LG chairman emphasizes predicting customers' future wants is key to success in New Year's address

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo emphasized that learning to predict what customers will value in the future was one of the keys to success in a rapidly changing and AI-driven industry in his New Year's address to employees on Monday.

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo [LG]

LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo emphasized that learning to predict what customers will value in the future is one of the keys to success in a rapidly changing and AI-driven industry in his New Year's address to employees on Monday.

“As technology develops [...] and customers' expectations continue to rise, we must move beyond our existing methods that have led us to success and instead take a step forward via innovation,” Koo said in a video message sent to LG employees.

Koo continued that innovation means not only improving customers’ lives but also anticipating their future needs.

“To realize this goal, our thoughts and actions must change, which requires purposefully choosing [to be better] and focusing,” Koo said.

According to Koo, the world is at an inflection point, with a “new future” taking shape; consequently, he stressed the importance of quickly identifying a core customer need and using it as a guidepost for innovation.

The New Year’s address also featured interviews with external experts who offered their perspective on the ongoing technological, organizational and customer-related changes.

George Westerman, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said that since generative AI is affecting nearly all aspects of life, customers' expectations and investors' demands will evolve at a much faster pace than before, requiring companies to learn how to adapt more quickly.

Sunil Gupta, a professor at Harvard Business School, said even long-established conglomerates must break away from traditional frameworks and adopt new, original approaches to survive and grow.

Jeon Mi-young, the CEO of Trend Korea, said corporate survival will eventually depend on brands that can clearly explain their pricing, purpose and the diverse options they offer consumers.

Koo has consistently emphasized customer-centric management since 2019. Last year, he urged employees to deliver results that future customers truly need and that exceed their expectations.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]