“Collaboration is the 4th wave”

"Collaboration is the 4th wave, following the 3rd wave of the Information Revolution," said Yoon Eun-gi who introduced time management and served as the Central Officials Training Institute (COTI) president for the past three years. This January, he assumed the role of the Korea Collaboration Association (KCA) president. Since then, he has focused on promoting collaboration which he believes is the key concept in creative industries.

"To collaborate is to create synergy or new values by combining strengths and expertise of two or more entities that have strong points: Large companies and SMEs, domestic and foreign companies, the public and private sectors, and companies and NGOs."

It is no coincidence that Yoon is at the forefront of promoting collaboration, offering practical policy suggestions for the healthcare community as well as the public and private sectors; He has built up his career as the CEO of a management consulting company, a broadcaster, an author, the Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies president, and the COTI president.

Emphasizing the significance of differences, Yoon said "Throughout human history, ‘different’ people were ostracized. For example, in the Middle Ages, people with different religious and ethnic backgrounds were slaughtered. However, ‘differences’ are valued these days. Being dissimilar is a blessing. Win-win partnership is about respecting differences and generating new values."

Tobot, a 2-in-1 toy that transforms from vehicle to robot, is one of many examples of successful collaboration. While Kia Motors funded development and production, Young Toys designed the toy based on Kia Motors vehicles. Yoon said "In the past, SMEs were considered subcontractors. These days, however, they are called cooperative partners. The collaboration between Kia and Young Toys provides a good example of horizontal cooperation in a supply chain, not vertical cooperation."

On the contrary, the recent sinking of ferry is the outcome of the failure of collaboration. Yoon pointed out, saying "The disaster occurred due to lack of collaboration and information exchanges among various departments. The solution is to collaborate, going well beyond formulating preventive measures."

Yoon argued "The government believes that collaboration is the key to the creative economy. The Ministry of Safety and Public Administration, for instance, set up the Administrative Collaboration Division to achieve administrative collaboration and well-balanced administration. However, for various departments to collaborate effectively, there needs to be a control tower in the Blue House."

Yoon said that he has devoted himself to promote collaboration starting this year, providing relevant educational and consulting services at the Korea Collaboration Association.

"I have insisted on taking down the walls and partitions between departments in vain because public servants misunderstood it as an attempt to undermine their professionalism. What we need to do is to pull our wisdom together and grab opportunities for collaboration and communication between departments while acknowledging their professionalism."