[SSG nudge Leadership] 'Is There an App Like This?' 2-Year Automatic Comparison Calendar

Work and Human Relationships as a 'Fight Against Last Year'

Changwook Park, CEO of Korea Knowledge Leader Association (Secretary General of Daewoo World Management Research Association)

"It's an interesting way to post a calendar. It allows you to compare important sales events from the previous year." This is something I say whenever I visit the staff office at a department store. About 15 years ago, when I was making children's underwear and selling it at a department store, I always stopped by the office. Back then, as now, something noticeable on the office wall was the previous year's calendar hung side by side with the current year's calendar. They marked events that recur around the same time each year, such as bargain sales and anniversaries, and compared them to keep track of regularly recurring tasks.

Especially holidays based on the lunar calendar come around every other year according to the solar calendar. They occur biennially. Since it’s easy to forget, this seemed like a unique department store work method to avoid missing them. General companies face a similar situation because productivity or export performance compared to the previous year often shows significant differences around holidays on a monthly basis.

There was wisdom in this. The basic principle of handling work in a company or organization is not to forget the previous year's tasks. It is a "battle against last year." While handling numerous tasks, one must not miss the basic recurring tasks at specific times each year. This is especially true for work with strong seasonal characteristics. On this foundation, new ideas and creativity are added. Then, the following year, these are further developed and capabilities are accumulated.

In that sense, let's quickly add a calendar function to the company intranet schedule that compares two years. It would be great if this feature were also included in the basic applications on smartphones. Moreover, it should be set as the default so that it automatically appears upon startup. Just like KakaoTalk cleverly shows friends' birthdays automatically, or Facebook automatically displays events from 3 or 5 years ago, or last year every morning.

When company work gets complicated, there is a risk of missing tasks during certain periods, so I remember being instructed at the end of the year to compile and submit a comprehensive summary of the big and small events of the past year. I think it was a very good training exercise.

There are also side effects. Nowadays, it is common on social networking services (SNS) for friends to remember each other's birthdays because they are shown automatically. You can keep track of someone's first meeting, places you visited together, company commemorations, and clients you met or who visited you.

When discussing networking techniques in human relationships, there are two key principles often presented: taking care of people you like, love, or want to remember. The first principle is "meet with a long-term perspective," and the second is "meet regularly." However, since it is physically difficult to meet often in a busy world, even remembering once a year brings great joy. Greeting by text, KakaoTalk, or emoticons is enough.

The effect is significant. It replaces the etiquette of sending year-end greeting cards. Nowadays, you can also send gift coupons. Despite a busy and complicated world, remembering to greet someone leaves you remembered as an attractive person.

Park Chang-wook, CEO of Korea Knowledge Leader Association (Secretary General of Daewoo Global Management Research Association)

◆What is 'Nudge Leadership'?

- 'Nudge Leadership' is not about coercive or directive oppressive methods but about leading organizational or personal change through small and gentle interventions or motivation. It also means improving human relationships through small changes in oneself and transforming into someone others want to follow. Ultimately, it breathes creativity and passion into organizations or relationships, creating new value and happiness.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.