“我得到过的最好建议”精选集

未来主义者，发明家，作家

    1978年，施乐（Xerox）开始对Kurzweil Computer Products感兴趣，并对我的公司进行了投资。1979年，他们表示有意收购。他们感兴趣的是扫描和文字识别技术。当时施乐是一家打印机公司，他们有很多的产品：复印机、打印机，都是将电脑化信息转录到纸张上。我们有一项技术，能反其道而行之。当时我还没有那样的理念：我真正的业务是发明技术，打造业务，然后出售。我的态度是：这是我的公司，我的职责是创立它，打造成功，然后可能卖给施乐。但我的首席财务官哈瑞·乔治称：“你真正擅长的是发明新的技术，带给这个世界。但有其他人，可以把它带到全球市场。你应该卖给施乐。”

    我接受了他的建议，施乐在这个基础上打造了一家全球领先的企业。由此，我进入了这样的模式。这促使我重新定义自己的业务范畴：做一位发明家，发明突破性的技术，然后卖给大公司，在那里这些技术真正能够发扬光大。我已经卖了五家公司，现在所有这些公司都还在。比如，Kurzweil Music现在是现代（Hyundai）的一部分。这些公司能以更好的方式将它带给全球市场，这是我们这样一家小型合成制造商办不到的事情。

Ray Kurzweil

Futurist, inventor, author

    In 1978, Xerox became interested in Kurzweil Computer Products and made an investment in my company. In 1979 they expressed interest in acquiring it. They were interested in the scanning and character-recognition technology. Xerox was in the printer business, and they had a lot of machines: copiers, printers that took computerized information and put it out onto paper. We had a technology that could go in the other direction. At the time I did not have the philosophy that the real business I was in was creating technologies, creating a business from them, and selling them. My attitude was: This is my company, and my role is to create it and build it up and maybe make it into Xerox. But my CFO, Harry George, said, "What you're really good at is creating a new technology and bringing it into the world. But there are other people who can bring it to a world market. You should sell to Xerox."

    I took the advice, and Xerox created a world-leading company out of it. That got me into this paradigm. It caused me to redefine the business I'm in, which is being an inventor and creating breakthrough technologies and then finding the right home in a larger company where they can really thrive. I've sold five companies, and all of them have not disappeared into the woodwork. Kurzweil Music, for example, is now part of Hyundai. They were able to bring it to a world market in a much better way than we could as a small synthesizer manufacturer.