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

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

『周休三日的幸福传奇 圆神出版集团董事长简志忠』

　　This approach has made Eurasian Publishing Group popular for more than just its books, as its sales and marketing strategies are now incorporated into business school curricula. Take how it handled the 2006 release of the popular Japanese novel Saga no Gabai Bachan for example. Chien was very impressed with the readability and power of the Chinese-language translation and with how well the book conveyed human tenacity and the idea of bettering oneself. Feeling that it would be a shame not to share the book with the general public, he wrote some 50 letters to the principals of high schools around Taiwan that very night, recommending the book to them.

　　By writing the letters by hand with a calligraphy brush, he expressed a passion and sincerity that was beyond the capability of email to convey, moving the principals who received them to read the book for themselves. They thought highly of it and mentioned it in meetings, so word of mouth about the book began to spread like wildfire. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies in just one year. Management Magazine then named Chien's letters the most innovative marketing campaign of the year, an honor in which all three segments of Eurasian's iron triangle took great pride.

　　To Chien, publishing has never been about profit, and he wholeheartedly believes that people shouldn't live to work, but they should only work to live. Eurasian will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2014, and Chien is hoping that it will be around for a long time to come, always responding to the needs of our society. For him, that last point really is the heart of the matter. As a publisher and philanthropist, Chien has always sought to address social needs, and in so doing, he has made our society a better place.

　　这种方法使得圆神不只出版物受欢迎，甚至连营销策略都成为商学院的教材。就拿圆神如何营销这本 2006 年出版的畅销日文小说《佐贺的超级阿嬷》为例。简志忠看到翻译初稿后大为惊艳，觉得此书既平易动人，又传播人性中坚韧及向上的价值。他觉得这本书不分享给大众实在不行，于是，他连夜陆续写了约五十封信，向全台各地的高中校长推荐。

　　这一封封用毛笔写成的书信，展现出电子邮件所无法传达的热情和诚意，也打动了收信的校长们亲自翻开书来阅读。他们对它的评价很高，也因此在会议中以口耳相传的方式迅速蔓延。这本书在接下来短短一年内便销售了三十多万本。《管理》杂志还将简志忠写的信选为该年度最佳营销创意，圆神的编辑、营销、业务等部门也都共同引以为傲。

　　对简志忠而言，出版从来就不是以赚钱为目的的行业，同时他也笃信，人的一生不应该是为了工作而生活，而是应该为了生活而工作。2014 年，圆神集团就要庆祝成立三十周年，简志忠希望圆神能够长长久久，并能不断呼应社会的需求。对他来说，最后一点才是事情的核心。他现在不管做出版或做公益，都始终追求要满足社会需求，而藉由这么做，也让我们的社会愈来愈幸福。

本社为尊重《台湾光华杂志》，中文原文登出，仅供参考，中英文如有不尽相符之处，敬请包涵。