[Photo: Fukushima, regional managing director of recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International. -BT]

SHE is a household name in Japan.

Sakie Fukushima is one of only two women to serve as director of Japanese firms listed in Fortune Top 200 Global Companies in 2004.

The Harvard graduate now heads the Japanese office of Korn/Ferry International, an executive recruitment firm.

Having made talent management her business for decades, the 60-year-old believes she has gained enough insight into the lives of successful individuals to know what puts them high on leading corporations' demand list.

Being marketable makes all the difference, she says.
"When you're marketable, you'd be extremely qualified to be sold in the job market.

"It's strange to say that about human beings, but a marketable person is somebody who has the skill sets, abilities and knowledge that other companies would be attracted to and want to hire."

That definition alone requires one to step up on the skill-acquiring momentum.

The first tip Fukushima has on how to be marketable is for one to gain a core professional skill, such as finance or human resource, that is transferable outside of one's organisation and country.

Next, to apply these skills, one needs to be strategic.

"Companies want executives who actively reformulate and implement a strategy that's consistent with the overall company strategy, rather than a person who merely implements decisions."

The talent management consultant was in town recently for the Women of Independence Conference, where she shared her experiences with 250 professionals.

The two-day event, held in conjunction with the International Women's Day, was a tribute to women leaders who blaze new trails for others to emulate.

Drawing from her experience of having studied and worked in the US, Fukushima also brings to light the importance of dealing with diversity.

"A global executive needs to have overseas studies or work experience to learn how to manage diversity in people, value, culture and practices. In this era of globalisation, cultural understanding is a must.

"If you have the opportunity to work in a foreign country, go for it. It should clearly enhance your future marketability.

"Clients are asking us more and more to identify candidates who have had work experience in China, Korea, Europe and so on, because they have been exposed to and trained in a different environment with diverse values, work ethics and practices."

During her session, Fukushima says that one acquires entrepreneurial skills by thinking like the CEO of a company.

"Look at the big picture, think strategically and consider the long-term consequences of immediate decisions and actions.

"Compare your own solutions to problems with those made by the real CEO."

This simulation exercise trains one to deal with corporate issues from the perspective of a general manager.

"I came up with this suggestion based on the training I got working with my first boss in Korn/Ferry. He had said to me 'I hired you to tackle this problem, why don't you come up with the solution'."

That was when Fukushima realised that to succeed in handling challenges the way a manager does, she has to develop flexibility and a problem- solving ability.

"In a global business, you'll constantly face new types of problems and crises.

"Because you've been hired to solve these, you're expected to be creative in coming up with alternative approaches."

Last, but not least, Fukushima says one should be constantly aware of his or her own market value by periodically reviewing the progress of one's profession.

"Sit down and look at what you can do and what you can't.

"Envision what you'd like to do, and compare the skill sets you have now with what you would need. Fill the gap."