Nemawashi...

There are some great terms in foreign language that succintly describe a concept that takes multiple English words.

One of the best is "Schadenfreude" in German, which basically means taking joy in the misfortune of others. A great example is if you are a watching a football game and your team intercepts a pass. You experience Schadenfreude as a result of the opposing team's problems.

Another great one is "Nemawashi," in Japanese.

A friend of mine from the Snickelways days called me up this evening and told me that he had used this term over and over with the boardmembers of his non-profit organization. Their meeting is this upcoming Friday and he had scheduled meetings with each of them prior to the actual meeting. When they asked him why, he said it was Nemawashi.

Nemawashi reflects the Japanese desire for consensus and is the process of securing agreement from all of the principal players on a topic prior to the actual meeting. This way, when the meeting occurs, there is no animosity nor loud debate. Everyone has already agreed upon the course of action.

I was honored that he remembered it six years down the road and it caused me to once again appreciate some of the elements of the foreign languages and concepts I've studied.