor me, right now a leader is somebody who helps employees to achieve the potential, their mission.\u201d Beat Kraehenmann is a Swiss-born electrical engineer who moved to Japan to change the trajectory of his life and immerse himself in Asia. After studying at a technical university and working in network engineering at Swiss Railways, he relocated to Japan independently, began full-time language study, and built early career momentum through contract roles before securing permanent employment as a network engineer. A long-time university friend working at Levitronix connected him to the company when the Swiss headquarters needed someone who could bridge Japan and Switzerland across language, culture, and technical detail. He joined Levitronix Japan around twelve and a half years ago and became Managing Director roughly a year later\u2014his first formal management role. Under his leadership, the organisation expanded from four people in one location to a thirteen-person team spread across five offices (from Tokyo through Ogaki, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Kumamoto), supporting demanding customers in semiconductor and life sciences manufacturing with magnetic levitation pump technology designed to reduce particle contamination in ultra-fine production environments. Beat Kraehenmann leads Levitronix Japan at the intersection of Swiss engineering precision, Japan\u2019s uncompromising quality expectations, and the realities of scaling a specialist business across multiple regional offices. Levitronix is a Swiss company producing fluid control devices\u2014especially pumps for semiconductor manufacturing and life science production\u2014where particle avoidance is mission-critical. As chip structures push deeper into nanometre ranges, even microscopic contamination can become catastrophic, and the firm\u2019s magnetic levitation approach is positioned as a practical advantage in an industry that prizes stability and repeatability. Kraehenmann\u2019s leadership story begins with a deliberate personal disruption: he chose Japan because it felt safe enough to navigate while still offering a gateway to broader Asia, and he committed to language learning on the ground. That same pattern\u2014commit, learn, adapt\u2014shapes his approach as Managing Director. He describes leadership less as command-and-control and more as enabling others: providing the means, information, and training so employees can succeed without dependency on him. In Japan, where consensus-building (nemawashi, ringi-sho) and uncertainty avoidance often influence decision velocity, he emphasises communication discipline: listening, checking understanding, and creating the time to align\u2014especially across non-native English environments where misunderstandings compound quickly. He also frames long-term commitment as a trust accelerator, both for customers and for employees: staying power matters in Japan, and reliability is read as intent. A defining cultural bridge in his management is psychological safety around learning. Levitronix\u2019s stance that mistakes are acceptable when identified and learned from runs counter to \u201cno defect\u201d instincts that can dominate Japanese quality mindsets. Kraehenmann doesn\u2019t dismiss that instinct; instead, he contextualises it with real-world examples of fast growth, supplier constraints, and even customer admissions that quality issues are a daily struggle. The message is not \u201cmistakes don\u2019t matter,\u201d but \u201clearning matters more than denial\u201d\u2014a practical compromise that maintains credibility with Japanese expectations while keeping a smaller, faster-moving organisation functional. As the company expanded geographically, he encountered the classic distributed-team problem: \u201cfrogs in wells\u201d with limited visibility into each other\u2019s context. His solution is deliberately flexible\u2014more meetings when communication gaps appear, fewer when the system stabilises\u2014paired with careful hiring for autonomy. He also differentiates customer engagement from template-driven \u201cJapanese\u201d presentations, pushing teams to stand out through demonstrations and tactile proof, while still respecting relationship norms. And while AI dominates headlines, he notes semiconductor\u2019s conservatism: innovation must serve stable mass manufacturing, not disrupt it for fashion\u2014though decision intelligence, digital twins, and data-driven reliability will increasingly shape how suppliers prove value without threatening uptime. Q&A Summary What makes leadership in Japan unique? Leadership in Japan is shaped by long-term orientation, relationship continuity, and high expectations for reliability. Consensus processes (nemawashi, ringi-sho) can be invisible to outsiders yet decisive in outcomes, and leaders must work with cultural uncertainty avoidance rather than against it. For Kraehenmann, the practical implication is time: time to listen, time to confirm understanding, and time to build trust through consistent behaviour. Why do global executives struggle? Many global executives arrive expecting headquarters logic to translate directly, then get frustrated by different rhythms of decision-making, communication, and customer expectations. Kraehenmann\u2019s warning is straightforward: don\u2019t arrive as \u201cthe loud foreigner.\u201d Respect is conveyed through curiosity, patience, and willingness to adapt the approach to local reality\u2014especially before trying to \u201cfix\u201d anything. Is Japan truly risk-averse? Japan often appears risk-averse because the cost of defects is treated as existential, particularly in high-precision industries. But Kraehenmann frames the nuance: once trust exists and the learning story is clear, improvement is expected and experimentation is possible. Risk is not rejected; it is managed through process, narrative clarity, and demonstrated commitment to not repeating errors. What leadership style actually works? A credible, team-embedded style works: being \u201cpart of the team,\u201d leading from the front, and doing whatever needs doing. Kraehenmann positions himself as a counsellor and mentor\u2014helping employees prepare, equipping them with case studies, training, and presentation skills\u2014rather than obsessing over targets and directives. This balances authority with approachability and reinforces \u201csame boat\u201d solidarity. How can technology help? Technology helps when it improves stability and learning without threatening continuity. In conservative manufacturing environments, tools that support reliability\u2014analytics, decision intelligence, simulation, and digital twins\u2014tend to be more acceptable than disruptive experimentation. AI may have value, but only when it strengthens repeatability, quality, and uptime rather than becoming a buzzword project. Does language proficiency matter? Yes, because language is trust and speed. Kraehenmann notes that multilingual environments are often \u201cnon-native on both sides,\u201d which increases misunderstanding risk. Investing time in communication\u2014speaking, listening, re-checking meaning\u2014matters as much as vocabulary. Japanese proficiency also improves daily work enjoyment and strengthens customer and employee rapport, even if fluency takes years. What\u2019s the ultimate leadership lesson? The ultimate lesson is enabling others: leadership is helping employees fulfil their potential and mission, and doing the quiet work of communication and trust-building that makes that possible. In Japan, that means commitment, humility, and consistent follow-through\u2014paired with a learning mindset that treats mistakes as data, not shame. 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":"