Business Trip to Japan

Breakfast went smoothly, conversation was technical and administrative. Being back on my guard doing negotiations just reminded me how relaxed I had become the night before. The difference between the two emotional states was visceral.

Mr. Sato remained distant and professional, exactly the way he had been the day before. We had no more "breaks" during negotiations like the day before, but I was happy about that. After the night before I wasn't sure that I was in any shape to participate in any more "breaks" for a while.

At one point in time, though, Mr. Sato excused himself. Hiro explained that Mr. Sato was conveying the negotiated terms to the CEO.

"Wait," I said, "I thought that Mr. Sato was the CEO."

Hiro smiled. "No," he assured me. "Mr. Sato-san is the Senior Vice President of Technological Innovation."

He paused, and his face turned dark. "Mr. Jenkins-san," he began slowly. His voice was half scolding, half shocked. "Do you not know who our CEO is?"

I gulped. My manager had told me I was meeting with the CEO. All this time I had been under the impression that I was negotiating with the top tier of the company. It never dawned on me to do a followup on the organizational chart. I had been so preoccupied with the technical details of the deal that I never questioned what I had been told.

Suddenly I felt as if the floor had dropped out from under me. My mind raced as I thought back to everything I had said this morning and the day before. What did I say? I was near panic. What did I say!?!?

In the matter of only a few minutes I managed to convince myself that I had made a catastrophic mistake. Our largest customer in Japan, our biggest client in Asia-Pacific, and I hadn't bothered to do basic due diligence? I had relied too heavily on the account team for knowing that background - the same account team that didn't show up.

What the hell was wrong with me? I scolded myself. Why wasn't I better prepared?

I did not deserve the deal. Hell, I didn't deserve my job. If I were my manager, I would fire me. This was inexcusable.

Without warning the door opened, and Mr. Sato rejoined us. In his hand was a yellow envelope. He came over to me, handed me the envelope, and bowed. He stood there as I lifted the flap on the envelope and removed the contents.

There, in my hand, outlined in both Japanese and English, were the terms of our negotiations. Not one word had been altered from my ask, not one concession.

I looked up, unable to hide (though I tried) the look of surprise that surely must have flooded my face.

In perfect English, with a slight British lilt, Mr. Sato said, "In Japan, we honor relationships and honorable comrades. You honor Tadeki Electronics with your dedication, passion, and skill, and we seek to develop our relationship with you."

I stood up from my chair, and couldn't find the right words. "Arigato," I said, bowing. My gesture was genuine, and I could only hope that he recognized it as such.

Signing the document took much less time than I thought it would. Before I knew it, I was holding onto millions of dollars in contracts over the next ten years, with the acknowledgement that I would be maintaining the relationship with Tadeki Electronics for quite some time.

The company car took me to a private airport outside of Tokyo, where a private corporate jet was waiting. I'd never flown on one before, but Hiro explained that the company was so enthusiastic about our partnership that they wanted to express their appreciation by taking care of me better than the commercial flight that I had originally booked. As I was going to be sitting in a middle seat cramped on a transatlantic flight, I was overjoyed.

We sat in our seats, attended to by gorgeous Japanese flight attendants. My mind flickered back to the evening before, a crazy thought that perhaps I'd recognize one of the flight attendants. Sadly, I did not.

"Hiro," I said. "I -"

Suddenly, a shout echoed throughout the cabin in Japanese. Everyone in the cabin - and I mean everyone - stood up and bowed with their eyes facing the floor. Unsure of what to do, I stood up as well, though I was so uncertain that I didn't bow.

I simply didn't know what was going on. That is, until...

Machiko entered the cabin in a custom tailored suit. It fit her perfect figure in all of the right ways. I looked around me and was genuinely confused for a moment. Having no control over my own reaction, I felt the similar sinking feeling in my stomach though I had no idea why. I couldn't help but have a knee-jerk reaction to the notion that I was being played.

Something was very, very wrong.

"Konichi-wa," Machiko said, extending a hand for a Western handshake. Her other hand produced a business card.

Machiko Yoshuda, CEO, Tadeki Electronics

I gulped.

"In a very short period of time, you have managed to impress my senior staff," she said, straight-faced. "I, too, am very impressed with that which you offer my company and, by extension, me. I thought that I would take the opportunity to accompany back to the United States to discuss what other kinds of joint projects we might be able to partner together."

I sat there, dumbfounded.

She took a moment, then winked. Barking something in Japanese, the crew launched into action, and soon we were in the air on the way back to the United States.