Inspiration for the New Start20 Management Reforms Mr. Hong Ji Ho, CEO of the chemical raw materials firm SK chemicals, has recently provoked intrigued admiration among insiders by handing out some 250 copies of a proposal guide book, The One-Page Proposal, to the company?s section heads. The proposal includes, among other details, a special recommendation for employees to write concise and clear reports. Seeking to give new impetus to the management reforms planned by the company, during his visit to the SK chemicals Ulsan plant late last month CEO Hong announced the reform plan ?New Start 20?, and distributed The One- Page Proposal as inspirational material. As its title indicates, the book is a guide on how to state one?s proposal ideas in a single page. According to Mr. Hong, the book is not ?a simple proposal guide, but brainstorming about a new managerial art based on concise and clear business plans?. Known as an avid reader among his peer SK Group CEO?s, Mr. Hong is often witnessed devouring books during his car rides and overseas trips, in an ongoing search for new ideas for change and recipes for growth. By reinforcing his message with the gift of these books, the scholarly CEO has added emphasis to his call for reform. Mr. Hong went on to say, ?Illegible proposals are not for business. Only a plan that can be grasped at one go will capture customers. One powerful page is infinitely more convincing than a full volume, no matter how lush the presentation.? The One-Page Proposal is cradled within an anecdote involving the book?s author, Patrick Riley, and a multimillionaire named Khashoggi from whom he wanted to draw funds for his business. Patrick Riley goes to see Khashoggi with an lavish pack of business proposals in the hope of better impressing the prospective investor. But instead, he ends up receiving advice on how to write a one-page proposal. The lesson from this fateful meeting thereafter becomes one of the most important business precepts for the author. By last year, CEO Hong had offered his employees some 10 books on management to instill in them a taste for reform, including Sheldon Bowles? Gung Ho!, Dead CRM and Live CRM (Choi Jeong-Hwan et al.), The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement (Eliyahu Goldratt et al.), Get Better or Get Beaten (Robert Slater) and Leading the Revolution (Garry Hamel). Mr. Hong appears truly relentless in his efforts to goad and stimulate his employees, and has not spared remote or overseas-stationed workers from this inspirational mission. Indeed, not only has he paid visits to all four corners of the country, such as the Suwon and Ulsan offices, but he has even sought out staff members at the New York, Indonesia, and Poland offices. It is the firm belief of CEO Hong that one page must expose the entire affair. In other words, only a concise and powerful plan and explanation can persuade customers. < The Korean translation of the One-Page Proposal by Patrick G Riley is published by Eulyu Publishing > SK chemicals (06120) is a specialist firm in chemical raw materials, and was launched in 1969. Its main product lines include PTA/DMT, PET, precision chemical products and acetate fiber. The company recorded 800 billion won in sales in 2002. An uncontested leader in the Korean chemical industry for the past 30 years, SK chemicals is now expanding its business scope to include life science by exploiting its solid expertise in precision chemistry. As of late, the company has been engaged in an investment project for PET production in Poland. Some 1,500 employees work within its worldwide business networks, including plants in Suwon, Ulsan, Jakarta, and Qingdao, and overseas offices in New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Frankfurt.