Neowave keeps its stride by staying focused

Amid the massive demise of dot-com firms a few years ago, venture companies faded away as though they belonged to a forgotten era. The streets of the Teheran district of Seoul, dubbed the "Silicon Valley of Korea." lost their glow.
Today, the average investor is understandably more wary of companies registered on the over-the-counter Kosdaq stock market. But worst-case scenarios tend to bring out the best in some, and this was the case for Neowave, a maker of Internet access gear catering to wide demand on both local and overseas markets." Most of my competitors died out with the rest, and Neowave is among the few that managed to remain on its feet because we tried to stay focused on our core values." said CEO Choi Doo-whan, a former engineer who was named Distinguished Member of the staff at AT&T Bell Labs in the United States.
A hard-working staff and quick investment in new technologies helped the company generate record profits in 1998 when he first set up Neowave, a play on the term "new wave."
Having diverged little from its first products, the company now mainly manufactures and exports optical Internet access systems that offer users higher speed services.
Last year, the company raised a healthy 23.6 billion won in sales and Choi hopes to double the amount this year. But Neowave was not unscathed by the dreaded boom-bust cycle and had a tough time in 2001, which the 50-year-old businessman reminisces as the worst year.
"Business was really bad, and it was then I realized that I would have to focus on upping the core value of the company by lowering the risks involved and aiming for high returns." he said.
So for Choi, it is all about inner strength. "You have to know where to place your emphasis, and in my case, I believe it's in keeping the company's insides strong."
Lately, Choi's biggest interest has been in leadership.
He feels a true leader not only carries a level head, but has compassion for his employees. This is especially these days amid a growing sense of disenchantment among workers in the information-technology sector."
I see employees losing their self-esteem, and when this happens, they cannot be creative and play up their potential to the fullest." said Choi, leaning back in his chair in a very spartan but tastefully decorated office. He adds that the hardships he endured in 2001 helped him realize this because he learned that keeping emotionally in sync with his workers is another key to a successful enterprise.
"Even now, I'm not really a great CEO. I like to work late into the evening and sleep in at mornings, which is far from the so-called 'morning person' that people rave about these days. But I work at it." Choi said. On his desk rests a copy of a self-help book on how to be a compassionate CEO.
As for the local IT sector, he sees it to be in a transitional phase where companies are pressed to choose between being satisfied with copying advanced countries' technology or making developments on their own. "Either way, there are risks involved. The way to reduce them is by constantly working on your technological prowess to beat rivals from India and China." he stressed.

By Kim Ji-hyun