(Choi Hong-sup, hschoi@chosun.com )
The Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee has proposed a new program to cultivate brainpower on the peninsula to ensure that Korea remains a leading economic power in the new century. The "new core project to cultivate genius," announced June 5, was highlighted on the 10-year anniversary of an earlier project heralded by Lee, "the new management declaration." This 3-part special report outlines the content of his strategy and his background.
Part 1: "No matter how fast the world is changing, nothing has to be painful if you have the smarts to face it."
When compared with other managers, Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee possesses has exceptionally high expectations of the people who work for him. Lee, known for his use of complex metaphors and penchant for contemplation, said, "I have loftier expectations of people than anyone else in the world."
He doesn't settle for talent; he wants genius. Asked why genius was so important, Lee said, "For a long time we wondered what our country could do to survive over the next 5 to 10 years. We arrived at no perfect solutions. Global trends and technological innovations posed great challenges. The only option was to find our unique abilities and nurture them."
If Korea is to thrive over the next 5 to 10 years, we must develop the most advanced industrial sectors, Lee said. "Only ingenius brainpower can make this possible."
So extreme are the changes in the 21st century that nobody can predict precisely in which direction the world is moving, he said. "But with a touch of genius, we don't have to dread the changes in the market, or the evolving world at large.
The 21st century will be an era defined by mind wars, Lee said. "All knowledge and information will be channeled to the top, as the strongest get stronger and the weak weaken even further."
Lee also hinted that only the best would thrive. "The rest will have to depend on the leading countries and the top firms for their survival," he said. "Currently, thousands of people rely on the conveyor belt to create their products. But in the future an ingenius individual is destined to revolutionize the entire manufacturing process."
With his singular innovation for computer software, Bill Gates became a billionaire, and at the same time created thousands of jobs, Lee pointed out.
Lee then noted that talent was indispensable in raising the income and standard of living for the people of a country.
While conceding that societal conflicts were generally on the rise, labor disputes particularly, Lee saw a silver lining. He explained that when Japan's gross domestic product per capita was at the $10,000 level, strikes were endemic. But as Japan reached the $15,000 stage, the labor situation improved. Finally, at the $20,000 mark, Japan's societal problems were effectively settled.
"But while it took Japan only six years to climb from $10,000 to $20,000, Korea still finds itself in the same spot," Lee said. "We have less land than Japan, a smaller market and less capital. But more importantly, we fell short on developing our unique, competitive talents. There is no other answer."
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