A management book written by the first outside hire to become president since HD Hyundai was founded. The author turned HD Hyundai Electric, which had a 156.7 billion won loss, to the black starting in 2020 and also succeeded in serving three consecutive terms as CEO.
How did this former civil servant bring change to a company that handles heavy electrical equipment such as transformers and circuit breakers?
What the author emphasizes is the "Harmonizer." The "follow me" approach no longer works in corporations. The signals each member sends from their own position must come together for the organization to find its direction.
It is like a navigation app such as T Map losing its way without real-time information from drivers.
He opened executive meetings to all employees and created a program in which Millennials and Gen Z reverse-mentor executives. The "HE Conference Day," streamed live on YouTube, was another stage for organizational innovation.
Once every month or two, he visited the plant in person, donned an apron, and shared bread and coffee. Gifts of the heart that monetary rewards cannot provide raise employees' self-esteem.
Each department also appointed a culture officer (CA, Change Agent). This was to grasp the underlying sentiment of employees that the HR team might miss.
In fact, when the organization adopted "DNA (Do it Now, Action!)," a change program from an outside consulting firm, the first reaction was skeptical. Many saw it as a cost-cutting drive led by a president who came from outside.
When the president personally stepped in, disassembled advanced overseas products, put them on the desk, and held candid discussions with employees, the logjam broke. Executives and employees identified improvement tasks themselves, and the company responded with rewards.
He says that harmony does not come from a good heart but is accumulated through trained sensibility and repeated failures.
Train for leadership that coordinates instead of dominates, responds instead of instructs, and designs instead of commands. The team will come alive, and the organization will become sustainable.