I’ll be in Tokyo next week, Tuesday - Thursday (May 29-31). I tell you this just in case you happen to be in Tokyo (or have friends there) as I’ll be making a presentation on the evening of May 29 in Roppongi Hills (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 23rd floor) that is open to the public. The presentation is sponsored by the Foreign Women Lawyers’ Association (Tokyo). Men and women from outside the organization may sign-up (¥5000 for non-members, ¥2000 for students; a light dinner will be served). Learn details of the event here.

It’s all presentation
Besides holding one private seminar and giving a public presentation, there are two other reasons I will be in Tokyo. First, I’m researching “presentation” in the broader sense for a book, including the presentation of “brand” at its myriad touch points in businesses such as luxury hotels among others. To this end I have arranged to stay one night at the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills and one night at the nearby Ritz-Carlton. Both are five-star hotels and obviously not usually the kind of places a cheapskate like me stays when on the road, but this is research so it’s got to be done.

My friend Ricco DeBlank is the GM of The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo and he has graciously (as always) set some time aside for us to chat about the role of design and “presentation” in terms of creating emotional connections and memorable experiences for guests, all of whom already have very high expectations. The question, then, is how do you exceed those high expectations and what role does presentation and design play? The Ritz-Carlton does a great job of understanding presentation in the broader context of aesthetics and creating a wonderful presentation of the brand at every touch point (interior design, marcom material, staff-guest engagement, and on and on). It’s all presentation. And like any presentation — whether it’s a standup speech to investors or serving a customer a cup of tea in one of the many hotel restaurants — it’s got to be sincere and it’s got to be soul-deep or it doesn’t work. (Here’s a PZ post I wrote after taking some business students to The Ritz-Carlton Osaka a couple of years ago.)

Pecha Kucha
The second reason I’m heading to Tokyo (besides the presentations) is that I will be attending my first Pecha Kucha event (what's that?). I have been meaning to write about this presentation style and international phenomenon since I started the blog over two years ago. Proof positive that I am as good at procrastinating as anyone. The Pecha Kucha event is held Weds May 30 from 7:00pm at Superdeluxe in Roppongi, a very cool multimedia event space (about the space).

Connecting in Tokyo
My schedule is filling up for the three days, but If you happen to be in the Ropponi Hills area perhaps we can grab a cup of coffee and a chat. Otherwise I look forward to seeing many of you there Tuesday night for my presentation or at Pecha Kucha on Wednesday (I’m not presenting, just there to learn and take it all in).