sense of work

A sense is not a novel idea.
When asked what a sense is and who a person with good sense is by constantly thinking and training, Jo Soo-yong begins his story by carefully examining how he started working and what kind of mindset he has when working. In this book, he also selects 'ownership' as the first of his working mindsets, and shares his experience of starting his career as a designer and then expanding his scope to become a planner. He says that in addition to faithfully carrying out his assigned tasks, he fiercely considers the concerns of clients (owners) as if they were his own, and when he is not satisfied with the situation of the work, he persuades the other party and thinks together, which builds trust in the long term and gives him the power to make decisions. While acknowledging the characteristics of a company organization that cannot help but be influenced by the owner's decisions, the author calmly explains that in order to feel the joy of work and grow within it, one must have 'ownership' as if one were the master of the work assigned to them. Ownership is an excellent ability to empathize, and it is also a quality that can be demonstrated to colleagues and consumers to facilitate work. When the author founded JOH, he divided the organization into director units rather than job units and then had them carry out projects through collaboration. All employees are encouraged to work with a sense of ownership. From the perspective of a salaried worker, it is natural to feel like, “This isn’t my company,” let alone ownership. However, I think that working like that is not only boring, but also leads to going back down the path I have to take anyway. Not only does the company think of me as an employee who only works as much as my salary, but I also end up just being “a person who does the work given and waits for permission.” Is this really a good thing for me?
- In the text, Cho Soo-yong believes that even the senses that are commonly considered innate talents come from a state of mind. The senses that start from the 'heart that tries to like' are refined when you delve deep into your own tastes and appropriately combine and coordinate the perspectives of others. The author also writes specifically about how to refine your senses. When purchasing a bicycle, he researches everything from high-end brands to professional and popular models, and he reads community posts and magazines to gather information, and he also tells you the order of 'digging' your tastes. This is advice that readers can practically apply to develop their senses. Such meticulously trained senses are also connected to the ability to select appropriately what to choose and what to discard. The ability to judge what is important and add or subtract without being swayed by other people's opinions or trends is also connected to the senses needed in the branding process.

For something to be successful, you have to go beyond your own tastes. You have to find that point where your preferences and your empathy for others meet, that fine point where you feel the pressure pushing and pulling each other. It is where your tastes meet the tastes of the world.
-In the text

“There is nothing ‘original’ in the world”
Branding is about revealing the essence.
The essence of the senses is to recall the essence

People who are good at their jobs and have good sense are ultimately those who think about the 'essence'. Ownership and sense, design and branding that Jo Soo-yong talks about should also be about the essence. If you don't think about the essence in the branding process, you will be in a hurry to follow trends and focus only on packaging. So how can you figure out the essence? The author says to ask questions with common sense. When you ask questions based on extremely basic common sense without being swayed by stereotypes, there will be problems that you will discover, and when you try to solve them without saying 'that's just how it is', a sensible plan is born. The author emphasizes that all results that seem like innovative ideas were plans that focused on the essence, citing examples such as the Green Factory parking lot that reminded people of the floor number by sound and the Samsung Card that was designed with a focus on the original function of 'consumption'.

There is nothing in the world that is original. Whether you look at a piece of bread or a building in a city, you have to constantly ask yourself why it is like that. Returning to the essence. That is the essence of sense.
If you just go back to common sense and think about what is natural from your perspective, you can be quite different. You need to break away from established inertia and look at things as if there is no such thing. A person with a sense is someone who recalls the essence that we have forgotten.
-In the text

'How to do a good job without destroying your soul' is a topic that all working people worry about. Cho Soo-yong has also had similar concerns while working at the forefront of design and brand creativity for 32 years. Chapter 1 of this book begins by emphasizing ownership, but Chapter 5 ends by talking about the time he worked hard to work without losing his identity. The author says that just as "many brands in the world are the result of someone's efforts to exist as themselves," he also works to prove himself to the world and make his beliefs known. Listening to the inner voice and protecting oneself while working is also an important 'essence' of a working person. I recommend this book, 《Sense of Work》 to countless readers who are questioning their own essence as working people today.