“Nemawashi in Japanese company culture is an informal process of quietly laying the foundation for some proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support and feedback, and so forth. It is considered an important element in any major change, before any formal steps are taken, and successful nemawashi enables changes to be carried out with the consent of all sides.” via Wikipedia
This word came across to me in an email. Working with Japanese over the years, I’ve experienced it, but didn’t know it had its own term. Giving it a name makes it much more distinguishable as a tactic for change. It means that you already know what’s going to happen before anyone says the word ‘go’. It also means that you should be prepared and ready when someone does say ‘go’.