“What Is Your Next Move?”
An Interview With The Senior Marketing Director in Cardiovascular
at AstraZeneca, Miki Sogi
I’m delighted to share with you an interview with Miki Sogi. I’ve known Miki for many years. We used to work with each other at McKinsey, and I was always inspired by her. Now I’m even more inspired by her because Miki is passionate about self-development and communication, and she’s also incredibly caring about her team, their performance, and their personal development.
And, what’s extra special is that, depending on your preference, you can
read the writeup below
or listen to the audio here (英語リスニングの練習におすすめ)
Enjoy!
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m currently the Senior Marketing Director in Cardiovascular at AstraZeneca, which is a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company. I did a science degree and switched to the business side when I joined McKinsey in 2003 and worked with Helen. I then moved on to the pharma business world and worked for three companies, first in the US and then I came back to Japan.
What sort of communicator do you want to be?
I always try to be an engaged communicator. That’s of course listening as well as expressing. I really want to be connected with others, so that’s why engagement is important for me.
What’s a communication success story that you can share with us?
I’m thinking of two occasions. And, by the way, success usually comes after a failure, right?
Knowing yourself and others is critical.
When I was a consultant, I was working on a project with a Swiss consultant and an American consultant in a team of three. The Swiss consultant was a really intelligent and interesting person, but somehow he was frustrated with me. At one point, he told me I was always pushing back on his ideas. I was really surprised.
Then the American consultant pulled me aside and told me that based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), I had a strong preference for logic while the Swiss consultant cared more about empathy. As a result, he needed to be accepted and that was sometimes more important than logic. So she advised me to make him feel accepted by saying, “That’s a great idea. Can you elaborate?” or “Can you tell me more?” so that he feels secure and accepted and is ready to be engaged and be more rational.
This was an eye-opening experience for me. It worked magically! I was amazed. A small thing changes how you communicate verbally. That was a really striking experience that taught me that it’s so important to know your style and the other person’s in communication.
The second one is about presentations.
When I was in the US, I was in a global team and asked to prepare a presentation for my boss. He was supposed to give a presentation to 200 opinion leaders in the Asia-Pacific region. I was preparing it and, at the last minute, he said, “Miki, I have another urgent matter, so could you give the speech instead of me?”
It was a GREAT opportunity, but at the same time it was a LOT of responsibility. The people who were organizing the meeting wondered who I was! I was under such pressure that I had to do a stellar job, so that people would be impressed and feel good about having me instead of my boss.
This experience taught me the power of practice. I practiced, practiced, practiced. First, I had a long flight, so I practiced during the flight for maybe 14 hours. In the hotel, upon arrival, I practiced in front of the mirror. I’m really proud of the speech I gave.
Everyone said I gave a great speech. People in the organization said that they’d been worried because my boss cancelled and they didn’t know me, and all the participants were important customers for the region. But they said that they were so glad that I came. They recommended to other people to invite me to speak.
It taught me how powerful practice can be and it gave me the confidence that “If I practice, I can do this.”
How can people practice when they’re incredibly busy?
When you ask, “How are you?” the standard answer is “Busy.” Well, that’s a very creative way of answering the question! I always, always, always hear this answer. To be honest, I have to say my corporate job is not that busy – especially compared to being a consultant. I never felt that I don’t have time. I can always find time. Sometimes, I just shift around the priorities. If that can be done tomorrow, then I’m not going to do it today. I’ll do something else instead. I usually try to have ownership of my priorities. Of course, it’s not only my priorities – there are other people’s and business priorities as well. But I try not to work unnecessarily and create some time.
What’s a communication failure that you can share with us?
It’s not necessarily a failure, but a good learning. When I was in the US, I was working with a fantastic boss. He was heading the global business development team, so he was very savvy about negotiating and communication. He always had sensible and eye-opening feedback.
One time, I ran a meeting with quite senior people. The purpose was to gain alignment on what we were proposing. I prepared the proposal and discussion document, and I led the discussion. I accomplished the goal of the meeting, but his feedback was, “You know, Miki, you really drove the meeting. And you gave the impression that you were the only person driving the meeting. You were not really giving people room to engage. If you could improve, that was the area where you could have done better.”
And that was quite eye-opening to me. At that point, I was more driving, driving – “Yes, this is what we want to do. Okay, let’s go.” But it’s true that especially in the corporate world you can’t do that much on your own. You always have to have other people’s engagement, help, support, sponsorship, etc. Without engaging other people, you can’t do anything.
Making other people feel that they have part of the ownership, that is really important. His advice was really eye-opening to me at that time. And he said that he tends to drive the meeting himself too, but he has a rule – the three-sentence rule. So even if he hasn’t finished his point, if he speaks three sentences, he stops. That was the wisest advice that I heard. I still admire the wisdom that he shared with me.
What’s your biggest communication challenge right now?
I’m fairly driven and always have things to say. So my challenge is how I appropriately restrain myself from speaking. I really have to create room for my team members and other folks at the meeting, so that I don’t take too much airtime. That’s a challenge that I’m really trying to work on. Unfortunately, I’m not rigidly following the three-sentence rule, but I have the awareness. That’s a start!
What communication, tips, resources, or advice can you share?
Three things.
English communication – I’d like people to know that clarity and confidence are most important in English communication. Sometimes people think that they have a certain accent and so on. But in this global world, so many people speak very different English – Singapore, Indian, UK, and US. Everybody speaks very different English, so at that point your accent is just a bit of color to the language. You don’t have to worry too much.
But when I’ve worked in global organizations, regardless of what type of accent you have, if you speak with clarity and confidence and you have content, people do listen and respect you. So I want you to understand that you don’t have to speak the language like a native English speaker.
Practice – Unfortunately, there’s no magic. You can’t stand in front of people and magically be a great orator. You have to practice.
Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes – Communication is a dialog with other people. You have to know yourself. At the same time, you have to think about the other person and what kind of situation that person is in. Sometimes you have to imagine if it’s the first time you’re meeting them. Then you can strategize your communication to convince or convey your message properly.
What advice do you have around making mistakes?
First, you have to accept it. Know that mistakes are not unique to you. Everybody makes mistakes. If bad things happen, that’s life! When I make mistakes, when I feel ashamed or mortified, I just say, “I’m sure I’m not the only person on earth to make this mistake.” Really, the question is “What is your next move?” You always have to think ahead instead of staying with the feeling of mistakes and remorse.
When I practiced for my speech in Korea, I used a mirror. It’s really uncomfortable. You don’t like to see yourself speaking. I don’t like to hear myself either. But you get used to it. You accept how you are and how you make mistakes. You’re opened up to reality and can accept more mistakes.
What else would you like to share with us?
I think a lot of women who are working in the corporate world are reading this. First, I’d like to congratulate you. You’re keen on developing your skills by reading this Sasuga! content. That’s really important. There are so many people who don’t even think about it. You are there already. Congratulations!
Don’t think too much that this is something extraordinary. Communication is a part of our lives. Some small tips and wisdom, when they add up, they make you a good communicator.
Having good communication skills is fun! And it’s really rewarding, so I want you to continue your path for better communication, looking forward to more fun and meaningfulness from communicating with other people.
* * * * *
As a special bonus to accompany 英語の仕事術, I’ve created an audio recording of the English phrases that I introduce in the book 🙂
You can use these phrases to communicate with clarity and confidence when you’re
- giving business presentations
- participating in telephone conference calls
- facilitating global meetings
- dealing with workplace conflict.
I created this audio bonus because I know that many of you want to improve your English listening and speaking skills. By listening to these phrases repeatedly, you’ll remember them more easily.
When you can remember the English, you don’t have to worry about it. You can focus on the people you’re communicating with. That’s what’s most important for successful global business communication.