About the Author

Dr Greg Story is a sixth-generation Australian born in Brisbane, Queensland. His first job after high school was selling Encyclopaedia Britannica door to door. He was a total failure in sales. After four years of working in various "dirty, dangerous, and difficult" jobs, he saved enough money to put himself through university. Graduating with honours in Modern Asian Studies at Griffith University, he came to Japan in 1979 on scholarship from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. During that first four-year tour, he began the study of Japanese and completed a Master's Degree at Jochi University in Tokyo. He returned in 1984 to begin field work for his doctorate as a Japan Foundation Fellow. He was later awarded his PhD from Griffith University in Queensland. After establishing his own consulting business-the Japan Business Consultancy-he resumed his sales career. In 1989, he was recruited by Jones Lang Wootton in Brisbane to run their Japan Desk, selling office buildings, shopping malls, five-star hotels, and golf courses to Japanese corporates. In 1992, he returned to Japan with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) to establish a startup sales operation in Nagoya. In 1996, he took over Austrade Osaka and, in 2001, he ran Austrade Tokyo, later becoming country head for Austrade in Japan. In 2003, he joined the Shinsei Retail Bank with instructions to turn around the sales team, which was tasked with selling investment products to wealthy Japanese individuals. In 2007, he became country head for the National Australia Bank in Japan, again focused on financial investment products. In that same year, he and his partners bought the franchise rights for Dale Carnegie Training in Japan. In 2010, he left the National Australia Bank to work in the Dale Carnegie Training business as its Japan president. He is a sixth dan in traditional shitoryu karate. This is his 46th year of karate training, during which time he has been an international athlete, coach, referee, and official. His other great sporting passion is rugby, and he supports the Brisbane Broncos, the Queensland State of Origin Team, the Kangaroos, the Queensland Reds, and the Wallabies.