In the two previous posts we looked at the dynamics required to nurture a creative and innovative workplace. In particular, Korean work values, norms and attitude surfaced as polar opposites to the characteristics of the western creative class workplace. In turn some core change would be required if Korea aspired to develop a strong sustainable innovation-driven economy. In fact, the current South Korean president, Madame Park, Geun-hye recognized this and upon election boldly had proclaimed a “Creative Economy” as her platform for Korea’s economic growth over her 5 year term in office.
Frankly most in Korea’s private and public sector have found
this high level government mandate hard to embrace—in part because the overall
concept was difficult to grasp within their current society. And, as I have pointed out what drives a
creative economy is creatives as well as the unique communities that align with
values and sustain their lifestyles. For
example over-hearing a tech startup chat in edgy Golden, Colorado coffee shop Pangea,
I quizzed the three young entrepreneurs on “why Golden?” They response was 1)
lifestyle, and more specifically rock climbing 2) access to established startup
and incubator hubs like Boulder and Denver, and 3) available local funding for
startup, the community quite wealthy.
To give another snapshot, Biz Stone former Twitter
co-founder shared in a recent weekly update on his current venture Super.me,
his partner Ben Finkel’s view on their work culture
* The world is our oyster. We get to build awesome software,
dream up future products, use the best technologies, and get well paid for
doing it. There’s no handbook, but the challenge is part of the thrill.
* We have tons of flexibility in our work style, no
micromanaging and minimal bureaucracy. Of course, we can still improve our work
processes, but this is another problem we get to collaboratively improve
together.
* Working with a small, creative group thinking up and
building future products—that has always been my dream. Of course, the products
won’t work as planned, we’ll have to adapt, redirect, and persist.
In a future Everything Korea episode, I’ll suggest some
steps Korean companies need to take if they look to build a creative workforce
in their domestic Korean divisions, but before I tackle that set of challenges,
I would like to address the need for Korean overseas operations to be sensitive
to the needs, values, and attitudes of the creatives with their local organizations. Studies show that up to 1/3 of the American
workforce are now part of the creative class. The best companies recognize this
trend. Sadly, firms that ignore this reality, suffer.
My big concern is that Korean companies with global
operations may fail to recognize this reality, too. This reality was well captured by Authors
Josh Hammond and James Morrison in their book The Stuff Americans Are Made Of.
The authors cite seven cultural forces that define
Americans:
1
Insistence on choice
2
Pursuit of impossible dreams
3
Obsession with big and more
4
Impatience with time
5
Acceptance of mistakes
6
Urge to improve
7
Fixation with what’s new
I feel Korean companies need to recognize and adopt a creative
culture in local markets to sustainable recruit and retain this talent -- a
difficult challenge even for many American companies strongly rooted in older
workplace norms. Again quoting Richard
Florida, “ Many companies are merely presenting a cheap, façade of the
alternative [creative culture]—a Ping-Pong table, perhaps an espresso machine.”
So for starters, Korean companies that need to draw upon local
creative class talent will find that locating in right community can be half
the battle. This means a locale that
embraces diversity and openness, with some edgy counter-culture thrown in. Interestingly, we know there is considerable
synergy between the creative class workforce in these communities like San
Francisco, Austin, TX and Boulder, Colorado—a huge side benefit to any firm
looking to nurture their workforce.
Perhaps the greatest hurtle is ensuring that Korea workplace
norms and company practices do not over-power and overtake local
norms—resulting in a stifling of the very creativity the Korean company so
desires… In the worst cases, top
creatives will exit and those that stay make no attempt to tap their
creativity.
Again this is not an easy task, and frankly one I spend
considerable time as a consultant providing leadership and teams—Korean and
Western-- with strategy work arounds and solutions. And, I do have solutions.
More to come on this topic, in the meantime if you and your
company would like to discuss, I would be happy to chat. I’ve found each
company has it’s own dynamics and I approach case-by-case crafting an approach
tailored to the client.
So until next time…
Oh, one more thing…. I am back in SoCal and OC two days this
week. Some time still open
or
Direct Questions? Go
to questions@koreabcw.com
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