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Phrase: In/out of the loop
A while ago, I referred to the prevalence of meetings in Japan and how I rocked the boat at a small branch English school where I once worked.
I can’t believe I’m writing this, but meetings are essential to keep everyone in the loop.
The Japanese never do anything without first building a consensus.
When and only when everyone is on the same page (even if you can’t read what’s written on that page) will things progress in Japan.
Everyone must be in the loop.
To be in the loop means to have knowledge of something or about what’s going on. If you are out of the loop, you don’t know what’s happening.
Different company cultures have different ways of keeping employees informed.
Workers may be kept in the loop in the West by a manager sending out a quick memo or holding a short impromptu meeting.
Regular morning meetings in Japan ensure no one is out of the loop.
Then there are lunch meetings to prepare for Friday morning meetings to prepare for the big two-hour Friday at 5:00 pm meetings.
Maybe I’m exaggerating. Then again, maybe not.
In general, knowledge is power, and when you are in the loop, you may have access to information that others do not have.
This is where being able to speak and read English in Japan comes in very handy.
Everything in Japan occurs later than in Europe and North America.
If you use your English skills to get in the loop on what’s happening in the business world over there, you will be better able to make decisions over here before that information is translated into Japanese.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 70.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.