We Are Tomodachi Spring 2017

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25In mid-January this year, 66 high-ranking women managers from leading companies in Japan participated in the Executive Program for Women Leaders, an intensive five-day program held in Tokyo. The idea for this program originated when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Professor Michael Porter and Dean Nitin Nohria at Harvard Business School (HBS) in late April 2015, when they discussed how HBS could collaborate with the Prime Minister’s Office to increase the participation of women in executive offices in Japan.All the women stayed at a hotel near the program site and spent the full five days learning from Professors Joseph Badaracco, David Moss, and Hirotaka Takeuchi and from each other through the case study method. The case studies showed in detail how executives have led their firms through very challenging times, dealing with important strategic issues in which uncertainty, restructuring, inequality, and innovation were crucial factors. The Executive Program for Women Leaders was well received for three reasons: First, it prepared the participants for executive roles by training them to think strategically, behave as leaders, and grasp the global macroeconomic environment. Second, they forged a lasting personal network through the intensive discussions. And third, they were motivated by Prime Minister Abe’s address at the closing reception, a sign of government support for their career goals. Since 60 companies sent managers to this program, we should soon see women sitting on 60 corporate boards.1. Professor Badaracco’s class. The 66 participants from all over Japan debated in a lively fashion. 2. Hopefully new leaders will emerge from among these women to be role models for the younger generation of women. 3. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered an address at the closing ceremony and spoke of his wish to realize a society in which women actively participate, a goal he has been aiming for since the inauguration of his administration.Hirotaka TakeuchiProfessor in the HBS Strategy Unit, where he specializes in competitive strategy, knowledge management, and marketing.Executive Program for Women Leaders123Three Main Themes of the ProgramCompetitive Strategies (Professor Hirotaka Takeuchi)Learning about drafting and implementing a competitive strategy by debating a strategy that focuses on people, as in human resource management.Leadership (Professor Joseph Badaracco)Learning how top management should lead a company by debating a case study from an existing company.Macroeconomics Environment (Professor David Moss)Learning by debating methods to analyze various countries’ economies, mechanisms that trigger financial crises, and the impact of government policies on economies.Source: Yakuin shikiho survey of listed companies conducted every July by Toyo Keizai Inc.14001200100080060040020003.53.02.52.01.51.00.50Number of women executivesNumberShare of totalShare (%)19951997199920032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016Women executives at listed Japanese companies