LS Group Chairman Christopher Koo urged new executives to think like owners.
Chairman Koo stressed “ownership management” during his meeting with newly inaugurated executives at a retreat in Seoul on Dec. 27. His remarks may be interpreted as his way of infusing ambition into next-generation leaders who will be the pillar of the group in an era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Koo presented the executives with Kyocera Honorary Chairman Kazuo Inamori’s book “A Passion for Success: Practical, Inspirational, and Spiritual Insight from Japan's Leading Entrepreneur.” Chairman Koo said, “Kazuo Inamori has become a management legend by putting into practice so-called ‘ameba management’ in which all staff has to adopt a manager’s attitude to demonstrate their ability with a passion.”
“As you now become executives, let me ask you to have bigger dreams and work like owners,” he said, adding: “Let me delegate authority and responsibility to you and think and act like owners.”
Chairman Koo urged participants to make their seniors feel a sense of a crisis and give more opportunities to juniors.
Chairman Koo took time out to meet and talk with new executives every year since 2013 when he took office as group chairman. He gave books as gifts and conveyed his thoughts and views candidly.
His latest meeting took on significance as the group promoted 18 officers to director, the largest-ever promotion since his inauguration. The promotions included 13 officers promoted ro vice president. Director-level officers in their 40s were among the new promotions, accounting for 33 percent of the total, the highest compared to similar figures ― 11 percent in 2016 and 27 percent in 2017. The higher percentage of younger director-level officers is in line with Chairman Koo’s strategy to accelerate laying a new groundwork and the implementation of new businesses to brace for the advent of the 40th Industrial Revolution, business analysts said.
“LS, overcoming hardships over the past few years, is getting better, and it is more significant for you, new leaders, to play a part of not being stuck with the conventional customs and ways of thinking at a time when the 4th Industrial Revolution is transforming all business conditions,” he noted.
LS Group’s major subsidiaries posted better-than-expected business performances recently. The holding company LS, LS Cable & System, and LSIS chalked up 11.482 trillion won in accumulated sales and 588.4 trillion won in accumulated operating profit in the third quarter of 2017, representing a 12.8 percent surge and a 38.3 percent jump over the same period of the previous year, respectively.
Their business outlooks for the year 2018 are expected to be rosy. LS Cable & System is forecast to see sales and operating profit increase this year thanks to a rise in copper prices and winning orders. LSIS is expected to see sales in such businesses as power infrastructure and automation increase this year.
Even though the group’s major companies logged good performances in 2017, Chairman Koo’s thoughts are on cultivating new leaders to brace for an era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, a group official said. LS Group plans to raise the profitability of the conventional businesses while continuing to explore new growth engines, he added.
Call for being Armed with Global No. 1 DNA
In his New Year's message, Chairman Koo urged his executives and staff embers to be infused with a DNA to become a global No. 1 leader. "Now is the time when we need to be reborn a genuine global player by turning our competitiveness standardards and perspective to the world," he said. To this end, he said he set his group's 2018 managment tent as making this year as a year in which his staff will be armed with a DNA to become a global No. 1 leader.
First, he called for qualitive growth through the strengthening of overseas business capabilites.
Seconldy, he urged his executives and staff members to reaalise outcomes of core projects.
Lastly, Chairman Koo called for thorough prepartiaons to secure fugutre growth.
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