Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten, Japan's largest e-commerce platform, and Tsedal Neeley, a Harvard Business School professor, dive into Rakuten's bold shift to English as its official language for global expansion. They discuss the initial resistance and productivity dips faced by employees, along with the long-term cultural transformation this decision ignited. The conversation highlights the importance of language in global strategy and the nuanced challenges of cross-cultural management in a rapidly evolving business landscape.