Startups, here are 3 things to learn from the Samsung saga

There was an explosion. And the remnants were swept under the rug.

Then there was another explosion. And the remnants were swept under the rug again.

Then the rug caught fire. Now the house is slowly burning down and collapsing upon itself.

This isn’t some personal anecdote, just a fitting metaphor for what’s occurring at Samsung with the Galaxy Note 7 nightmare.

If you’ve been living under a rock, here’s a quick summary of what has unfolded.

Now the house is slowly burning down and collapsing upon itself. Photo credit: Pexels.

The battery in the Note 7 had a predilection to burst into flames; the replacement battery had the same issue, and now there is a massive recall of all Samsung Galaxy Note 7s.

Just how big of a nightmare is this? Well, Samsung’s revenue alone makes up around 23 percent of Korea’s GDP, so the reverberations will potentially be felt all around the country.

Instead of rehashing the slew of articles that have been published on the Note 7,  I want to take this time to show how this embarrassment reflects upon the environment in which the Korean company operates. This botched launch shows serious flaws in the chaebol (business group) work culture. It’s imperative for startups to avoid these pitfalls if they want to be successful.

The chaebol work culture: take the bad, mix in the worse

The Note 7 fiasco proves just how poorly run and organized large companies in Korea can be. Their ageist, sexist, and antiquated concepts of the infallibility of the boss are finally coming back to haunt them. The combination of all of these moving parts is a major reason why the Note 7 disaster unfolded as it did, and should serve as a warning to startups that this is not the path of growth to follow.

Samsung’s poor management was a ticking time-bomb

Problem: Ageism and sexism in these companies manifest themselves in the rigid hierarchy such that, in order to be a manager and hold real power, your qualifications must include being old and a male. Negating the impact that a majority of the company can have based only on age or gender promotes the recycling of old, uninventive ideas while dashing any hope of creativity or innovation.

Combine this with the perceived infallibility of managers and you potentially have less qualified people making decisions that affect the entire company with zero checks and balances in place.