苹果是如何成为行业颠覆者的？

本月苹果iPhone迎来了它的十周岁生日。在这个处处以讲“颠覆”为时髦的年代，可以说iPhone是通过科技创新颠覆一个行业的最经典案例了。iPhone的推出迅速终结了当年诺基亚在手机市场的主导地位。它也是世界上第一部名符其实的智能手机。

iPhone也是“第四次工业革命”的一个典型象征。所谓“第四次工业革命”，指的是计算机处理能力、存储容量和网络连接能力的巨大增长。它也是在1月17日开幕的世界经济论坛的主题。

苹果是第四次工业革命的领路人之一，iPhone的问世则是第四次工业革命的一个关键点。然而企业能否在这一轮工业革命中取得成功，并非仅仅取决于一两个创新产品（如iPhone）。能够在第四次工业革命中繁荣发展的公司，必定是那些能够不断完善自身业务的公司。

苹果本身就是一个极好的例子。它是目前世界上最有价值的公司之一，但它的成功并非建立在一个单一的产品上。早在iPhone问世之前，苹果就凭借iPod重新定义了个人音乐市场，随后又凭iTunes彻底改变了人们对音乐的消费模式。

苹果成功的另一个原因，是发明了一些消费者根本没有意识到自己会需要的东西，并且建立了全新的市场。苹果并非是第一家考虑做APP的公司，但2008年苹果App Store的上线重新定义了这个市场。目前苹果App Store里已经拥有200多万个APP。iPad刚刚问世时曾遭遇到不少冷嘲热讽，很多人认为这个“大号iPhone”完全没有存在的道理。但iPad依然取得了巨大的成功。很多人可能以为iPad是从iPhone上脱胎而来的，然而事实上，iPad的研发甚至还早于iPhone。换句话说，苹果之所以成功扮演了一个颠覆者的角色，是因为它能不断地自我调整、不断颠覆现有业务。

有些企业想出了另一种“颠覆”方法——把行业的颠覆者买下来。比如近几年，Facebook已经相继收购了WhatsApp、Instagram和Oculus VR等颠覆性创新企业，目的都是为了扩大Facebook的影响力。首先，收购像WhatsApp这样的应用软件公司，能使Facebook更快地接触到一个迅速增长的年轻用户群体。

Facebook的其他几笔收购还是有很大风险的。Oculus是一家做VR的公司，虽然很多消费者都对VR技术抱有浓厚兴趣，但没人知道这项技术是否有稳定的前景，抑或只是另一个大泡沫。不过如果VR技术真的大获成功了，那么提前收购一家行业领军企业，肯定有助于Facebook主宰这个新兴媒介。

Instagram则为Facebook提供了接触到另一批用户的渠道。有了Instagram这个平台，Facebook也得以与Snapchat等图片型社交网络进行竞争（Facebook也曾试图收购过Snapchat）。Facebook的最大挑战就是在竞争极度激励的社交网络市场保持龙头老大的地位。为此，Facebook要时刻牢记这个清晰的目标，并且为此不懈努力。

正是这种坚持将一件事做到极致的努力，才使这些颠覆者始终保持着市场的领军地位。比如宜家公司改变了欧洲很多地区的家具消费模式。宜家成立于1943年，虽然现在它的业务已经扩展到全球各地，但它始终不懈地坚持产品简约、平板包装，设计为先的理念。

正是由于它不断倾听、不断改进做一件事情的方法，宜家才能成为今日之宜家。宜家的这种专注从它的公司博物馆上就能体现出来。学生们通过参观宜家博物馆，能够学习到宜家引以为傲的企业家精神、技术和历史。

近年来的许多颠覆性技术，都是互联网的诞生与计算机处理能力的快速提升的结果。金融服务业也无法逃脱被颠覆的命运。交易大厅的人声鼎沸已经被计算机的嗡嗡声代替了；智能手机APP已经抢走了大量银行柜员的工作；支票簿也早就成了老黄历。

资产管理行业也在变革。如今，各种指数基金和被动管理策略使客户有了更多投资工具可供选择，而且管理费用也比传统的主动管理基金低廉得多。有些人甚至预言主动管理基金时代已经结束了。

然而主动管理基金还没到退出历史舞台的时候。只要个股选择得好，主动管理基金的收益是要高于被动管理基金的，这就是主动管理存在的价值。客户也明白这一点，而且他们现在也有了更多的选择。我们的公司也根据这种转变进行了调整，可以同时为客户提供主动和被动型产品。

理财顾问行业也同样在变革。现在网上的各种金融预测扑天盖地，很多传统型顾问都没了生意。然而未来并不是非黑即白的。新一代的网络技术使理财顾问们有机会向客户提供一些更令人感兴趣的信息。因此理财顾问们应该学会利用科技做加法，而不是做减法。

一谈起以前的事，人们很容易就会变成“星星眼”。然而变革已然发生了。第四次工业革命正在改变世界上所有人的生活。任何抗拒新技术的人都应该记住，如果一项技术能改善很多人的生活，它就必然会蓬勃发展。某样东西之所以会成功，是因为它有需求。只要企业可以拿来竞争的某个新资源合乎道德和法律，企业领导们就应该认真予以关注。躺在过去的功劳薄上固步自封是不可取的。第四次工业革命不会在电视上出现，但你会在你的智能手机里看到它。（财富中文网）

本文作者Martin Gilbert是阿伯丁资产管理公司的CEO。

译者：朴成奎

The launch of Apple’s iPhone, announced 10 years ago this month, is a classic example of technology disrupting an industry. It ended Nokia’s dominance of the mobile phone market and created the first smartphone worthy of the name.

It is typical of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, a theme of the World Economic Forum meeting starting on 17 January. This revolution is being defined by the vast increases in computer processor power, storage capacity and Internet connectivity that we are experiencing.

Apple is harnessing this technology and the iPhone’s launch was a key point in the revolution. But long-term success for companies is not about one disruptive invention like the iPhone. The companies that thrive in this new revolution will be the ones who constantly refine what they do.

Apple itself is one of the best examples. It is one of the world’s most valuable companies but its success is not built on one product. It created the iPod before the iPhone and, in doing so, reinvented the personal audio market. They would later reinvent the way that people bought music with iTunes.

Apple also created a market for things that people didn’t really think they needed. They were not the first company to consider apps but it once again reinvented a market when it launched its App Store in 2008. There are now about 2 million apps on the App Store. The iPad was met with some initial cynicism when it was announced. They saw it as an unnecessary bulky big brother. It was in fact a roaring success and in spite of appearing to have been spawned from the iPhone, was actually in development before the phone. In other words, Apple’s success as a disrupter is because it continues to disrupt by adapting.

Other technology companies show another way that companies keep disrupting: buy the new disrupters. Facebook has acquired WhatsApp, Instagram and Oculus VR in recent years. Each has been an attempt to expand the influence of Facebook. Apps like WhatsApp allowed Facebook to reach a rapidly growing base of younger users than Facebook’s.

Others are pretty big bets. Oculus is a virtual reality company and no one knows whether interest in the technology will prove durable or just a fad. But buying an industry leader will help them dominate this new medium if it really does take off.

Instagram gives Facebook access to another set of users, and their information, and a platform on which to compete with companies like Snapchat (which it tried to buy). The challenge for Facebook is to stay on top of the competition, with a clear purpose in mind that it pursues tirelessly.

It is this ceaseless drive to do on0e thing persistently well that has helped other disrupters to remain leaders in their market. IKEA has changed the way that much of Europe consumes furniture. It was founded in 1943 and is now a sprawling business but has consistently done one thing very well: produced simple, flat pack design led products.

IKEA is a product of constantly listening and refining the way it does one thing to ensure that it does it very well. This focus is reflected in the company’s museum, where school children can learn about the entrepreneurialism, technology and history that the company considers to be its bedrock.

Much of the disruption in recent years has been down to the invention of the Internet and rapid increases in computer processing power. Financial services have not been immune. Rowdy trading floors have been replaced by the hum of bank computers; smartphone apps have done away with a great many bank tellers and cheque books are a thing of the past.

The asset management industry is changing, too. Index and passive strategies are providing investments much more cheaply than traditional active management. This has led to predictions that the days of active management are over.

But active management is not dead. When it is done well it produces returns in excess of what passive strategies are capable, and that comes with a price. Clients understand that and simply have more choice now. Our business has adapted to this shift by offering both active and passive products.

The business of financial advice is changing too. Predictions abound that online platforms will put traditional advisers out of business. But the future is never black and white. The reality is that new online technology presents an opportunity for advisers to offer something more compelling to clients. Technology can add to, rather than detract from, what they can offer.

It is easy to get starry eyed about how things used to be. But change is happening. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is transforming peoples’ lives all around the world. Anyone resisting new technology should remember that it usually thrives when it improves the lot of customers. Something takes off because there is demand for it. Provided the source of new competition is ethical and legal, it should make every business leader sit up and pay attention. No one can rest on their laurels. The Fourth Industrial Revolution will not be televised. But it might be streamed on your smartphone.

Martin Gilbert is CEO of Aberdeen Asset Management.