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The greatest business decisions of all time

1993: It pays to goof off

Samsung had a problem. Its culture was too inward-looking. Then Lee Kun-Hee, chairman of the South Korean electronics giant, sent a handful of his brightest young employees to faraway corners of the globe -- not to work, but to immerse themselves in the culture, learn the language, and build networks so that someday Samsung would profit.

--Nicholas Varchaver

This article is adapted from The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time, by Verne Harnish, CEO of Gazelles, and the editors of Fortune, with a foreword by Jim Collins. fortune.com/greatestdecisions

This story is from the October 8, 2012 issue of Fortune.

@FortuneMagazine - Last updated October 01 2012 10:23 AM ET

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