[Namsan Ddalggakbari] Now an Era Where 'Discovery' Matters More Than 'Solution'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The Aston Martin featured in the movie 007, the Michelin Guide created by a tire company, Herm?s which gifted the Birkin bag to Jane Birkin, Patagonia backed by the pristine natural beauty of Patagonia, Apple which presented a new set of values, Shakespeare and Company which itself is a literary work...

What do they have in common? The two authors cite these as exemplary cases where ‘business skills’ that connect intellect and emotion through knowledge and experience are well implemented. Yamaguchi Shu, CEO of Life Nitz and a strategy consultant who has solved real-world problems with philosophical thinking as an author, explains, “Having intellect without emotion is not enough, and having emotion without intellect is also not sufficient.”

The keyword running through the book is ‘worldview.’ The authors argue that worldviews have been recognized ‘to create problems.’ Over the past 500 years, humanity has sequentially solved ‘deep and broad problems’ because they generate profit. As a result, nowadays only ‘deep but narrow problems’ and ‘broad but shallow problems’ remain, making it increasingly difficult to ‘discover’ problems that are like rich veins of value when solved. It has become harder to find ‘people who can present problems’ than ‘people who can provide answers.’

So, what is a ‘problem’? The authors say it is ‘the gap between the desired state and the current state.’ If the desired state is clear, problems inevitably arise, but the scarcity of ‘problems’ also indicates a loss of ‘the power to envision a new world.’

This is also related to the importance of setting a vision. In modern society, the value of solutions is declining, but conversely, the value of high-quality problems (agendas) is rising. In other words, vision is important ‘to create problems.’

Apple’s release of the video titled ‘Knowledge Navigator’ in 1987 was for this reason. The video included many technologies that have now been realized, such as network-connected databases, tablet PCs, touch panel input, voice input and output, knowledge search, and video chatting. The video clearly presented ‘concept = vision.’ The authors analyze that ‘when expressed in text, it inevitably reflects the past,’ so video is effective for expressing ‘something no one has seen yet.’

The two authors introduce concepts easily through various examples. They share interesting cases such as why Rolex watches are preferred over the more functional Apple Watch, why Chanel used jackets once considered exclusively for men in women’s fashion, and why shoulder bags that free both hands were created.

This book argues for shifting the focus from solutions to properly finding problems and setting goals, providing persuasive evidence and examples.

Working with Emotion and Intellect | Written by Yamaguchi Shu & Mizuno Manabu | Translated by Oh Injeong & Lee Yeonhee | Minderb | 224 pages | 15,800 KRW

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