東山再起:5大咸魚翻身的高科技公司
Michael Dell has his hands full trying to turnaround Dell, the company he founded and now plans to take private in a $24.4 billion buyout. Although still profitable, the business is slumping as customers shift to rival computer makers that offer cheaper prices. Dell's comeback plan—to push into business services and cloud computing—is still a work in progress.
邁克爾•戴爾正在忙着試圖扭轉戴爾公司（Dell）的頹勢。他親手創立了這家公司，現在正打算通過一筆244億美元的交易把公司私有化。雖然公司目前仍在贏利，但由 於客戶大多流向那些能製造便宜機型的競爭對手，戴爾的業務因此日趨下滑。戴爾把復興計劃的希望寄託在商業服務和雲計算上，但這方面的努力暫時未見成效。If the turnaround effort is ultimately successful, Dell (DELL) will join a small club of technology companies that have been able to reverse their fortunes. It's a difficult feat. The technology industry moves at such a fast pace that staying still means being left behind. Companies that forget how to innovate usually have trouble relearning no matter how much executives tweak organizational charts, create new marketing slogans or "streamline" their workforce.
如果戴爾的復興計劃最終獲得成功，它將成爲屈指可數的幾家成功扭虧爲贏的科技公司中的一員。但這是一項艱鉅的任務。科技業的發展速度太快了，原地踏步就意味 着落後。如果有哪家企業忘記了創新的精髓，那麼不管企業高管付出多少努力來重組企業結構，構思新的營銷口號，還是“精簡”勞動力，都很難再佔鰲頭。Apple (AAPL), on the brink of bankruptcy in the late-1990s, is the industry's biggest comeback story. (It is likely the biggest reversal of fortune in business history.) Steve Jobs, who had been purged in a boardroom dispute, returned and transformed the business into a money-making machine. I.B.M. (IBM) is another that reinvented itself, by refocusing on high-priced, high-margin products and services for corporate customers. Dell is essentially trying to follow I.B.M.'s example.
蘋果公司（Apple）的復興堪稱科技業的經典，它可能也是商界歷史上最偉大的扭虧爲贏的例子。上世紀90年代末，蘋果曾瀕臨破產。一度被逐出蘋果董事會的史蒂夫• 喬布斯重新掌權，把公司變成了一臺賺錢機器。IBM也是一個成功的例子，它把重點放在向企業客戶提供高價格、高利潤的產品和服務上，從而再次實現復興。戴爾基本上就是在試 圖複製IBM的路子。
Of course, many technology companies try and fail in their comeback attempts—repeatedly, in some cases—like Yahoo (YHOO), AMD (AMD) and MySpace, the once-popular social network. Mismanagement, a lack of money and an unwillingness to adapt are typically to blame. Invariably, executives never lose hope. Investors have far less patience, however. Here's a recap of how some struggling technology companies, despite the odds, managed to make a comeback:
當然，許多科技公司的復興之路都以失敗告終，很多公司更是屢戰屢敗——比如一度熱門的雅虎（Yahoo）、AMD和社交網絡MySpace。通常這些公司失敗的原因都離不 開管理失誤、缺乏資金和不願意適應新環境等因素。一般來說，這些科技公司的高管們從來不會放棄希望，但投資人可沒有那麼多耐心。以下謹爲大家列舉幾個成功扭轉頹勢的例 子。No. 1 Apple
第一名：蘋果Picturing Apple near bankruptcy is difficult given its strength today. But the company was indeed in trouble when Steve Jobs took over for a second time in 1997. Apple's computers no longer elicited the passion among consumers that they once did. Personal computers that relied on Microsoft (MSFT) Windows increasingly dominated the market. To cut costs and increase focus, Jobs eliminated a number of floundering products like the Newton personal digital assistant. More importantly, however, he pushed and prodded until Apple started innovating again with the iPod, iTunes, iPhone, MacBook and iPad. Consumers, of course, loved them all.
看着蘋果今日的輝煌，我們很難想象當年它也有瀕臨破產的窘境。1979年，喬布斯第二次執掌蘋果時，他接手的的確是一個千瘡百孔的爛攤子。當時，蘋果的電腦產品 在消費者中已經失去了往日的號召力。安裝微軟（Microsoft）Windows系統的電腦越來越呈現獨霸市場的趨勢。爲了削減成本，集中實力，喬布斯斃掉了一些苟延殘喘的產品，比 如個人電子助手Newton等。更重要的是，他一直在促進和推動公司進行創新，直到公司成功地研發了iPod、iTunes、iPhone、MacBook和iPad，這些產品也全都獲得了消費者的寵愛 。No. 2 IBM
第二名：IBMWhen Lou Gerstner, a former chief executive for RJR Nabisco, took the reins at I.B.M. in 1993, the company was slumping. Like many in his position, he cut jobs, killed products and sold assets. More importantly, he pushed the company into technology services. Today, it is the company's biggest business. It wasn't easy, however. It required reversing his predecessor's plan to break the company into more autonomous individual units. Doing so, he figured, would make it impossible for I.B.M. to be a one-stop shop for business technology, as it is today. Since Gerstner left, I.B.M. executives have continued making wise decisions. Selling off the personal computer unit in 2005 is at the top of the list. Doing so allowed I.B.M. to avoid the problems Dell faces today with having to compete in a declining, commodity-driven business.
1993年，PRJ Nabisco公司的前高管郭士納入主IBM的時候，IBM正處於一蹶不振的局面。像許多處於相同處境的CEO一樣，郭士納也採取了精簡人員、削減產品、變賣資 產等一系列做法。更重要的是，他推動了公司向科技服務領域發展。今天，科技服務已經成了IBM公司最大的業務。這並不是一件容易的事，而且它需要調整公司前輩們制定的發展 計劃，把公司分割成一個個更加獨立自主的單元。郭士納指出，這樣可以使IBM避免成爲一站式的企業科技商店，就像今天這樣。郭士納離職後，接替他的歷任高管也繼續做出了各 種明智的決策，首當其衝的就是2005年將個人電腦業務剝離出售。這個決定使得IBM避免了戴爾今日的窘境，不必在一個日益不景氣的實體商品行業中繼續競爭。No. 3 Hewlett-Packard
第三名：惠普Sometimes comebacks are short-lived, as Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ) proves it. For a few years, the company —a bastion of soap operatic drama and underachievement–operated smoothly. Mark Hurd, a cost cutting chief executive hired in 2005, lifted revenue and profits. H.P.'s shares more than doubled in value. Then five years into his tenure, the board pushed Hurd out following accusations of sexual harassment. Since then, the company has spiraled under two chief executives, two turnaround plans and a lot of finger pointing–in some cases back at Hurd, for, among other things, excessive cost-cutting that allegedly hurt the company in the long-term.
有時，科技企業的復興只是芸花一現，惠普公司（HP）就是一個例子。有那麼幾年，這家花邊新聞不斷、業務不良的企業運轉得還相當不錯。馬克•赫德這位以削減成 本出名的CEO在2005年入主惠普後，一度提高了公司的收益和利潤。惠普的股票市值增長了一倍以上。赫德在惠普任職五年後，因爲涉嫌性騷擾而被董事會掃地出門。從此以後，惠 普的業務一路下滑，儘管兩位繼任CEO各自開出了自己的藥方，但是也不見好轉，而且在此期間惠普也受到了不少批評和指責，很多批評都指向了赫德任內的一些政策，比如過度削 減成本，在長期內給公司造成了不良影響。No. 4 Priceline
第四名：PricelinePriceline (PCLN), the online travel site known for letting customers bid on tickets, rose in tandem with the Internet bubble of the late 1990s. Executives got so cocky that they experimented with selling groceries and gasoline. But the good times ended when the dot-com bust and the 9/11 attacks caused consumers to forego vacations. To save itself, Priceline eliminated booking fees, emphasized hotel reservations and expanded internationally. The plan worked. Its shares, once so low that they risked delisting from NASDAQ, now trade for nearly $700.
Priceline是一家在線旅遊網站，顧客可以在這家網站上通過競價的方式購買機票。上世紀90年代末的互聯網泡沫時代，這家網站的效益如日中天，Priceline的高管們 也有些飄飄然了，甚至開始在網站上試着賣雜貨和汽油。但是隨着互聯網泡沫的破滅和“9/11事件”，很多用戶放棄了出門度假，Priceline的好日子也到頭了。爲了自救， Priceline開始免收訂票費，把重點放在酒店預訂上，並且開始在海外進行拓展。這個計劃取得了成功。當年它的股票曾一度面臨被納斯達克摘牌的風險，但如今其股價已經接近每 股700美元。No. 5 eBay
第五名：eBayThe question a few years ago wasn't whether eBay (EBAY) would survive. Rather, the issue was its trajectory. Growth in eBay's marketplace, where users sell everything from Gucci handbags to cars, had stalled amid intense competition from . John Donahoe, eBay's chief executive, responded by trying to remake the site into more of an outlet mall for retailers to unload out-of-season merchandise. He also cleaned up the site's annoyingly cluttered design and invested in mobile shopping. To a certain extent, the plan worked. Growth returned. But the real star was and still is PayPal, the online payment service. While the marketplace stumbled, online payments – particularly off of eBay – thrived. In a turnaround, it helps considerably to have one business that doesn't need fixing.
幾年前，eBay面臨的問題並不是能否繼續生存，而是選擇哪種模式擴大發展。過去在eBay上，從古馳（Gucci）手包到汽車，幾乎什麼都能買到。但是由於面臨來自亞 馬遜公司（Amazon）的激烈競爭，eBay的增長也陷入了停滯。eBay首席執行官約翰•唐納荷努力想把eBay改造成一個讓零售商銷售過季商品的地方。同時他也整改了“大雜燴”式的 網頁設計，並且在移動購物上進行了投資。從某種程度上來講，他的計劃取得了成功。公司恢復了增長。但eBay復興的最大功臣，無論過去還是現在，都是它的移動支付服務貝寶 （PayPal）。eBay市場陷入疲軟的時候，在線支付業務——尤其是eBay以外的在線支付業務卻日益繁榮。在公司戰略轉型時期，有這麼一個無需操心的業務，的確是幫了大忙。
