[Daily 1,000 Characters] The 1% Difference That Moves People <1>

Editor's NoteBaek Jingi, CEO of Handok, a pharmaceutical company, has published a book on organizational culture and leadership titled . Baek has led HR, organizational management, education, and labor relations at Handok for 40 years. In this book, he shares the insights and wisdom he gained from discovering and nurturing countless talented individuals on the front lines of the talent war. He says that a company is not about impressive buildings, but about 'the people you work with.' When colleagues possess high capabilities, they attract talent like a magnet. Are you a leader who draws in talent? How can you help them become engaged and grow? If you are a leader struggling with these questions in the field, this book will serve as a valuable guide. Character count: 1,102.

During the Renaissance, the small city of Florence produced an outpouring of talented individuals. But does that mean there was no talent elsewhere at the time? In the Joseon Dynasty, did brilliant minds only exist during the reign of King Sejong, and not in other periods? Is all the talent now concentrated at Samsung Electronics, with none elsewhere? Of course not. In every era and every place, there have always been many intelligent people. Regardless of time or location, people with abundant potential have always existed, but in some places, the 'stage' for them to thrive was never set.

What do times and places rich in talent have in common? What sets them apart from others? This is my central question. There are many factors, but if I were to speculate on the main reasons, they would be as follows. First, there is an outstanding leader. Second, there is a support system that allows each member of the organization to fully realize their potential. Third, there is active competition and exchange among talented individuals. These three are not the only factors, but they are certainly the most important variables.

So, for our organization to achieve sustainable growth, shouldn't we just ensure we have all three of these elements? Let's take a closer look.

First, leaders of such organizations have great capacity. They are ambitious. Even the leaders themselves do not know the true extent of their own capacity. They simply take on anything and everything. To be precise, leaders are forced to rely on their employees due to organizational expansion, enormous workloads, and rapid growth. From the employees' perspective, it would be accurate to say, "By taking on complex and difficult tasks, I somehow ended up developing my potential into actual capabilities."

The difference in leadership lies in the ability to "recognize the potential of employees." There is an old saying, "Baekrakyilgo," meaning that even a legendary horse must meet a connoisseur like Baekrak to be recognized. Likewise, talented people need someone who can recognize their abilities in order to shine.

Leaders of the Medici family during the Renaissance, King Sejong of Joseon, and today's leaders at Samsung all recognized employees with potential and distinguished between great and lesser leaders among them, acting as modern-day Baekrak. In other places, even if there were outstanding individuals, they went unrecognized and were used for menial tasks before being discarded. The bigger problem is that many people, unaware of their own potential, simply disappeared after being used for hard labor.

-Baek Jingi, , Miraeui Chang, 18,000 KRW

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