by Helen Iwata | Nov 21, 2023 | All, Communication, Conflict, Personal Development, Uncategorized
How do you react when people around you are negative or angry? The other day, during an event for The #LessEffortMoreImpact Movement for Women in Business, the fire alarm at our venue went off. We immediately evacuated the building. While waiting for the alarm to stop...
by Helen Iwata | Oct 17, 2023 | All, Communication, Conflict, Personal Development, Uncategorized
The locker was empty! Whaaaaaaat??? Where was my bag with my laptop, credit card, and other valuables!!! My mind was racing just minutes after I’d emerged from the lovely, relaxing hot baths at my local spa in central Tokyo. Here’s what had happened… I’d realized the...
by Helen Iwata | Oct 10, 2023 | All, Communication, Meetings, Personal Development, Uncategorized
I was on a call to confirm details about an upcoming corporate speaking engagement. Since we were meeting online for the first time, everyone briefly introduced themselves. I was struck by how each of the Japanese women immediately apologized or put themselves down in...
by Helen Iwata | Oct 3, 2023 | All, Communication, Conflict, Personal Development, Uncategorized
Well, this story certainly got a laugh from the audience at our recent event for The #LessEffortMoreImpact Movement for Women in Business. Around 30 years ago (!!!), I was working as a Coordinator for International Relations at Yokohama City Hall. I’d been asked to...
by Helen Iwata | Sep 19, 2023 | All, Communication, Personal Development, Uncategorized
Thank you to everyone who emailed me about last week’s Sasuga! Tips For You newsletter: How can you apply “less effort” in your work? If you missed it, you can read it here on the Sasuga! blog or on LinkedIn articles. One lovely lady wrote: Thank you for explaining...
by Helen Iwata | Apr 24, 2023 | Communication, Personal Development, Uncategorized
As Golden Week approaches, will you be traveling? When you’re on holiday, do you switch off completely or are you still doing some work? In the past, I was constantly overworking. I always had my BlackBerry and laptop with me even when I was in Thailand or the UK with...