December 18, 2009 In Memoriam — Randy Cross

It was with great sadness that I learned of Randy Cross’s sudden and untimely passing on December 11th.

Randy was a fellow “Japan Hand” and over the years we had worked together on many projects, so I had the privilege of getting to know him very well.

Randy had started his study of Japanese in college, and spent time at Waseda. Early in his career, he parlayed his Japanese ability into a job opening up an American firm’s office in Japan. It was there that he met his lovely wife Kay Nakada.

He then continued his career with that American firm back in the U.S., including after it was purchased by a Japanese firm. After a later downsizing, he started his own recruiting and sales training firm, Executive Resource Group, focusing on meeting the needs of Japanese companies doing business in the U.S. He was a valued advisor to many major Japanese firms, contributing to their success.

His unique combination of viewpoints gave Randy extremely deep insight into Japanese business practices and Japanese organizational behavior. In other words, he “got it.” This background, combined with his wonderful style and down-to-earth wit, made him a terrific writer, either for Americans wishing to understand Japanese corporate culture, or Japanese wanting to better adapt to the American business environment. Until his death he was a regular contributor to the Nikkei Weekly, and he also wrote many of the essays in a human resource management manual for Japanese working in the U.S. published by PHP. We co-authored two books together, both for Japanese seeking jobs at American firms – Resumes in English and Interviewing in English. We also did countless co-presentations together at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Chicago and the like. Randy was always a delightful person to work with, no matter what the project.

Randy and I started our businesses at the same time, and he was always ready to offer good advice and encouragement from the perspective of someone in the same boat. But what I’ll remember most about Randy was his warmth and sense of humor. He always had a funny joke, wry self-deprecating story, or other lighthearted comment to offer, no matter what the situation. He was the kind of person who always put others at ease. His constant modesty and unassuming nature brings to mind the Japanese proverb 実るほど頭の下がる稲穂かな (minoru hodo atama no sagaru inaho ka na, the rice stalk with the fullest head bows down the lowest). He will be much missed by many people.