In the story of Yu Gong, the Heavenly King himself eventually heard about the incident. He was so moved by Yu Gong's will that he dispatched two deities to carry the mountains away.
In his career at LG which spans 35 years, SS Kim has outgrown his rural beginnings to become the CEO of a top global enterprise.
Some might say that, in the business world, he has moved mountains himself.
Q: Which Asian values do you firmly believe in? How do you apply these values to your business?
A: In Korea, where Confucian ideas are prevalent, family ties, priority of community/group over individual, enthusiasm for education and diligence are prioritised. I firmly believe in the priority of the whole over individuals, which lays emphasis on "We, not I".
What is the biggest challenge when expanding overseas?
Our goal is to be among the top three in electronics, information and communications by 2010. In order to be one of the global top three companies, we should not only be so in outward appearance but also in all areas of management. Therefore, our branding will become especially important in realizing our vision and goal.
Since I became CEO of LG Electronics, I have always emphasised making our brand a premium brand.
For a while, LG Electronics was relatively unknown in the global markets. Now, however, LG Electronics has become one of the most favoured brands in many countries and, in some countries, LG has been selected as one of the national brands. We still have more work ahead in securing a premium brand position.
How would you describe your management style?
My management style focuses on three areas: early innovation, stretch goals and field management.
Early innovation means that we should innovate in advance and put it into action earlier, thereby maximizing our performance. One such early innovation process is TDR [Tear-down & Redesign].
We occasionally repeat the same inefficient and unproductive processes, due to limited resources and time. TDR enables us to solve existing problems on a different level while finding innovative solutions, thus maximizing the creation of value and minimizing losses.
