Expansion, team projects aligned with it, expansion of human resources, and commercial utilization after project completion.
Seeing rapid growth while achieving work-life balance, I felt that in this life, whatever I do, I’ll achieve great things.
‘Let’s think about a few years from now. I might just become the least busy head of a company in the world.’
Isn’t making money while having fun everyone’s dream?
In that sense, why not aim to be like Billy Kates of Macro Soft?
He developed software needed by the world at a young age, as if he could foresee the future.
That includes operating systems and word processors that people use.
If you think about it, he just made already developed things easier and more convenient, but Lee Hyun-woo considered that important and worth learning from.
The most important lesson is to succeed in the company you founded and then enjoy life after leaving it.
Of course, Billy Kates is a perfect role model for Lee Hyun-woo.
‘Besides that, there’s also much to learn from the early retirement of Wall Street investment managers.’
Wall Street investment managers aim to retire around the age of 40.
Of course, before that, the essential task is to save a lot of money.
They spend their post-40 life enjoying themselves, whether it’s traveling on a cruise ship or visiting various countries around the world.
‘I died without even experiencing such times.’
With this in mind, I make a resolution once again.
【Live this life with work-life balance, save a lot of money, and enjoy life after 40.】
To achieve this, I need to make sure 【Jungle】 runs smoothly on its own.
Thus, this interview is important.
Until now, Lee Hyun-woo had personally recruited people, but he was very curious about what results would come if he left it to key talents.
So far, he was very satisfied.
‘Keep it up in the future too.’
A while later, all the interviews were finished, and 【Jungle】 was able to recruit many developers.
Of course, they would not be deployed immediately but would start their 【Jungle】 life after moving to a new building.
Additionally, this time 【Jungle】 didn’t just recruit developers.
Right after the four-day-long interviews, there were interviews for recruiting sales team personnel.
At that time, two team leaders, Han Se-jin and Kang Dong-ho, selected the people they needed.
Lastly, Yoo Jin-young handled the interviews for the customer management team.
Lee Hyun-woo observed all these interview processes and was very curious about how the leaders would operate their teams by choosing people suitable for their own style.
‘The best scenario would be that I don’t need to intervene at all.’
Lee Hyun-woo, who had already taken Billy Kates of Macro Soft as his role model.
He had to enjoy his life someday, but how could he leave the company if he was worried about its future?
Hoping that the young team leaders would develop their capabilities from now, the schedule for new recruits in 1996 was completed.
Around this time, the long-awaited announcement from 【Daehan Electric】 was made.
『【Daehan Electric】 to start ADSL trial service within the year』
What was more exciting was that 【Daehan Electric】 not only made the announcement but also called 【Jungle】.
One day, as soon as he arrived at work, Yoo Jin-young said there was a call from them, and Lee Hyun-woo quickly received it.
“Yes, this is Lee Hyun-woo, CEO of 【Jungle Soft】.”
(Hello, I’m Moon Kyung-joo, head of ADSL at 【Daehan Electric】.)
“Oh, yes, hello.”
(I’m not sure if you saw the article, but we want 【Jungle Soft】 to be the first to trial our ADSL.)
“We’d be grateful if you did.”
Internally, Lee Hyun-woo was cheering.
His voice also reflected his delight as he could finally replace the troublesome ISDN.
(There won’t be any additional costs. However, our staff will need to visit frequently to check for errors and speed.)
“Let’s do that. I’ll tell our staff as well.”
(Thank you. Please take care of us.)
“Thank you. Goodbye.”
After hanging up, he immediately called Kang Dong-ho.
“Team Leader Kang!”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ve become the test company for measuring ADSL speed and checking errors. Someone from 【Daehan Electric】 will be coming soon.”
“What? Really?”
It wasn’t a question to confirm but rather an astonished reaction.
“I think they focused on us because of the increasing users and traffic.”
“Oh, I see. The developers will be thrilled.”
“Right. They’ll welcome it with open arms. Please inform them.”
“Me?”
“You want to see their happy faces, don’t you?”
“Yes, haha.”
Listening to Kang Dong-ho’s bright laughter, Lee Hyun-woo also smiled warmly.
‘I should thank the person who played a big role in this.’
A face popped into Lee Hyun-woo’s mind.
None other than Kim Ah-young.
Meanwhile, Kim Ah-young also heard the same news from Park Min-sook.
However, her expression was very subtle, which made Chief Secretary Park Min-sook ask.
“Director, aren’t you happy? ADSL is connected.”
“That’s good.”
“But?”
“There’s something unresolved… it’s frustrating….”
“……”
“…I’m thinking of a friend.”
Park Min-sook, quick-witted, realized that Kim Ah-young had changed the subject.
The unresolved issue was probably not with the friend but with herself.
Anyway, Park Min-sook, who does more than just secretarial work, quickly asked Kim Ah-young.
“That friend seems to have something frustrating.”
“Yes, he calls me every day out of frustration.”
“Please tell me what it is. If I know, I might be able to help.”
“That friend has a man she’s slightly, just slightly interested in.”
“And then?”
“They met a few times, and that man said he would contact her later.”
“But he hasn’t contacted her yet. So she’s worried whether she should contact him first or keep waiting?”
“Yes, that’s right. So she’s frustrated about whether to contact him first or keep waiting.”
“It’s certainly a frustrating situation.”
“Right?”
“But if it were me, I’d wait a little longer.”
“That’s better, right? My friend wants to keep her pride intact.”
“Yes, I think it’s better to wait. Please advise your friend not to contact him first.”
“Okay, got it.”
Even though she gave advice, the expression receiving it didn’t brighten up much.
‘Lee Hyun-woo seems to be the bad boy type.’
Park Min-sook worried about Kim Ah-young inwardly.
A bad boy doesn’t mean having a bad personality, but rather showing uncertainty to women while not giving them assurance.
So Kim Ah-young would inevitably suffer emotionally.
‘It’s better this way. If there’s no contact, it won’t progress any further as it hasn’t even started seriously yet.’
While thinking this, Kim Ah-young’s phone rang suddenly.
She picked it up before it rang twice.
“Hello? Oh? Hyun-woo.”
Seeing her expression change, Park Min-sook couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.
‘Can she really keep her pride like this?’
Absolutely not.
Moreover, her feelings for Lee Hyun-woo had already leaned more than halfway, so she was more worried about the future.
‘What are you going to do…’
On the other hand, Lee Hyun-woo, who called Kim Ah-young first, heard a very bright voice.
(Where are you?)
“Me? Near the office. To be precise, I’m at a place I visit often, the building our company will move to. I was watching the construction and thought of you, so I called.”
(Oh, I see. You’re still busy.)
“No, I was busy with interviews, but I have some free time now. What about you?”
(I was really busy writing letters.)
This letter was based on Lee Hyun-woo’s previous advice.
Impressed by her prompt action, Lee Hyun-woo said,
“Oh, you really did it?”
(Of course, I did that and even conducted a survey among our employees. I noticed stress building up everywhere. I think we need to do it regularly. We need to know to improve things. I learned a lot from you this time.)
“Oh, I didn’t even think about conducting a survey. Thanks to you, I should do it regularly.”
(No, I was really impressed by how you communicate freely with your employees. So, I often want to come and see how you run the company….)
“Sure, come anytime.”
(Really? Is it okay? Won’t it be a bother?)
“Such exchanges are good for the company’s growth. I think we should also visit hotels to experience the service firsthand. I’ll come with our staff from time to time.”
Originally, when Lee Hyun-woo met Kim Ah-young, it was at the borderline of work and friendship, but now their friendship had grown, so he thought it was always possible to discuss business.
(Service is for customers. Honestly, compared to Jungle, where can you find a better place in terms of employee benefits?)
“No, we still have a long way to go.”
(I heard rumors that many people want to join 【Jungle Soft】.)
“Such rumors?”
(Yeah, if it reached my ears, it means you’re doing a great job managing.)
“Indeed, there was a huge number of applicants when we recruited new employees this time.”
(See, I really realized this time that employee welfare is a competitive edge. Talented people flock to companies with good treatment, and through them, the company’s growth is inevitable.)
That’s true.
Why did a genius like Oh Min-woo choose 【Jungle】?
In his previous life, having conquered both 【Yahoo】 and 【Single】, hiring him was proof that employee welfare was succeeding.
‘Yeah, if Ah-young comes to observe, it can be a great help. As a grateful friend, I should do that.’
After telling her to come anytime and hanging up the phone, Lee Hyun-woo, who is exceptionally perceptive in business matters, recalled the situation.
After Kim Ah-young learned about the ADSL internet service at the nightclub, it was reported in the 【Sejong Daily】.
Naturally, he was convinced that she might have orchestrated it behind the scenes.
‘Ah-young is more innocent and pure than I thought.’
A hothouse flower has its own pros and cons.
Having learned to view the world from a business perspective since childhood, she knew little outside of that.
Thus, the first steps in social life were crucial.
Whether everything is treated as a money-making venture or not, this innocence and purity could become terrifying.
If mishandled, it could lead to viewing people as mere cogs in the organization.
Lee Hyun-woo, as a friend, hoped Kim Ah-young wouldn’t become like that.
Moreover, his plans to change through education and nurture professional managers among the conglomerates were gradually becoming a reality.
