Samsung 3.0: Talent, Technology and Timing by Eun Y. Kim Ph.D. & Edward C. Valdez

Author:Eun Y. Kim Ph.D. & Edward C. Valdez [Kim Ph.D., Eun Y.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CEO International
Published: 2013-09-14T23:00:00+00:00

“It’s not the war between the strong and the weak, but the survival of the fastest… the faster eats the slower. If a war is not speedy, even if someone wins the war, the loss will be greater than the win. Speed is the essence of war.”

— The Art of War,Sun-Tzu

chapter 46

Fight like a Pit Bull

Although Samsung’s rise to the top in the global electronics market may appear sudden, Samsung has been a household name for a long time in Korea. It has been #1 in many categories. When Samsung enters into a new area, Samsung raises the bar and sets a new industry standard. “It’s different when Samsung makes it” was one of Samsung slogans. So it’s not surprising to hear that Samsung people can’t live with any loss. Former Samsung Legal Counsel Yong-ChulKim wrote in his bookThink Samsung that KH had told his staff to “wipe out LG,” when he found out that the sale of Samsung refrigerators in Korea was behind LG for one month, “…even if we have to give away Samsung air-conditioners and refrigerators free to all households with the profits from semiconductor and telecommunication units.” Whether the statement is true or not is unknown, but it’s good that didn’t happen, based on BC’s “catfish theory” that competition made them stronger.

Earlier in 2013, a blogger wondered how fund managers had missed seeing Apple’s stock price going down. I wondered the same thing. Hindsight is better than foresight, but the signs of Apple’s trouble at that time were visible to even a layperson like me. I was in Korea right after the $1 billion jury verdict against Samsung in the fall of 2012. Galaxy ads were everywhere. They set up booths at high traffic places, and there were long lines of people who wanted to try them. Samsung had a home court advantage and certainly won the sympathy of fellow citizens regarding the verdict.

In contrast, an Apple store in Seoul looked like a quiet library. Three months later, I went to Israel by way of Madrid, Spain. Samsung’s Galaxy ads were much more visible than iPhones. It looked like that Samsung was ready to wipe out Apple smartphones from the market place. As one Samsung executive put it, the Samsung team “acted like a pit bull.” Samsung looked ready to go all the way and would do whatever it takes to win. Even before the lawsuits, the fighting began. “Beating Apple is not just a goal. Our (Samsung’s) life and death depends on it,” revealed an internal memo to employees by Dale Sohn, which Apple presented in a trial. Sohn is a former president of Samsung Telecom America and now counsel to the President of Samsung Mobile. With that kind of determination, he was able to increase Samsung mobile’s U.S. market share from 10% to 30% in two years.

“You die, I die” is an expression that Koreans use when they feel angered or wronged. A game is over when a fighter isn’t afraid of dying.

So what’s

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