Human-focused venture makes its way to happiness

“The goal of life is to reach happiness, and the purpose of management must be the human being,” says MIDAS IT CEO Lee Hyungwoo. MIDAS IT based in Pangyo, South Korea shares and practices such philosophy. They believe that nurturing human talent is the key to successful business, that human happiness is the sole quintessence that perfects management.

Lee is an entrepreneur who intensely and carefully observes the “Human-oriented Happiness Management.” MIDAS IT where employees enjoy work as if they are the CEOs, a company too good to be true, develops and distributes engineering software and also provides structural engineering contract services as well as integrated web-business solution services. Founded in September 2009 and currently staffed with 528 global professional engineers (307 domestic, 221 overseas), MIDAS IT exports engineering software to upwards of 100 countries worldwide through a global business network comprising 5 regional branch offices in China, Japan, USA, UK and India and sales partners in 27 countries.

MIDAS Software was used in the design and structural analysis of Burj Khalifa of Dubai, Sutong Bridge of China, and Shanghai EXPO Pavilion among other monumental structures. Lately MIDAS IT released software that can be applied to the designing process of various manufacturing fields including mechanical, automobile, electronic, etc.

As a late starter in the SW industry, MIDAS IT’s sales has grown 52 times in 12 years ($77.7 million USD as of late 2012). Chair-professor Jae-cheon Choi of Ewha Womans University, who gave a special lecture to MIDAS IT employees remarked that he was “surprised and glad to have seen a company that emphasizes creativity and happiness like MIDAS IT in Korea.”

The interview with CEO Lee was conducted on July 31, 2013, in the CEO’s office at the company’s headquarters in Pangyo. It was our third meeting—following Lee’s Jobi Mountain Camp special lecture in Yongin and my first MIDAS IT visit accompanying the CH Forum, a SME leaders’ association.

Lee was wearing the same dark gray dress shirt in which I had seen him at the past two occasions. “I usually pick my attire between 3-4 dress shirts, all gray and black, short-sleeve in spring and summer, long in fall and winter.” With a touch to the red button on my smart phone recorder, went the first interview question.

Has there been a memorable moment of shame in your life? What about of misanthropy?

“I’m shameful of my life as a whole, having not had the courage when it was most needed—on behalves mine and others’—having led a life of cowardice marked by frequent series compromises. The man before you might as well be the epitome of shame.”

Perhaps you take life too seriously?

“I would have enjoyed one casual life, had I had many lives. But I, like you, only get to live once. So I want a life of meaningfulness over that of idleness.

What kind of life is it exactly that you are after?

“It’s a life that leaves behind a good legacy, a compass-like spirit that can provide guidance for people through life’s journey.”

What do you dream of?

“I dream of always staying juvenile, staying awake, staying alive. Confucius said that men are only able to truly lend their ears to the words of others, which attests to the difficulty of reaching maturity.”

These days I often think about Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. It seems even clergymen and lawyers whose duties are salvaging souls and protecting the weak are obsessed with money.

“I don’t see such phenomenon as a distortion of value. Prior to the Renaissance, survival has always been the issue. Then Capitalism emerged from the industrial revolution, which eventually led to the Enlightenment and the notion of equality. The source of power, which had previously been a deity or a monarch, is now the capital. In such respect, what we face today is not a distortion of value but a paradigm shift. I think the various social issues will be naturally settled once the world’s GNP reaches $20,000. At such state, peaceful coexistence, justice, and fairness will emerge as new primary values, triggering a re-convergence of the universal value system whereby the gap between the rich and poor will be resolved (triggering an osmotic redistribution of wealth).

You are renowned for your particular interest and research into the human brain among Korean CEO’s.

“In 2004, four years after MIDAS IT was founded, our staff members were depressed and the company was struggling. I began to ask myself “How did we get here? Who am I? Who are they, my staff?” and these questions led me to delve into the realms of cognitive science and neuroscience. It was an attempt to scientifically understand philosophical, metaphysical concepts like the Universal Mind and Absurdism.

Lee refers to himself as a “conservative progressive” and a “realistic idealist.” “An idealist wants to lay his hands on the star up above, but sits on the ground wishing for a ladder tall enough to magically appear before him. In sharp contrast, a realist doesn’t bother to think about the star at all. Nevertheless, a “realistic idealist” builds a ladder, fixes it firmly on the ground and believes that even if he can’t get to the star in his day, generations to come will someday certainly will. Wherefore a true-minded progressive is also a philanthropist. (A true progressivism must convey a transcendent sense of love) I think those who are in power today should regard their property as but briefly entrusted to their jurisdiction.

MIDAS IT has neither overtime allowances nor a set retirement age. It also isn’t listing.

“MIDAS IT plans to implement employee ownership through its “Happiness Trust.” It’s my ambition to create a “partnership” where employees are the true owners of the company. The trust currently owns 12.65% of the company’s stock. This was made possible due to the enactment of the Korean Worker’s Welfare Basic Act a few years ago. To my knowledge, we are the first case of a company attempting to implement employee ownership in the Korean corporate history. As for listing on stock exchanges, while it may temporarily facilitate capital circulation, it is bound to end up proliferating the capitalist zero-sum game wherein one’s gain is more or less the direct result of another’s loss and vice versa.

Who is your role model?

“Mahatma Gandhi!” Lee reached out to the plate made of transparent glass on his desk and read aloud one by one the “Seven Social Sins” engraved on the plate. “Politics without principle, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, knowledge without character.”

What do you make of “time”?

“An hour spent for oneself limits an hour’s worth to an hour, but an hour spent for one’s family may be of four hours’ worth; likewise, an hour spent for the Korean ethnic group is of seventy million hours’ worth, and an hour spent for humanity, seven billion hours’ worth. Every time I get a chance to communicate in person with SME CEO’s, I tell them ‘Let us not lose hope. Heed the proverb, ‘A man after a deer sees not the mountain. A man after the money misses the man within.’ You are bound to lose people if you only seek money. What good is wealth without people to share it with?’”

You don’t golf, do you?

“I don’t. Koreans in their forties and above only talk about golf, stock, and children. Perhaps they ought to think about their responsibility for the world in need if they are to live their age. On the other hand, there are people who persevere through hardships and solitude—again, in terms of “living.” They give out a certain spiritual scent that is pleasant to the enlightened mind.”

I’ve heard you are writing a book.

“A book on MIDAS IT will be published late this year. It’s titled “People Are the Answer: the MIDAS IT Management of Naturalistic Humanism.” I authored the book through several “Think Weeks” that usually last for 7-10 days, twice or thrice a year. I’m trying to explore the way of life by which people may live in accord with their nature-given qualities. To be more specific, I intend to render such abstract nouns as happiness and human nature into concrete nouns to aid in our endeavors to understand the world and reach happiness.

Lee went on to recite a poem, his personal favorite, by Taejoo Na. “It’s beautiful only if you look closely. It’s lovely only if you gaze for long enough. So are you” (“A Grass Flower,” Taejoo Na). “I am particularly fond of the poem, because it conveys the essence of naturalism and the beauty of human nature, both of which reveal themselves only upon keen scientific observations,” said he.

Born and raised in Busan, he grew up in poverty, graduated from Busan Technical High School and enrolled in Busan National University. “I went to a technical high school to get a scholarship. Top 5% of the graduating class of the Busan Technical High School at the time received a full scholarship from Busan University.”

Do you have a motto?

“Live right. Do the right things right.” The company slogan, “Do the right things right,” is written on the wall of the 9th floor of the MIDAS Tower where the CEO’s office is located.

Before we knew it, the interview has turned into an “intro-view.” It was already noon, our time was up. In the ashtray there were of 10 cigarette butts, of which 4 were mine. Photojournalist Obong Lee remarked that he has never had an interview so moving throughout his 40 years’ career as a journalist. Gustav Klimt’s painting, Judith, was found in various places of the building including the CEO’s office walls. “I like the painting, because it aptly portrays love and desire.” After the interview, Lee pulled out a copy of Pure and Aromatic by Buddhist monk Bubjeong from his bookshelf and gave it to me. Back at my office, after I drew an outline of the article and listened to the audiotape of the interview, before I sat down to type, I opened the book. Chapter 3 was titled “A Simple and Plain Life.”