1 A 60-Person Relay Race

I currently work as a Brand Manager at Amorepacific. I’m responsible for all aspects of product and brand operations to ensure the brand continues to be loved by customers. When I first moved to the BM team, a colleague told me, “You’ll soon understand why this company has so many people.” They were absolutely right. To complete the whole journey from concept to launch for a single product, you need to run alongside at least 60 people.

Starting with formulation design and clinical trials at the research center, then moving through packaging design and development, production and QC, pricing and demand strategy, content creation and communication, and finally launch and customer VOC management. In my case, each phase involves anywhere from four people at a minimum to over 20 domestic and international channel managers at maximum. Honestly, just finding the right contacts and memorizing names was overwhelming at first. Even now, I frequently find myself thinking, “Which team was responsible for this again...” and digging through my contacts. When such diverse people gather for a single project, it feels like having representatives from each college department come together for a group assignment.

Because everyone comes from a different background, the values they prioritize also differ. Some want innovation, others wish for stability. Some prioritize accuracy, others speed, some budget efficiency, and yet others put “exceptional beauty” first and foremost. The BM’s role is to bring together these diverse languages and perspectives toward a single goal, safely passing the baton at each phase. What happens when the baton arrives late? The downstream teams inevitably get pressed for time in proportion to how delayed the upstream process was. From “How can we create something new when you don’t give us time to think?” to “The distributors are pressing us—when will this be decided?” Of course, most Amorepacific team members are so gentle that few would say this directly. Still, I’m the final runner in this relay. When things run late upstream, I’m always the one whose heart pounds the hardest.

2 Running Through a Minefield

Unfortunately, this relay takes place not on level ground but in a minefield. There are far too many landmines that could explode at any moment. Unexpected problems always emerge at the most unthinkable timing. Sometimes, packaging components suddenly get cut off from overseas factories, leaving us helplessly scrambling. Other days, partners suddenly notify us that they “can’t deliver within the timeline.” Microorganisms suddenly appear in formulations once deemed safe, or the final formulation and packaging suddenly don’t match at the last phase. We conducted preliminary checks, but when we put the finished formulation into the pump, the content either leaked out or sprayed too forcefully. The finish line is set, but when these disastrous problems arise, it really takes a toll on us.

Sometimes we become each other’s landmines. Safety-oriented departments have no choice but to give very conservative opinions about product quality, the step-by-step timeline needed until final shipment, and the varying regulations of each country. Then, departments that were preparing various attempts for new product launches must completely re-examine everything, from formulations to design to communication strategy. They check again to see if there’s any way to explore possibilities within the range of minimizing risk.

Since this is human work, mistakes happen too. No matter how many times we review something, typos always pop up at the very end. We miss changed labeling regulations or fail to reflect new processes that distributors require, causing us to break into a cold sweat as we scramble to clean up the mess. When timelines can’t be rolled back, we search for exits by exploring whether we can at least adjust launch schedules by channel.

3 My Team, Even When I Don’t Like Them

When you’re doing this precarious running alongside so many people, clashes inevitably happen. “Why are you giving this to us so late?” “That’s impossible.” “Why do you keep making changes...” From my perspective, I barely managed to step over a landmine and move to the next stage, so when the person receiving the next baton responds like this, it feels truly unfair. Of course, I understand. From their perspective, this is just one of countless batons they have to handle. If there are BM managers like me running relays with 60 people, there are also individuals who have to catch multiple batons simultaneously. They say everyone has their hell. I’m sure there are difficulties I can’t fully comprehend.

Sometimes I feel hurt, thinking I’m just working hard at my job. There are moments when I think, “Maybe I should have just compromised and moved on this time...” But in the end, they’re people. We push each other hard, but also protect each other when it matters. Those who initially said a firm “impossible” often empathize with the fact that all of this is ultimately about delivering better products to customers on time, and they open their hearts. That’s how cold-sweat-inducing problems that I could never solve alone sometimes get resolved in an instant. Everyone puts their heads together to figure out how to solve these issues, continuing experiments through sacrificed weekends, completing perfect designs in a single day, contacting partners to help coordinate schedules, and securing a last-minute slot to meet initial launch dates. There are individuals with Avengers-like qualities hidden within this company. People who quietly and steadily resolve incidents and make things work. Because these people exist, I grab the baton once again today and retie my shoelaces.

4 Finish Line: Mega Crew Mission

The work we do together, running until a single product comes into the world, resembles the mega crew mission from “Street Woman Fighter.” A stage that just one protagonist cannot complete. Just as countless people’s details come together to fill that stage, we, too, each hold our positions and complete the product. It may not be fast. One person can’t just decide and create something. But we know this: the more we worry, the less customers have to worry. Someone’s all-nighter, someone’s experiment, someone’s fingertips that “double-checked just in case.” Only when these efforts comes together does it become a stage where the audience can applaud with confidence. We still dance together like this today. Not everyone can be a shining star, but every player is important.