I help leaders stop misreading their teams. Through keynotes, workshops, and coaching, I show organizations how to turn the communication gaps in diverse workplaces into trust, performance, and retention.
Each talk is built on a framework John developed over 20 years of intercultural work. Audiences leave with specific tools, not just ideas.
We form snap judgments in a tenth of a second. In diverse workplaces, those judgments can silence talent, erode trust, and cost millions. LEAP gives leaders a step-by-step process for catching those assumptions before they do damage.
When capable people can't hear each other across cultural divides, the problem is rarely talent. Most of the time, it's translation. SPEAK is the inclusive communication checklist that ensures your message lands.
Every workplace has invisible rules. SHAPE names the five core values that define Canadian work culture, so internationally trained professionals can decode what's unspoken without having to erase where they came from.
John’s TEDxQueensU talk — how small cultural misreads quietly silence talent in the workplace, and what leaders can do about it. Filmed live at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. The full talk releases soon on YouTube — subscribe now and be the first to watch.
In the meantime, watch John’s Speaker Slam talk “When in Doubt, Choose C” — the story that inspired this talk →
In 2005, a student named Kenji nodded "yes" when John asked if he understood the lesson. He left blanks on the test. When confronted, Kenji went silent. A colleague explained: "He's Japanese and you're his teacher. He wouldn't disrespect you by saying he didn't understand."
Kenji never returned to class. That moment changed how John taught, and eventually, how he works. He replaced "Do you understand?" with "Can you explain the instructions back to me?" — a small change that dropped misunderstandings and built trust.
When he returned to Canada, he saw the same dynamic in workplaces everywhere: newcomers staying silent, managers misreading respect as disengagement, and talent quietly walking out the door. Today, through Hiyaku Coaching and his signature frameworks, John helps organizations stop losing people to silence they never noticed.
From corporate workshops to conference keynotes, John's impact resonates with audiences and decision-makers alike.
John’s TEDx talk distills 20 years of intercultural work into one idea: the small, unspoken misreads that quietly cost teams their best people — and what leaders can do to catch them. Subscribe now so you don’t miss it.
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