Building a Happy Company: Eurasian Publishing Group's Chien Chi-chong(a)

Building a Happy Company: Eurasian Publishing Group's Chien Chi-chong

　　Chien Chi-chong is something of a legend in Taiwanese publishing circles. His Eurasian Publishing Group publishes a disproportionately high number of every year's bestsellers while giving the lie to the widely held notion that productivity requires long hours. In fact, in early 2013, the company became the first in Taiwan to institute a four-day workweek. Chien has continuously pushed the limits of publishing and has always placed his employees' quality of life ahead of his company's profits. Many businesspeople spend their whole lives in pursuit of a dream, yet Chien achieved his in less than 30 years. What's his secret?

　　Chien established the principles of balancing cultural, social, and market factors in promoting the company's development and of making sales an explicit element of its publishing strategy. He also decided to focus on publishing works written in an accessible style as a means of getting good books into the average household.

　　Over the years, Chien developed what he calls his 75-85-95 management philosophy. It's basically a rating system in which 75 equates to passable, 85 to good, and 95 to excellent. No matter how good a book is, it has to sell well to rate higher than a 75. It's the job of the publishing team to elevate good books from a score of 75 to 95. When a finished book elicits a wow from every department prior to its publication, the team is sure that readers will love it. By systematizing the rating process and placing the planning and marketing department and the sales and distribution department on an equal footing with the editorial department, Chien has created a sort of iron triangle specializing in the production of bestsellers.

 

周休三日的幸福传奇

圆神出版集团董事长简志忠

　　简志忠是台湾出版界的传奇人物。他所经营的圆神出版集团所出版的图书在每年各大畅销书排行榜上所占的数量之多和该公司的工时不成比例，打破了一般人普遍认为工时与绩效两者无法兼顾的看法。事实上，该公司在 2013 年初成为台湾第一家实施周休三日制度的企业。简志忠不断探索出版事业的极限，他总是把员工的生活质量看得比企业的利润更重要。许多企业家穷尽一生时间所追逐的梦想，简志忠花不到三十年就做到了。这其中的秘密到底是什么？

　　简志忠为圆神订定了『文化性、社会性及市场性均衡发展』的原则，而且明白地把销售量列为该公司的重要出版策略。他还决定使用男女老幼都能接受的文体，让好书能够进入一般大众的家。

　　多年来，简志忠发展出一套所谓的『75、85、95』的管理哲学。这基本上是一种评分系统，75 分代表及格，85 分是还算不错，95 分才是很优异。一本书的内容再好，销售若不理想，只能算是 75 分。出版团队的责任就是要把好书从 75 分推到 95 分。成品若能在出版前说服得了集团内的每个部门，自然发出『哇！』的惊叹，就能确保读者在阅读时会爱上这本书。藉由将这种评分的过程制度化，以及将企划营销及业务发行两个部门提高到和编辑部同等的地位，简志忠创造出『畅销书铁三角』的组合。