[One Thousand Characters a Day] Chairman Yoon Dong-han's 'Steady Progress and Long Journey Together' <3>

Editor's NoteCEOs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies lament, "Why do young people these days refuse to work anywhere but large corporations?" Chairman Yoon Dong-han urges us to consider the perspective of young job seekers. Friends working at large companies seem to grow through quality job training and overseas workshops, while they feel a strong sense of frustration that they are only working without such opportunities. In other words, the gap in growth opportunities is a bigger cause than differences in salary and welfare. This is why a shift in mindset is necessary for SME CEOs. To address this issue, Chairman Yoon proposes and practices 'learning together' similar to group purchasing. Through the talent education program called 'Ubo Cheonri Win-Win Dream Academy,' Korea Kolmar shares its philosophy of talent development and provides educational opportunities to employees of SMEs and mid-sized companies lacking educational infrastructure. Word count: 1045.

What does it mean to be good at work? I believe diligence (勤) and practice (習) are important virtues. '勤' is a virtue discussed by Jeong Yak-yong, and it does not mean working tirelessly from morning until late at night. Rather, it is the habit of not postponing today's tasks until tomorrow.

There are tasks to be done in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, each distinct. If you do winter tasks in spring, work piles up and the year's plan falls apart. There is a proverb: "The first stitch in time saves nine." The first stitch in time means timeliness. Doing this well alone can earn you recognition for your ability.

In learning, '學' (hak) means to learn, and '習' (seup) means to practice. If learning is passively receiving knowledge, practicing is actively making it your own by writing, reading, and memorizing. Even if you hear the necessary knowledge for work from your superior a hundred times, you must practice it yourself to be able to speak in your own words when meeting clients. If learning ends at '學,' the knowledge remains half-baked; if it ends at '習,' it becomes complete and useful knowledge.

I judge whether people have practiced ('習') based on their speech. Those who thoroughly chew over information and make it their own can convey the content, but those who only read with their eyes cannot fully communicate it.

'習' is also important when meeting people. Before meeting someone, I think of about five conversation topics. I believe the power to avoid redundancy lies in '習.' Even in a moving vehicle, after reading newspaper articles with my eyes, I always summarize the content aloud. Reading with the eyes corresponds to '學,' while reading aloud corresponds to '習.' Only by practicing '習' can I naturally speak about what I have seen in front of others.

In other words, it is the habit of summarizing. Some employees organize key points when submitting approvals or reports, while others get lost midway and fail to organize their thoughts to the point that you cannot understand what they are saying. This not only fails to earn trust but also easily gives the impression of laziness.

- Yoon Dong-han, <Ubo Cheonri Donghaengmanri>, Guardian, 18,000 KRW

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