There are many ways to read oneself.
Among them, the easiest and fastest is to read a book. That said, the old saying that what comes easy is lost just as easily does not exactly miss the mark here either. Of course, I do not think anyone would take the bewildering step of giving up reading because of that.
Another way is to use the other person as a mirror to see myself. This one is very hard. If you receive the other emotionally or misread their intent, identification can happen, where you start to resemble the other. So I think some psychological background is very much needed. (* Identification = the phenomenon where the state of mind or behavior of the other person becomes the same as your own.)
Also, instead of looking at and judging the other person's behavior itself, you need to first understand the cause, motivation, and environment behind that behavior, which takes time. (Here, 'needing time' is not just a nicely polished phrase about not making hasty judgments and holding a middle position; it means…) You have to accept and endure the internal and external misunderstandings and rumors that arise in the gap of that time. You need the problem-solving capacity to work through that situation—whether it is an interpersonal one or an inner psychological conflict.
For that reason, I want to practice 'using the other person as a mirror to see myself.' Or, loosely put, it is more like a bit of grumbling I hope to exchange over a drink with the me who might become me in the future.
Mirroring Myself 07. 'Some day' does not come. Only 'that day' exists. (And the reinterpretation of use)
There are words our director often shares.
- Reinterpretation of use.
- 'Some day' does not come. Only 'that day' exists.
- Am I using him/her/it? Or rather, am I being used?
Recently these have naturally become questions I throw at myself several times a day, so I am taking a moment to jot down what I feel now.
While making this post, in the process of searching to firm up the content, I found related content in the book Trend Korea 2014 (Kim Nan-do et al.). Among the many items, the ones that caught my eye most were H, O, R, and S. The R content is what started this related research, but the S, which I discovered for the first time this time, especially stood out. It is like a solid scenario that only looks coincidental on the surface. At a glance, life and daily living are not so different.
I remember a famous line from some film: 'Coincidence is the bridge fate lays down for those who try.' It sounds a bit movie-like, but my personal feeling is the same. The same context applies when designing (planning), shaping, or setting the direction of a new service that is currently my biggest interest.
So I drew the overall picture, split into external parts, internal parts, and the internal split again into existing operations and the new.
1. External pieces
1) Branding — produce background knowledge that can underpin perception of the company
2) Build infrastructure — driving voluntary participation through participants (Fans) who take part in brand-image building
=> Run regular seminars in related fields, built on the participation (talks, sponsorships) of existing infrastructure
2. Internal pieces (in-progress and completed items)
1) Accurate grasp of existing business and operating history
=> Collect yearly, monthly, revenue-type, participation-period, count, and amount data; visualize the statistics
2) Prepare a reusable environment for existing business and information
=> Build a solution based on that content to predict or ground future operations
3) Lay out a plan to build a service model that productizes, based on past project records and know-how
4) Set our own business direction
=> Survey and statistically analyze nearby colleagues to understand the concrete motives and judgment criteria of users by situation, which is not visible through typical surveys or interviews
5) Discuss internally that problem framing and problem-solving between our own business and contract services must be clearly different, and establish an internal process for concretizing (implementing) that content
Advancing the thought (turning the ideal into the real)
1. Motivation and selecting a new direction and item — related article
Discovering good ideas for entrepreneurship starts with solving your own immediate problem first. Among successful entrepreneurs, there are plenty of cases of those who founded a company to solve their own pressing problem and succeeded. Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram, the photo-sharing service beloved around the world, and co-founder Mike Krieger are a prime example. They conceived a service that would make it easier to share photos from their own phones and to dress them up with various colors and filter effects, and Instagram was born. Not only them: Pierre Omidyar, founder of the global shopping site eBay, also started eBay with the idea of selling, via the internet, a laser pointer he found too wasteful to throw away or give away.
Statistics show that among successful founders, those over 50 outnumber those under 25 by about two to one. In other words, the commonly repeated phrase 'youth and drive' alone is not the secret of a successful founding, and ideas for a business are not unearthed through academics or surveys/market research. (Excerpted from a Venture Square article)
2. Motivation related article
Personally I am skeptical. The odds are quite favorable for a skeptical decision. But I simply do not judge based on hearsay that I have not experienced myself.
In the short term we regret broken romantic relationships; in the long term we regret romantic relationships we let slip.
To summarize, psychologically, when the same outcome is given, people feel heavier psychological burden and regret when the choice was made autonomously versus not. For example, when a bus accident happens, we pity more the passenger who happened to board because of a last-minute schedule change than the passenger who was originally on the bus.
This is not limited to personal matters; it is also something to consider in running organizations or companies.
3. Same context, into action
I started with the parts I could improve by myself. I created a year-by-year progress table. It aggregates by year, month, revenue type, period, quarter, region, sales amount, and announcement type, so that the whole team can perceive what is controllable and what is external.
Then I expanded into parts that can proceed on the back of small cooperation. Like giving blood, I wanted to start with a screen capture of each team member's smartphone wallpaper.
In the case of an organization that has earned revenue from agency work for decades with all kinds of stories, even if there is a will for a new service, it can be extremely hard to change the problem-solving process, or to do user research and analysis, or even to understand one's own measuring stick and capability limits. Moreover, self-determining direction and scope for task-execution-standard production can be as dangerous as a child letting go of a parent's hand while crossing to a busy street for survival.
However well an agency earns, we need the recognition that operating our own revenue model (service) and being good at outsourced work are completely different problems. This is not a matter of level, rank, or nobility. It is simply a matter of domain and of being.
That said, you cannot kill will or merely fan it without experiencing anything, so we need diverse attempts and experiences we can validate from where we stand.
Of course, the point of screen captures is not simply to obtain statistics on app trends or popular apps. Just because we are an IT agency does not mean our own service must be an app. What we want is the chance to analyze individual Needs by situation. (Not wants.)
The initial user analysis fields are region 1, region 2, gender, age, hobbies, after-work, weekends, dating, marriage, children, occupation, years of experience, and means of transportation. And we want the chance to understand the ultimate needs behind the apps people use in each situation (the apps used out of need).
'There is a related post, so I am recording it together.'
- Trend Korea 2014 (Kim Nan-do et al.)
H: Hybrid Patchworks
The 'boundaries of industry' coming down is not a new phenomenon, but now we are seeing ever more ingenious and innovative 'handshakes' that cross not only same-industry lines but cross-industry lines. 2014-style companies create 'new, unfamiliar value' through the power of 'combination.'
-. 'Parallel patchwork' that keeps existing products/services unchanged and merely 'rearranges' them
-. 'Combined patchwork' that 'fuses' characteristics of various industries into a single product/service
-. 'Hybrid patchwork' that shows a 'crossbred' product where the traits of each area are all mixed together, and so on
For it to be true patchwork, first, there must be crossover between companies, industries, and sectors; second, it must happen across multiple dimensions—new products, new services, new promotional formats; and finally, the patchwork must deliver a 'familiar yet unfamiliar' benefit to consumers.
O: Organize your platform
Do not try to do it alone—lay out the 'field (platform).' People will come and sort it out themselves. 'The economy of the field' is opening, proposing a new business ecosystem to consumers, companies, and government.
When Google or Naver first offered search for free, or when KakaoTalk rolled out free messaging, people worried: 'Where will they make money?' But once the field was set and people gathered, the revenue structure emerged on its own. This is the 'economics of the field 2.0 era.'
The most basic form of a 'field' is the 'gathering field.' For a field to work well, people, ideas, products, and technology must first be gathered in one place. In a world where 'know-where' rules over 'know-how,' appropriately gathering countless pieces of information and ideas is essential.
Naver's 'Dodol Launch,' Daum's 'Buzz Launcher,' and KakaoTalk's 'Kakao Home' are starting a new competition in smartphone apps—to occupy the smartphone field ahead of rivals…… I installed Dodol Launch too… want to experience it.
R: Reboot everything
In a Korean market obsessively hyped about the new, we are seeing movements that reinterpret the familiar from an unfamiliar angle. This 'reinterpretation' keyword—'adding a touch of the unfamiliar to the familiar'—helps make cutting-edge technology 'familiar,' or turns familiar values 'fresh.' This reinterpretation trend can be grouped into three types.
"Reinterpretation of time that reads the old in a modern way; reinterpretation of use that applies things for other purposes; reinterpretation of thought where paradoxical values coexist—these can be clues for creative ideas and for solving various social problems."
First, 'reinterpretation of time' that reads the old in a modern way. Second, 'reinterpretation of use' that uses a familiar product for a completely different purpose. Third, 'reinterpretation of thought' in which paradoxical values that are hard to coexist do coexist.
Reply 1997 and Reply 1994 are prime examples of 'reinterpretation of time.' Reboot films such as Batman Begins and Man of Steel have already been released, and in 2014 The Amazing Spider-Man, Transformers 4, and X-Men: Days of Future Past are in preparation.
When something is used for a completely different purpose than originally intended, it is called 'repurposing.'
Viagra, which went from heart medication to erectile dysfunction treatment and revolutionized sex life; rural aunties' 'mombbae' pants whose design marches through city streets as 'refrigerator pants'; Kirpputori in Finland; Freitag in Sweden; Touch4Good in Korea—these are representative 'reinterpretation of use' products and companies. 'Fast casual restaurants' like Panera Bread and Chipotle that pursue healthy fast food, K-pop holograms that hold concerts without the singer, singer concerts / sports / e-sports broadcasts in movie theaters—these are 'reinterpretation of thought.'
S: Surprise me, guys!
Maybe we actually feel greater joy in 'anticipating' than in actually experiencing. The 'lucky bag' craze—events where random items are packed into a bag and sold at a fixed price—is no joke. For gamblers, risk is a 'reasonable investment,' but for ordinary consumers, risk is just an 'unreasonable loss.'
"Things that look coincidental but run on a solid scenario—this 'scripted coincidence'—is capturing consumers' hearts."
What consumers want is not the luck of an unrealistic jackpot but the fun of a realistic coincidence. Ultimately consumers want the very paradoxical state of 'risk-free safe risk' or 'calm tension.'
Employees in delivery costumes mingling with people and taking instant Polaroid photos ('sign-spinning'); radically approaching consumers with almost over-the-top performance that steals their attention ('radical marketing')—IT companies use these methods these days to get their name out.
