ARTICLE [News Card] Setting a Goal (ENG)
[News Card] Setting a Goal (ENG)
Setting a Goal
Work Is Eliminating the Gap Betweenthe Present and the Future
Present into future vision
Work begins with clearly defining what it is. At Atomy, work is more than just a job. If the present is the “reality” and the future we desire is the “goal,” then work is the process bridging the gap in between. In order to define the work one must accomplish, it is necessary to both properly understand the current position and clearly set the goal to be achieved. Without a goal, there can be no work.
This is a principle that applies equally to individuals and organizations. If the vision of the company is ambiguous or if the members of the organization do not know the direction of the company, any zeal or sincerity becomes meaningless. Without a clear goal, vision, and direction there can be no real work. Without a goal, you will end up simply doing the same tasks mindlessly every day.
To create the best conditions for work to be achieved, a vision for the company should first be created and then goals should be set to fit that vision. The true meaning of work is the process of establishing a vision that goes beyond thepresent reality, sharing it with all members of the organization, and transforming that vision into reality.
Create and share your own vision
Without the establishment of a vision and goals, work itself cannot be achieved. Regardless of the direction of the organization, if the same tasks are simply being repeated over and over again, real work is not being achieved. As an employee, it is your responsibility to do work that substantially contributes to the vision of the company and the goals of the organization.
Atomy’s organizational vision is not unilaterally chosen by the CEO and then vertically mandated throughout the company. It is created by the employees themselves. Mutual communication is of the utmost importance in this process.
Communication regarding the ultimate destination of the organization must be continuously strengthened, and the vision and goals set by each employee should be constantly realigned. In this process, the goals of the organization are linked with the visions of employees, and new goals are created as a community. This agreed-upon goal becomes the shared goal pursued by Atomy.
Pursue absolute goal, not relative goals
Atomy sets the highest achievable goal, that is, an “absolute goal,” and strives to achieve it. If you challenge yourself with an absolute goal, you can achieve unrivaled competitiveness that cannot be compared with others. For example, when developing a product, Atomy pursues the best possible quality under current conditions with a price that cannot be lowered any further.
The ultimate quality and price of the product is key, not the relative advantage over competitors. With only a slightly better quality and price than existing products, you will soon find yourself caught up in competition with others. However, if you challenge yourself with an absolute goal that seems impossible to achieve, you will be able to achieve a level of product competitiveness that competitors simply cannot match.
The absolute goal of personal work is to get rid of work. Eliminating work, however, does not mean not working, but rather creating new value by eliminating repetitive business practices. For a call center, eliminating phone calls can be an absolute goal. If you organize customer questions and make them available as FAQs or answer them using an AI system, call center representatives can focus on more valuable customer satisfaction services without ever answering a phone.
The Atomy Customer Happiness Center is gradually transforming its five-day work week system to a four-day system. We currently work four days a week for one week per month. The next step is to work four days every other week, and finally, the four-day work week will become the norm.
Reject the ordinary, be extraordinary
When the tasks of each department toward achieving the company’s goals are determined, the task of each department member is decided according to the goals of the department. Once chosen, it is the duty of each member to develop their skills so that they can successfully carry out a given task, and depending on the job, they may need to upgrade their personal expertise or acquire new knowledge according to the changing trends.
Maximizing individual skills is not an option, it is a necessity. Employees must constantly learn with the objective of becoming the world’s foremost experts in their areas. Along with developing their skills, they should not neglect theircritical thinking abilities.
An eye to discern from among the flood of available information and knowledge is of the utmost importance. Even if one has a wealth of information and knowledge, standards for accepting and believing must be set. The power to think must be continuously strengthened, the basis for judgments should be identified, and the ability to see the future in three dimensions should be developed. Exceptionality is achieved only through endless effort.
Episode - A driving force that overcomes limitations: the absolute goal
During his service in the military, Chairman Park was in charge of installing phone lines in an artillery unit. On one occasion, Park was preparing for atelephone pole climbing contest. The wiremen need to install the phone lines quickly during war, so they routinely train quickly climbing up and down the poles. The “Pole Climbing” of the Corps Gunnery Contest was where the wiremen competed for the honor of their units. One is bound to become a specialist in a task if it is carried out repeatedly. It typically takes over 30 seconds for a soldier to go up and down a utility pole, but speed is gained with experience.
The time can be shortened to 18 seconds for a corporal and 13 seconds for a sergeant. As a result of hard training, Park represented his unit in the pole climbing. There was no match in his unit but Park was not satisfied because there could be someone faster in other units. As the competition approached, rumors spread that someone took only a few seconds and was as fast as a squirrel. Unaware what his competitors were capable of, Park was frustrated because he did not have a benchmark to match.
There had to be an absolute goal. After much deliberation, he thought of a foolish idea of running across the pole with it laying on the ground. A sprint from one end to the other took 3.4 seconds, and no one would be able to climb up and down a standing pole faster. Park set 3.4 seconds as his absolute goal and was convinced that if he reached the goal, no one would be able to keep up with him. He continue to climb until his heart felt like it would burst.
An absolute goal is something that no one else can possibly follow. After setting the absolute goal and training for several months, Park was able to set a personal record of 3.6 seconds. This was only 0.2 seconds slower than the absolute goal he had set.
On the day of the competition, Park was sure of his victory. It did not matter if other soldiers were able to climb up and down in seconds. If he would be able to reach anywhere near the absolute goal, the victory would be his.
Work Is Eliminating the Gap Betweenthe Present and the Future
Present into future vision
Work begins with clearly defining what it is. At Atomy, work is more than just a job. If the present is the “reality” and the future we desire is the “goal,” then work is the process bridging the gap in between. In order to define the work one must accomplish, it is necessary to both properly understand the current position and clearly set the goal to be achieved. Without a goal, there can be no work.
This is a principle that applies equally to individuals and organizations. If the vision of the company is ambiguous or if the members of the organization do not know the direction of the company, any zeal or sincerity becomes meaningless. Without a clear goal, vision, and direction there can be no real work. Without a goal, you will end up simply doing the same tasks mindlessly every day.
To create the best conditions for work to be achieved, a vision for the company should first be created and then goals should be set to fit that vision. The true meaning of work is the process of establishing a vision that goes beyond thepresent reality, sharing it with all members of the organization, and transforming that vision into reality.
Create and share your own vision
Without the establishment of a vision and goals, work itself cannot be achieved. Regardless of the direction of the organization, if the same tasks are simply being repeated over and over again, real work is not being achieved. As an employee, it is your responsibility to do work that substantially contributes to the vision of the company and the goals of the organization.
Atomy’s organizational vision is not unilaterally chosen by the CEO and then vertically mandated throughout the company. It is created by the employees themselves. Mutual communication is of the utmost importance in this process.
Communication regarding the ultimate destination of the organization must be continuously strengthened, and the vision and goals set by each employee should be constantly realigned. In this process, the goals of the organization are linked with the visions of employees, and new goals are created as a community. This agreed-upon goal becomes the shared goal pursued by Atomy.
Pursue absolute goal, not relative goals
Atomy sets the highest achievable goal, that is, an “absolute goal,” and strives to achieve it. If you challenge yourself with an absolute goal, you can achieve unrivaled competitiveness that cannot be compared with others. For example, when developing a product, Atomy pursues the best possible quality under current conditions with a price that cannot be lowered any further.
The ultimate quality and price of the product is key, not the relative advantage over competitors. With only a slightly better quality and price than existing products, you will soon find yourself caught up in competition with others. However, if you challenge yourself with an absolute goal that seems impossible to achieve, you will be able to achieve a level of product competitiveness that competitors simply cannot match.
The absolute goal of personal work is to get rid of work. Eliminating work, however, does not mean not working, but rather creating new value by eliminating repetitive business practices. For a call center, eliminating phone calls can be an absolute goal. If you organize customer questions and make them available as FAQs or answer them using an AI system, call center representatives can focus on more valuable customer satisfaction services without ever answering a phone.
The Atomy Customer Happiness Center is gradually transforming its five-day work week system to a four-day system. We currently work four days a week for one week per month. The next step is to work four days every other week, and finally, the four-day work week will become the norm.
Reject the ordinary, be extraordinary
When the tasks of each department toward achieving the company’s goals are determined, the task of each department member is decided according to the goals of the department. Once chosen, it is the duty of each member to develop their skills so that they can successfully carry out a given task, and depending on the job, they may need to upgrade their personal expertise or acquire new knowledge according to the changing trends.
Maximizing individual skills is not an option, it is a necessity. Employees must constantly learn with the objective of becoming the world’s foremost experts in their areas. Along with developing their skills, they should not neglect theircritical thinking abilities.
An eye to discern from among the flood of available information and knowledge is of the utmost importance. Even if one has a wealth of information and knowledge, standards for accepting and believing must be set. The power to think must be continuously strengthened, the basis for judgments should be identified, and the ability to see the future in three dimensions should be developed. Exceptionality is achieved only through endless effort.
Episode - A driving force that overcomes limitations: the absolute goal
During his service in the military, Chairman Park was in charge of installing phone lines in an artillery unit. On one occasion, Park was preparing for atelephone pole climbing contest. The wiremen need to install the phone lines quickly during war, so they routinely train quickly climbing up and down the poles. The “Pole Climbing” of the Corps Gunnery Contest was where the wiremen competed for the honor of their units. One is bound to become a specialist in a task if it is carried out repeatedly. It typically takes over 30 seconds for a soldier to go up and down a utility pole, but speed is gained with experience.
The time can be shortened to 18 seconds for a corporal and 13 seconds for a sergeant. As a result of hard training, Park represented his unit in the pole climbing. There was no match in his unit but Park was not satisfied because there could be someone faster in other units. As the competition approached, rumors spread that someone took only a few seconds and was as fast as a squirrel. Unaware what his competitors were capable of, Park was frustrated because he did not have a benchmark to match.
There had to be an absolute goal. After much deliberation, he thought of a foolish idea of running across the pole with it laying on the ground. A sprint from one end to the other took 3.4 seconds, and no one would be able to climb up and down a standing pole faster. Park set 3.4 seconds as his absolute goal and was convinced that if he reached the goal, no one would be able to keep up with him. He continue to climb until his heart felt like it would burst.
An absolute goal is something that no one else can possibly follow. After setting the absolute goal and training for several months, Park was able to set a personal record of 3.6 seconds. This was only 0.2 seconds slower than the absolute goal he had set.
On the day of the competition, Park was sure of his victory. It did not matter if other soldiers were able to climb up and down in seconds. If he would be able to reach anywhere near the absolute goal, the victory would be his.