[Business Trends] Insight: Will You Achieve It or Lose It?

Changing Everyday Inconveniences and Finding Novelty as Insight
6 Ways to Develop Insight Through 'Experience Accumulation'

“There is no doubt that South Korea ranks first in the world in demonstrating entrepreneurial spirit.” This is a statement made by the father of management, Peter F. Drucker, in . It is a compliment and an expectation that entrepreneurial spirit is the driving force that has enabled South Korea to enter the world’s Top 10 economies.

From the beginning of the year, this statement by Peter Drucker was proven true. It was at the ‘International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023’ held in Las Vegas, USA. Among the 20 companies that received the ‘Best Innovation Award’ at CES 2023 from January 5 to 8, nine (45%) were Korean companies. Among the 434 companies and 609 products worldwide that received innovation awards, 134 companies (30.9%) and 181 products (29.7%) were domestic companies. It was literally a ‘Korea fever.’ This is an encouraging event that brightens the future prospects of the domestic economy.

Scene from CES 2023 held in Las Vegas, USA

The fields that attracted much attention at CES 2023 were autonomous driving in automobiles and digital health. In particular, the growth and innovation in the digital health sector were remarkable. This year’s Best Innovation Award in digital health was won by Aevice MD from Avice Health. It is an innovative device that, when a coin-sized patch is attached to the chest, can monitor lung health, considering ‘voice’ as a health management tool. In CES 2022, a coin-sized ‘continuous glucose monitor’ won the Best Innovation Award. It reduced the inconvenience of having to draw blood daily to manage blood sugar and allowed continuous monitoring for two weeks. Now, customer inconvenience becomes an opportunity, and ‘sound,’ which was not previously considered as data, can become data and be used as a tool for innovation.

Questions Raised by CES 2023

Watching the rapid changes shown at CES 2023, there are things to consider regardless of the field: ‘speed of change,’ ‘data,’ ‘human-centered thinking,’ and ‘insight.’ The first two relate to change, and the latter two are what we must keep at the center.

In May 2020, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, emphasized the speed of change and the importance of innovation at Microsoft’s annual developer conference ‘Build 2020,’ saying, “Digital transformation that would have taken two years happened in just two months.” The personal computer began appearing on desks in the early 1990s, the iPhone was first released in June 2007, electric cars started rolling only 4 to 5 years ago, and autonomous driving features were added recently.

What fueled this was COVID-19. The speed of informatization to resolve inconveniences from non-face-to-face interactions accelerated, and the faster informatization technology generated more data. The need to process exponentially increasing data and create algorithms became a catalyst for the development of ‘quantum computers.’ Through this cyclical loop, the speed of change and increase in data are progressing at an unpredictably rapid pace.

How should humans exist within the accelerating speed of change without control devices? What kind of relationship will super-intelligent artificial intelligence (AI) form with humans in the future? Will humans achieve cooperative coexistence with AI, or will they be dominated? These questions have arisen. The voice that came out behind the splendor of CES 2023?that future AI development must necessarily include consideration and respect for humans?is not just a passing remark.

Then, in response to such changes, what should humans do and how? We must cultivate creative thinking and insight abilities that computers cannot perform and develop the capacity to coexist with AI. However, until now, we have regarded ‘insight’ as a concept that is almost untouchable or should not be brought up.

Changing the Mindset from ‘Big Insight’ to ‘Small Insight’

Why did Kazuo Inamori, founder of Kyocera and called the ‘God of Management,’ return to being a street mendicant monk after retirement to reflect on his past and contemplate insight? Now, insight that can be realized here and now is needed. We must shift from ‘big insight’ to ‘small insight.’ Changing daily inconveniences and seeking newness also require a shift in thinking that these are forms of insight. Then a new world will appear.

Jared M. Diamond, in , explained that the shape of terrain influenced the speed of cultural and technological diffusion. Yuval N. Harari, in , argued that humans, unlike other animals, could create ‘shared myths,’ enabling large groups to form and conquer the Earth. Steve Jobs and Elon Musk connected existing technologies to create things that never existed before.

If these cases are called ‘big insight,’ what about a recent news report about an app developed to allow people with disabilities to request help from the nearest volunteer helper when needed? The ‘Companions’ group (led by Park Ha-eun and Hong Ji-seon), students at Nazareth University, developed the ‘HelpCall’ application, which allows users to request temporary assistance such as △mobility support (moving between classrooms, to the cafeteria, etc.), △information provision (reading newspapers, finding books in the library, displaying video subtitles), and △emergency situations (hospital accompaniment, first aid). Nearby helpers respond to provide assistance. Using this app, disabled students can receive immediate help, and volunteer students receive service hours. Isn’t this insight? A mindset that seeks small, light, and quick insightful factors within possible limits is necessary.

Six Ways to Achieve ‘Light Insight’

Even ‘light insight’ is not easy or effortless. So, what are the methodological tools and directions to achieve ‘light insight’?

First, have interest. Change begins with interest. When you have interest, things that were invisible become visible. Curiosities such as “Walnut cookies seem like bread, so why are they called cookies?”, “Why can’t you ride a zebra?”, “Is bamboo a tree or grass?”, “Why is toilet paper only white?” are all forms of interest. Without curiosity, there is no change.

Second, observe. When curiosity arises about something, you look at it more deeply and study it. If the observer can become one with the object, more can be discovered. The French genius poet Rimbaud called a poet a ‘seer.’ When unity with the object is achieved, one can see the deep essence of the object like a poet’s eye. ‘Insight’ means in + sight, that is, seeing deeply inside the essence and looking beyond the phenomenon to the underlying side.

Third, empathize. The deeper the observation, the better the empathy. Through observation, one can grasp not only surface needs but also essential desires. The difference between the MZ generation and older generations is not a people problem but a difference in experiences; understanding arises when there is empathy that “if they were the same, it would actually be a problem.”

Fourth, ideate. When empathy arises, ideation to find new opportunities begins. No one can know all knowledge or experience everything, so everyone inevitably falls into errors and has their own world. Therefore, in the ideation stage, one must forcibly discard or invert two thoughts: “It’s always been like this” and “Of course.” These two thoughts and words unconsciously maintain the stereotype that ‘the existing is right.’

Fifth, connect. Creating something new that does not exist in this world is possible when completely different things are connected. Steve Jobs emphasized the importance of ‘connection’ as Apple’s secret to success, and Masayoshi Son, chairman of SoftBank, is famous for practicing ‘forced connection,’ intentionally connecting completely different things. The key is that ‘when things that have never met meet, something new is born.’ The scientist who studied this scientifically is Russian inventor Genrich S. Altshuller. He extracted 40,000 patents from 200,000 worldwide and organized 40 principles into the invention method ‘TRIZ,’ enabling many people to use it as a tool for new thinking.

Sixth, execute. Even if you find a new idea or see new opportunities behind phenomena, if it is not executed, it does not exist. Ultimately, insight, decision to act, and execution are necessary. Even if started, if it is not sustained until completion, new creation will not be achieved.

Insight Comes from Accumulation

No matter how light the insight, it cannot be achieved with just one effort. Insight comes from accumulation. In the Analects, in the Weiling Gong and Liren chapters, Confucius teaches insight as follows: “Zigong, do you think I have learned a lot and understand everything I have learned?” “Yes, is that not so?” “No. I have penetrated everything with one thread.”

According to Confucius’s teaching, insight is not knowing everything but penetrating through everything. To achieve insight, accumulation of successes and failures and time is necessary. Faster, smaller, and lighter accumulation of experience is required. Small experiences may only lead to ‘light insight,’ but since they also accumulate, eventually ‘big insight’ can be achieved.

Professor Park Byung-tae, Catholic University

Byungtae Park, Research Professor at Catholic University

Who is Professor Park Byung-tae?

He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration specializing in strategic management and marketing and has 33 years of experience as a hospital management expert. He was responsible for practical work as the preparation office director for the opening of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Eunpyeong St. Mary’s Hospital at Catholic University. His books include and .