Preface | A single word that benefits others is as precious, as precious, as a thousand pieces of gold.

Chapter 1.
challenge

Turn what you're doing upside down
Don't hesitate when making a decision
The diligent beginner is the scariest
Learn the fisherman's intuition
Do-type people succeed
Step on the accelerator with confidence
Train, train again
Don't make what the customer wants
You must live like a willow tree

Chapter 2.
growth

The match is decided in the scabbard.
The most difficult moment is right now.
Experience the chaos
Harsh environments make people stronger.
There's a reason why things don't sell.
Pride, flush it down the toilet
Have luck, dullness, and strength
Management is like tree rings.

Chapter 3.
Breakthrough

If there's an insurmountable wall, break through it.
Even the narrow path can be squeezed through
Business is war
Put wheels on the beams
There are no grand slams in business.
Get rid of negative mindset
Always look under your feet
The 0.5% Rule Determines Success

Chapter 4.
Eyes

Become a square stone
Have an eagle eye
Don't neglect the little things
Don't look at the price, look at the value
Leaders must be psychologists.
Illuminate your opponent's feet
I take full responsibility.

Chapter 5.
Sincerity

Whatever you do, risk your life
Be a devil even in small things
It's boring if you're similar to others.
Fun is the engine of work
Build strong muscles
The interests of others are my interests.
Raise your antenna of trust
Conscience comes before profit
Business and honesty go hand in hand.
Walk the walk

A word from managers who overcame crises
Awakening Today's Leaders

Let's assume that a company is in a management crisis.
The urgent task is to find a breakthrough quickly.
But it is not easy to find the cause of the crisis.
Managers cannot help but be troubled.
Osamu Suzuki, founder of Suzuki, a global manufacturer of compact cars and motorcycles, might offer this advice to his managers.
“Turn around what you’re doing now.” This means that there is no answer if the current situation remains the same.
The first key to breaking out of the prison of the status quo is to 'think the opposite.'
The moment you turn it over, opportunities trapped in familiarity reveal a new face.
Conversely, the saying “turn it around” also applies when a company is doing well.
Crisis is always lurking.
It means that you should always have an 'eye' that can turn the table in case you get caught in a dilemma.
Turn what you're doing around.
If your company is facing a management crisis due to difficult domestic and international economic conditions, this is a management quote worth pondering.
In this way, Japanese managers did not hesitate to record and disseminate their own philosophy.
Management quotes are like compressed files containing the spirit of an era and a company.
A few lines of language contain the philosophy, dedication, and energy that built a company and transformed an industry.
Strategies change with the times, but sayings never fade.
Rather, it shines brighter as time passes.
It moves people's hearts, inspires them, and moves them to action.
It is finally a force that can change the world.

Author Lee Jae-woo of the book "A Word, a Thousand Gold" defined this culture of Japanese businessmen as the "reservoir of quotations."
The sayings left by managers have gathered like small streams to form a large reservoir.
Whenever new CEOs faced crises and challenges, they would draw from the reservoir of wisdom from their predecessors, internalize these wisdom, or even devour it, to find new breakthroughs.
And they created another saying, and so the reservoir continued to fill up without drying up.

The title of the book, “One Word, One Thousand Gold,” which contains the precious words of 42 Japanese CEOs, comes from the phrase “One word is worth a thousand gold” in Chapter 17 (Language) of the Myungsim Bogam.
The meaning is, 'A single word that benefits others is as heavy, precious, and as valuable as a thousand pieces of gold.'


A single word that benefits others
It's heavy, it's precious, it's like a thousand pieces of gold

Among the senior executives who have tried to compile their experiences into concise sayings and make them an asset for their juniors, the most representative figures are Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, who was called the "god of corporate revitalization," and Konosuke Matsushita of Panasonic, who was revered as the "god of management."
They tried to align their words with their lives while running their business.
Their sayings were a 'compressed survival strategy' that emerged from the agony of the field and the storms of the times.


Kazuo Inamori's words, "Make something that will cut your hand," were not said in vain.
He considered it a sin to put an ordinary product on the market.
What exactly is a "hand-cutting object"? In the words of artistic entrepreneur Steve Jobs, it's a "product with edge" that's unlike anything the world has ever seen. In the words of world-renowned marketing guru Seth Godin, it's a "purple cow."
Purple Cow is not an ordinary cow, but a product that catches the eye of consumers in the market.
Inamori believed that such a product should be created through technology and design.
Such thoughts and will became Kyocera's DNA and led to its growth and success.


Konosuke Matsushita, a senior entrepreneur whom Kazuo Inamori admired, once said, “If you have never seen blood or urine, you cannot become a successful manager.”
The manager's dedication was preached in the extreme expression 'blood urine'.
He confessed that his experience of starting a business while overcoming poverty and illness was a 'year of blood and urine.'
For him, 'blood urine' was not a metaphor, but a language of actual experience.

Such powerful sayings are not born on a desk.
Most are born in the valley of failure or in the field of pain.
So you can feel the 'vibration of blood and sweat'.
It smells of something 'raw' that you can't find in textbooks or papers.
Quotations are the life of a manager.
Words are assets and heritage.