博斯公司CEO：后金融危机时代的发展之道

    不要跟行业标杆较劲，也不要一味遵循最佳做法，要挖掘自己独特的能力

    如果所有公司都把注意力放在与行业标杆进行比较和在职能方面追求卓越（把同一件事做得越来越好）上，最终它们就会并驾齐驱，而且要在同一市场中为更小的份额展开争夺。相反，要把精力用在培养与众不同的能力上，在这方面你的公司能比其他任何人做得都好。苹果公司就是一个例子。无论是什么产品，无论是哪个市场，这家公司都会用“苹果的方式”进行处理。发现一种消费需求后，苹果公司会把技术用在这个方面，让它变得直观易用，然后大力进行推广。但情况并非一直如此。曾经有一段时间里，苹果陷入了和微软（Microsoft）的恶性竞争之中，而且面临着很大的麻烦。据史蒂夫•乔布斯回忆，直到苹果领导层意识到“苹果不必打败微软，苹果要记住自己是谁”之后，情况才得到好转。

    停止重组，把文化融入工作当中

    经济滑坡期间出现了一系列重组。人们常常真的把重组作为解决文化问题、再次迈向成功的隐秘途径。不幸的是，这样的重组几乎不起作用，因为公司文化是出了名地难以撼动。人们企图通过重组驱除公司文化或者执行与之相悖的策略时，最终获得胜利的总是它。不要和公司文化对着干，相反，要利用其中的优秀之处以及行之有效的独特方式，同时为顾客创造价值。不要只是挪动一下组织结构图里的那些框框，相反，要花时间理顺公司的策略和文化，从而为变革提供动力。大家可以想一想健康保险公司安泰保险（Aetna）。2005年前后，新的管理层利用他们的文化优势对公司进行了构建，时任首席执行官的约翰•罗把他们的构建成果称为“新安泰”，此举让这家公司从每天亏损约100万美元变成了每天盈利500万美元。这项策略的重点是给安泰的文化注入活力，同时利用那些已经在为公司文化服务的因素，比如公司150年的历史给员工带来的自豪感，公司根深蒂固的对消费者的关注，以及敬业的专业人员团队。举例来说，新安泰旨在支持员工为了给患者、服务供应商和公司雇员提供优质服务而付出的努力。在新安泰，员工的忠诚度和满意度直线上升，它的股价也是如此——从每股5.84美元（复权后）飙升到了48.40美元。

    无论怎样都要投资——但要把钱花在刀刃上

    公司投资时往往会犯三个典型错误。一是不遗余力地全面削减成本，以便增强盈利能力。二是把资金像押宝一样分散在十几个新项目上，希望其中的某个项目能够获得成功。三是遇到困难时彻底停止投资。这些方法都不会奏效。真正能带来收益的是像做手术一样对成本进行策略性削减。然后调整资金流向，更多地投资于左右利润的核心能力。这种策略能让你既削减了成本，又变得更加强大。

    除非担任首席执行官，否则人们很难理解在正确的时间做出正确的决定有多么困难，特别是在市场剧烈波动、股东尖叫不已的时候。它需要异常强大的自制力——有时甚至还需要勇气。然而，要想从挣扎着摆脱衰退的影响变为自我发展，从而达到那些具备超级竞争力的企业所在的层次，恰恰就需要这样的领导者。

    本文作者塞萨尔•梅纳帝是博斯公司首席执行官。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    Trade benchmarking and best practices for capabilities

    If every company focuses on benchmarking and functional excellence (doing the same things better and better), they'll all end up in the same place—fighting for an ever-smaller share of the same market. Instead, spend your efforts building the handful of distinctive capabilities that your company does better than anyone else. Take Apple. No matter what product, what market, the company approaches it "the Apple way." It spots a consumer need, brings technology to it, makes it intuitive and easy to use, and aggressively markets it. But this wasn't always the case. At one point, Apple was pitted in a destructive competition with Microsoft (MSFT) and was in serious trouble. According to Steve Jobs, things improved only after company leaders realized that "Apple didn't have to beat Microsoft. Apple had to remember who Apple was."

    Stop restructuring and put your culture to work

    There were a raft of reorganizations during the downturn. All too often, a reorg is really a backdoor attempt to solve a culture problem and reengineer success. Unfortunately, it rarely works because corporate culture is notoriously sticky. Culture always wins when you try to restructure it away or execute strategies that run against it. Instead of fighting your culture, leverage what's great about it and the unique way you get work done and create value for your customers. Don't just move the boxes on your org chart; instead, invest time in aligning your strategy and your culture to fuel change. Consider healthcare company Aetna (AET). In the mid-2000s, it went from losing about $1 million a day to making $5 million a day, after new leaders leveraged the strengths of their culture to build what then CEO John W. Rowe called "the New Aetna." The strategy focused on energizing the organization's culture while drawing on what was already working for it: Employee pride in the company's 150-year history; deep-rooted concern about customers; and a team of committed professionals. For example, the New Aetna was designed to support employees' dedication to providing premium service to patients, providers, and employers. Under the New Aetna, employee loyalty and satisfaction skyrocketed—along with the company's stock prices, climbing from $5.84 (split adjusted) to $48.40 a share.

    Invest no matter what—but funnel money where it matters most

    Companies make three classic mistakes in their investments. They relentlessly take out costs across the board to improve profitability. They dilute their investment dollars by making bets on dozens of new projects, hoping that one will win. Or they stop investing completely when times get tough. None of these work. The approach that really pays off is to surgically and strategically cut costs. And then redirect money to invest more in the core capabilities that drive your profits. This allows you to cut costs and grow stronger at the same time.

    Until you take the CEO seat, it's difficult to understand just how tough it is to make the right decision at the right time, particularly when markets are volatile and shareholders are screaming. It takes extraordinary discipline—sometimes, even bravery. But that's exactly the kind of leadership that's required to switch from limping out of the recession to growing your way into the ranks of the super-competitors.

    Cesare Mainardi is CEO of Booz & Company.