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Management Toolkit

Words of wisdom from LG's 'foolish' old man

Aloysius Choong CNETAsia

Published: 09 Dec 2004 16:35 GMT

What do you hope to be remembered for when you leave your company?
I have been with LG Electronics for the last 35 years. I first entered LG Electronics as a mechanical engineer and have spent most of my career in the field. I watched our company grow from a small Korean company to a global company that it is now, and I feel proud that I took part in it. Because I have been with LG for so long and because I feel very much at home with LG, I truly enjoy my work and being at the forefront in the field work.

When I leave my company, I want to be remembered as a global CEO who brought LG Electronics further into the stratosphere of global brands. My agenda remains in making LG Electronics into a global top three company.

There is a saying that goes: when a tiger dies, it leaves its skin. A man leaves his name. I want to go down in LG history.

How do you motivate yourself and your employees?
I motivate myself and employees by setting high goals such as Global Top 3 by 2010.

In order to produce a winning organisation I motivate myself and employees by creating a corporate culture that continuously challenges higher goals and the word "no" is not an option.

Who do you look to for inspiration?
I admire Jack Welch as a CEO and Toyota as a company. When we had a strategic alliance with GE, I had a chance to meet with Jack Welch and I was very impressed with him.

When we met, most of our discussion involved business. He was very business oriented, just as a CEO of a global company should be. And we both shared a passion for working and making decisions in the field, and stretching goals.

I want my company to be more like Toyota. We want to be a great, strong company that does not stop in generating growth and one that is not susceptible to external factors. There has not been a labour strife at Toyota for the past fifteen years and we have not had one in the last thirteen years. I found that we have many similarities in innovation and production strategies.