Last week an amazing event took place. The president of Toyota went on television to apologize publicly for sticking gas pedals and mushy brakes. But he wasn’t just another CEO trying to staunch the bleeding of red ink all over his company’s bottom line. He was also the grandson of Toyota’s founder, and he was desperately trying to “save face”-–for himself and for the past and future generations of his family.

In Asian cultures “face” is everything. “Face” is arguably the most positive social value a person can claim. One’s “face” is the combination of honor, reputation, responsibility, prestige, and worthiness that one must maintain within all social interactions. To “lose face” is to behave in such a way that every aspect of one’s being—-social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual—-is di…