Business Time: Use These Kotowaza in Your Next Big Meeting!

March 12, 2014

Word to the wise: “Leave the mochi to the mochi store.”

It’s Wednesday, which means only one thing—it’s Business Time! Below, Sarah LaFleur, CEO of MM.LaFleur, shares what’s on her mind this week.

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If you can believe it, someone actually used the phrase “open the kimono” with me the other day.

Holy mackerel! Never in a million years did I expect to hear that expression in real life. I thought that was the kind of stuff that filmmakers from the ‘80s and early ‘90s thought bankers might say, along with lines like “Coffee is for closers” (a personal favorite) and “Greed is good” (not as much).

Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.

Let me take this chance to clarify once and for all: “open the kimono” is not a Japanese phrase. As someone who grew up in Tokyo, I can tell you that I’ve never ever heard any Japanese person utter such an obscenity.

The Japanese do, however, have some brilliant idioms known as kotowaza (literal translation: skills with words!) that they use in business and, more broadly, life.

We’re taught kotowaza from a young age, and they’re very much a part of how we communicate in our day-to-day lives. I’d love to share some of my favorites so you can use them in your business meetings and sound wise beyond your years!

• When your boss tells you you’ve made a stupid mistake, say: “Even monkeys fall from trees.” (Read: Even the pros err from time-to-time).
• When someone says you’re working really hard, say: “Firefly snow.” (Read: I work so hard that even when my lamp runs out of kerosene, I work under the light of the fireflies and the reflection of the snow).
• When you wish you had more control over the situation, say: “It’s like dropping eye drops from the second floor.” (Read: It’s beyond my realm of control, and it’s so darn frustrating).
• When your mother tells you she has reservations about your leaving your corporate job to pursue your dream, say: “Those who don’t charge into the tiger’s cave never capture the tiger cub.” (Read: If you’re not willing to take chances, you won’t reap the big rewards).

• When you’re unsuccessful time after time, say: “Fall seven times, stand up eight times.” (Read: You have to keep rising to the challenge).
• When your annoying relative tells you you’re not as successful as he imagined you’d be, say: “A big plate becomes full at night.” (Read: Someone with a lot to offer won’t reach her true potential until late in life).
• When you decide to fork over $500 to have an accountant do your taxes, say: “Leave the mochi to the mochi store.” (Read: A specialist knows best).

– Sarah