By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter
Any reporter knows that the best quotes often come after the tape recorder is turned off, and a question you were supposed to ask comes to mind when you're on your way back to the newsroom.
This occurred to me when I interviewed Bruce Haines, the new chief operations officer at Cheil Worldwide, which is Korea's biggest advertisement agency. The agency is affiliated with Samsung Group and was dubbed the world's 16th largest according to Advertising Age ― a trade magazine, in 2006.
Since Haines' best quotes were not taped ― although I doubt that he would protest even if I wrote them from memory ― I will not write a direct quote.
Right after I signaled to him that I was finished and turned my Sony voice recorder off, he made remarks that still remain stuck in my mind. He said that one of the first things he did after he joined Cheil was to replace the frosted windows that served as a partition of sorts, separating him from his subordinates. Now transparent windows enable him and his employees to see each other.
Expanding on the change of windows, he said that he didn't want his employees to just do as they were told. Rather, he wanted them to challenge him, going mano-a-mano, in a contest for who has the better idea.
Taking his challenge, I tried to explain that although it is changing, Korean culture dictates a top-down and ``boss has the best idea'' mentality. In hindsight, I should not have.
Haines' experiment is worth a serious try, especially with such an organization as big as any Samsung affiliate and I agree with him that a challenge-and-response principle often produces the best ideas.
The question that I should have asked but didn't (I believe that there is a good chance that he'll call me up when he reads this article) was why he didn't have a bowl of apples in his office.
Haines worked as chief executive officer for Leo Burnett London. Leo Burnett was a legend in the industry, as he set up his company in the middle of the Great Depression in the United States. His rule was to have a bowl of apples at the reception desk or other offices. People say there must have been a bet that he would be driven out of business before refilling the empty bowls with apples. Obviously, Burnett persevered.
Even though I regretted not asking the question, I consoled myself by wondering if that was a sign of professionalism. After all, as any salary man would understand, you have to keep an eye on where your paycheck comes from and a sense of superiority from your previous work experience is the last thing you want to drag into your new job.
Perhaps different from most Western executives I know who are working for Korean companies, Haines appears to be in the job that is cut out for him.
``A lot of eastern companies that move particularly into western markets find it hard to judge the market, … find it hard to judge creativity,'' Haines said, adding that he has that experience that helps Cheil in its ambitious plan to become a global player no longer relying on its business with Samsung affiliates.
Also a change he likes to bring about inside the company is a kind of reorganization that makes Cheil look and function like its western counterparts.
When pressed about a ``number'' of employees that may be let go of, he said, ``It is not about head count but about what those heads do.'' He sounded concerned more about a reshuffle geared toward beefing up strategic planning, while redirecting supporting staff.
Haines believes that the current structure of Cheil's revenue generation, 80 percent of which comes from businesses related to Samsung, is not healthy for Cheil and Samsung. He came up with a chain reaction theory that starts with the attraction of new businesses, brings in new creative talent and ends up with more businesses.
I spent a significant portion of my questioning on questions that would more likely be asked in an MBA (master of business administration) class, starting with his view on the special probe into Lee Kun-hee ― owner of Samsung Group, and proper damage control for the administrations of U.S. President Bush and Korean President Lee Myung-bak, both of whom are struggling to overcome a public relations fiasco.
``A leader should be seen taking full responsibility and accepting the consequences,'' he said regarding Lee Kun-hee's decision to quit. ``My instincts tell me that he did what he saw in the best interest of the company.''
For any executive who wants to be interviewed for this column, call 02-724-2344 for Assistant Managing Editor Oh Young-jin.