[How About This Book] "Leave Work Early"... The Secret to Becoming One of the World's 10 Brand Directors

From Regional University Graduate to Adidas Vice President
One of Only 10 Brand Directors Worldwide
Secrets Include On-Time Departure and 6C
Sharing 30 Years of Self-Design Expertise

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] There are only ten Adidas brand directors worldwide. Due to its rarity, the position is composed of outstanding talents. The author of Create Your Own Game is a person who served as a brand director and later became the Vice President of Adidas Korea.

His credentials were not exceptional. One day at the age of twenty-six, while attending a regional university, he heard that Jewoo Trading (now Adidas Korea) was hiring marketing staff and came to Seoul without any plan. When he did not receive a call of acceptance, he went straight to the department head. Naturally, he was turned away, but his earnestness paid off, and he became a member of Adidas. From then on, he worked like a president. In fact, the author shares an anecdote about taking his girlfriend to the company and telling her that there were actually two presidents in the company: the real president and himself.

The author did not work just to receive a paycheck by doing the minimum assigned tasks. During his second year as a marketer, he planned a campaign that imprinted the essence of Adidas, achieving great success. The campaign, famous for the slogan "Sports is Alive," gained tremendous popularity, spawning parodies and comedy skits that firmly embedded Adidas in the public’s mind. This is why the author was able to serve as the youngest and youngest-ever department head.

However, he did not devote himself entirely to the company. He set a "safety device" of leaving work on time and used his working hours intensively to produce results. At the time, this was considered unusual and could have cost him opportunities, but the author proved himself through visible achievements within working hours.

In 2000, while on the path to success, he suddenly resigned and left for abroad. He felt his English skills were insufficient in the era of globalization. The more fundamental reason was to alleviate his anxiety, which he believed at the time stemmed from his lack of English proficiency. However, after arriving abroad, he realized something different. He understood that smooth communication was more important than fluent English and acquired that ability during his study abroad.

In his book, the author reveals various know-how, which can be summarized as the "6Cs": ▲Country trends ▲Competitor ▲Consumer ▲Customer ▲New movements in key Cities ▲Various Channels. He explains, "I keep my five senses open and absorb things related to these six keywords," and adds that he uses them "not only as marketing terms but also as criteria for evaluating individuals." He says, "When asking questions based on these in interviews, it is easier to judge whether a candidate has the potential to grow into a future talent." In fact, excluding majors and life histories, he hired talents based on the 6Cs, such as Park Ki-hwan, president of Emerson K Partners, a PR agency who majored in physical education and worked at Adidas. The book introduces various such cases with real names.

After leaving Adidas in 2019, the author, as CEO of HK&COMPANY, researches management, organization, business models, and personal competency strategies related to corporate digital transformation. He shares his self-design know-how accumulated over 30 years in the book.

Create Your Own Game | Written by Kang Hyung-geun | Flow Publishing | 268 pages | 17,000 KRW