[Namsan Ddalggakbari] Working Hard but... Why Can't I Succeed?

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The author of "51 Rules of Work Only You Don't Know" said that after joining a daily newspaper in 2007, he almost daily scheduled lunch and dinner appointments to meet people.

He was so passionate that people said, "He meets everyone he wants to meet." The author has met about 5,000 people over 15 years. One day, he suddenly wondered why some people succeed while others fail doing the same work. Why do some people's efforts fail to shine, while others seem to achieve success so easily? From that moment, the author began analyzing successful people.

"Working hard unconditionally is not the answer. There are separate rules for successful work," the author concluded. He discovered common rules shared among the world's top talents. The book introduces these secrets through the frameworks of behavioral economics and psychology.

Company A: average employee salary is 100 million won. Company B: average employee salary is 50 million won. If you had to choose a workplace, which company would you pick? Many would choose Company A. But there is a hidden trap. What if in Company A, the CEO and two executives earn 1 billion won each, and the rest of the employees have an average salary of 40 million won? And in Company B, all employees earn the same 50 million won. Unless you aim for an executive position, it is obviously more advantageous to choose Company B. This is called the "average value fallacy."

People generally consider themselves rational. They believe they see the world rationally and make rational judgments. However, as in the situation mentioned above, many fall into errors. Even when they should make decisions based on logical analysis or facts, they rely on past experiences or intuition. Daniel Kahneman, the founder of behavioral economics, named this phenomenon "heuristics," and the experts the author met knew how to control heuristics. They were well aware that people are more irrational than they think. They also knew well that they themselves could make irrational decisions at any time.

It is rare for successful people to succeed on their first attempt. Usually, they go through numerous trials and errors, and those who manage the "Methuselah syndrome"?being trapped by memories of "once being successful" amid ups and downs of success and failure?maintain great success for a long time. Kelly Choi, CEO of Kellydeli Group, which owns 600 billion won in assets from sushi business in France, is a case who endured the Methuselah syndrome well. After moving to France, he founded an advertising company and lived a glamorous and affluent life with a big house in central Paris and a chauffeur, but faced bankruptcy in the early 2000s due to the dot-com bubble.

He was left with 1 billion won in debt. Although he was haunted by the thought of being "someone who used to have a secretary and a chauffeur," he started again from menial jobs and grew "Kellydeli" into a global company with 1,200 stores in 12 countries and annual sales of 500 billion won. Football coach Park Hang-seo is similar. He was a key figure in the 2002 World Cup semifinal miracle but was later evaluated as "expelled from Korean football." He put down his pride, went to Vietnam, and succeeded in making a comeback.

How much effect does performance-based pay have on work efficiency? Does a higher proportion of bonuses make people work harder? The author says the impact of bonuses on motivation is not as great as expected. Rather, he argues that a high salary without bonuses produces better results. A representative example is Netflix. Founder Reed Hastings believed that one excellent programmer is worth more than 100 average programmers. This is called the "Rockstar Principle."

He thought it was not a good idea to offer uncertain additional payments to already proven capable employees. He believed that people who do well always work hard. He thought that sufficient performance comes from "open cognitive space," where employees are freed from external temptations or unnecessary thoughts by a high salary and can focus solely on work.

David Burkus, a professor of business administration at Oral Roberts University in the U.S., makes the same claim. "Incentives are known to enhance employees' creativity, but in fact, they do not. For them, rewards like enjoyment are more important than money." In fact, works such as "Squid Game," "D.P.," "Hell," and "Okja" were born in such an environment.

The author organizes the cases of over 5,000 people he met and introduces 51 rules of work. It is a book that interestingly presents psychological principles with real success stories.

51 Rules of Work Only You Don't Know | Written by Lee Hyewoon | Maven | 424 pages | 17,500 won