Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

Don Southerton Hit the target, a comment tied to Korean business.  A week does not go by without a colleague or client expressing deep concern for what seems an overarching and singular need for their company to reach their sales numbers. To most, despite a number of vital business initiatives, they feel the monthly demand to hit the target and the “Plan” is all that matters. I can recall more than a decade ago while mentoring a new American divisional vice president being pulled aside by his Korean expatriate counterpart, an Executive Coordinator. The Korean obviously under duress and knew I understood the company as well as HQ expectations. My Korean friend asked passionately for me to stress to the new American VP they needed to hit the target. He repeating the phrase, 3 times so to ensure I got it… then patting me on  the back before sending me over to the adjacent office with the VP. Frankly, as long as I have been working with Korea facing global business it h...

Working with Korea teams Continuing with our Weekend Reads', this week we look at supporting Korean expatriate teams, although the lessons apply well for all of us "working within a Culture. Here's the link.  Enjoy. https://docs.google.com/document/d/18pV5rE6yYLGLPIpTydbFBdVzXQsmcXxT8p1o_VQ-g7I/edit?usp=sharing BTW, we welcome consulting and mentoring opportunities to support you and the team. That said, as always if you have questions, feel free to reach out. And, If you missed a previous "Read," you can access under Case Studies at http://www.bridgingculture.com/what-we-do.html ###

Korea (as well as China, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and many Asian countries) celebrate two New Years’-- one on Jan. 1 and the Lunar New Year celebration. This year the Lunar holiday falls on Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, February 17 (Korea time). In Asian tradition, each Lunar new year has an associated animal, as well as a related element and color such as fire (red), water (black), earth (yellow/gold), metal (white) and wood (blue), all which rotate over a 60-year cycle.   And as examples, we see Lunar years’ referred to as Red (Fire) Monkey, Black (Water) Snake, White (Metal) Dragon, etc. and this year Golden (Earth) Dog.    Adding some significance to 2018, Gold is also the color of royalty and many feel adds to even more good fortune.   For us working with Korean teams, it’s a great time to re-connect. For your Korean colleagues (in Korea), you can wish them “Hap...

Don Southerton I’d like to share the story behind what has become a cornerstone for Hyundai and  Kia Motors.  Please enjoy this weekend’s read, “The Hyundai Advantage, Creative Marketing and America’s Best Warranty—The Story Behind” “A bold creative marketing ’10-year / 100,000-mile Warranty’ program was first introduced in the U.S. in 1998…not by Detroit’s Big 3 or the growing number of Japanese brands, but by Korean automaker Hyundai Motor.” Here is the LINK  http://www.bridgingculture.com/assets/advantage1998.pdf ​​​​​​​In my trip to SoCal this week, clients were asking about previous Weekend Read 1-4. No problem, go to: Case Studies http://www.bridgingculture.com/what-we-do.html ###

This week’s read (about 27 pages) is  Hyundai and Kia Motors: The Early Years and Product Development. Reaching back to the early 1960s, we will look at the political and economic forces long impacting the industrial growth and development of South Korea, including automakers Hyundai and Kia Motors. In addition,  we find the roots for the Korean export model where brands like Samsung, LG, SK and Daewoo  also followed in partnered with global companies for technology and design prior to expanding rapidly in the domestic Korea and international markets. I see this trend continuing even today… perhaps more so than ever. Here is a link to the book in PDF.  http://www.bridgingculture.com/assets/hkebook.pdf Enjoy. Here if you need to chat, too. DS