WaPo: Softer Take on Hardball Pays Off in Japan (RR)

A look at Bobby Valentine’s impact on Japan…

“He was such a different type of manager for us,” said Marines pitcher Tomohiro Kuroki, 31. “He pulled out our hidden potential, made us confident in ourselves. And he taught me one word in English—‘great!’ “

The success of the “Bobby Way” is being hailed by many here as a home run for a growing movement to curb the Japanese tradition of harsh management. Hiroshi Miyata, president of Nippon Metal Industry Co., called on corporate Japan in a newspaper editorial last week to start “treating our employees in the same way that Bobby does.”
...
This month, the Tokyo-based Macro Mill research company conducted a survey of Japanese job hunters, asking them to list their ideal boss. Valentine was the only foreigner in the top 10. “Bobby is a role model for Japan,” said Naoki Fujiya, a 36-year-old house painter who waited hours in line to catch a glimpse of Valentine and the Marines at last week’s parade.