Corporate Services
Why Your Company Needs a Language Strategy Now

Adopting a common mode of communication used to be a good idea. Today, it’s a “must do” strategy.
Consider the example of Rakuten – Japan’s largest online retailer. In 2010, CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, mandated that English would be the company’s official language – a change that effected some 7,100 Japanese employees.
His goal was to make Rakuten a top internet services company. And that meant that expansion had to come from outside Japan.
Overnight, the Japanese language cafeteria menus were replaced, as were elevator directories and all other “official” company communications. He stated the employees would have to demonstrate competence in an English scoring system within two years – or risk demotion or even dismissal.
Today the “English mandate” has allowed Rakuten to create a powerful organization.
Three out of the six senior executives in the engineering organization aren’t Japanese as the company aggressively seeks the best talent from around the globe.
Half of Rakuten’s Japanese employees can now adequately engage in English communications and 25% of them communicate in English to foreign partners and subsidiaries on a regular basis. They’re no longer shy to use English.
If you’re a Thai company who only wants to serve Thai customers in local markets, there’s no need to read on.
But if you’re a Thai company looking to compete in tomorrow’s global markets, you need a communications strategy…now.
Ready or not, English is the language of global business.
Business Case Study
Click the picture to discover the global strategy behind one Japanese retailer
Perhaps We Should Be Talking
If you’re ready to go global…reading to facilitate your business communications across geographically diverse areas and different business endeavors…if you’re ready to compete on the world stage…perhaps we should be talking.