自由市場經濟並不能獨霸創新

Hackers, pirates and swindlers, rather than visionary chief executives, should be the inspiration for business leaders. That is the view set out in The Misfit Economy by Alexa Clay and Kyra Maya Phillips.

商界領袖應該把黑客、海盜、騙子而非有遠見的首席執行官當作自己的靈感之源。這是亞歷克莎•克萊(Alexa Clay)與凱拉•馬婭•菲利普斯(Kyra Maya Phillips)合著的《另類經濟》(The Misfit Economy)一書所表達的觀點。

The book’s principal contention is that “the free market economy does not possess a monopoly on innovation”. They suggest five key principles to help discover your “inner misfit”: hustling (“spotting an idea and going for it”); copying (which they describe as “collective innovation”); hacking (taking on the establishment and getting “to know a system intimately in order to more effectively take it apart”); provoking (sparking dialogue); and pivoting (enacting “dramatic change in the course of one’s life to pursue greater fulfilment and inspiration”).

該書主要的論點是，“自由市場經濟對創新並不擁有獨佔權”。她們給出五個關鍵標準來幫你發現你“內在的另類”：打拼（“發現一個點子並努力實現它”）；抄襲（她們稱之爲“集體創新”）；破拆（挑戰既得利益，設法“熟悉一個體系以便更有效地破拆它”）；挑釁（引發對話）；換活法（上演“人生旅程中的戲劇性變化，以追求更大的成就和靈感”）。

The authors state that “while many great innovation practices have been and will be distilled from the Googles, eBays and Toyotas of the world, our research has revealed that not only has underground innovation been overlooked as a significant driver of the economy but it also Offers its own unique and valuable insights”.

兩位作者寫道：“雖然許多偉大的創新實踐出自並且未來還將出自谷歌(Google)，eBay和豐田(Toyota)之類的世界級企業，但我們的研究揭示出，人們沒有注意到地下創新是經濟的重要推動力之一，另外地下創新還可向人們提供它特有的寶貴洞見。”

I am not so sure about this. Last year, the EU ruled that member states should include illegal activities, such as prostitution and drug dealing, in gross domestic product figures. That official data-crunchers count Crime Inc’s contribution to their economies goes some way to disproving the authors’ claims to be groundbreaking.

對此我不敢全然認同。去年，歐盟裁定，各成員國應將非法活動（如賣淫和毒品交易）納入國內生產總值(GDP)數據。官方數據統計將“犯罪行業”的貢獻計入經濟中，這在一定程度上否定了兩位作者所稱的開創性。

The writers continue: “While other innovation-related books rightly chronicle the creativity and ingenuity of fast-moving start-ups, corporate strategy and visionary CEOs, this book goes outside the conventional scope to show a broader view of the world economy. Formal markets are only one part of the whole. We will make visible some portion of the rest.”

她們繼續寫道：“雖然其他有關創新的書籍正確地記錄了快速成長的初創企業、公司戰略以及富有遠見的首席執行官的創造力和聰明才智，但本書跳出傳統視野，展現了對世界經濟更廣泛的理解。正規市場只是整個市場的一部分。我們將展現其餘部分的某些方面。”

There is extensive literature on what criminals can teach law-abiding entrepreneurs. Louis Ferrante’s Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman is one example. Ryan Blair’s Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multi¬millionaire Entrepreneur and I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss by Michael Franzese are others. Very few contend that big companies are well placed to be innovative. More often they are criticised for moving slowly and are crippled by bureaucracy.

市面上有大量關於守法企業家可從罪犯那裏學到些什麼的書籍。路易斯•費蘭特(Louis Ferrante)的《大佬管理學》(Mob Rules: What the Mafia Can Teach the Legitimate Businessman)就是一例。另外還有瑞安•布萊爾(Ryan Blair)的《只要你能豁出去：全世界都會爲你讓路》(Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur)，以及米夏埃爾•弗蘭澤塞(Michael Franzese)的《黑道商學院》(I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss)。很少有人認爲大企業在創新方面具有優勢。更常見的是，它們因行動遲緩而成爲人們批評的對象，而且飽受官僚作風困擾。

Clay and Phillips cite two well-known business mavericks: Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. Yet the cult of the maverick entrepreneur is well established. Few books focus on the boring accountants who steward steady businesses — not just because they are dull to read. Disruption is, after all, the business buzzword of the day.

克萊與菲利普斯把商界兩個知名的特立獨行者當作例子，他們是史蒂夫•喬布斯(Steve Jobs)和理查德•布蘭森(Richard Branson)。但人們對特立獨行創業家的膜拜早已形成。很少有書會聚焦那些負責確保業務穩定的乏味會計師——不止是因爲這類書讀起來很枯燥。畢竟，顛覆纔是當今的商界熱詞。

These are quibbles, however. The book gives well-drawn and interesting examples of innovators beyond the mainstream: the Saudi entrepreneur who works with Amish camel farmers to sell their milk; the UX, a clandestine group of French art rebels who broke into the Panthéon in Paris to restore a neglected 19th-century clock. On occasion the suggestions lapse into clichéd “thinking outside the box” territory, however.

不過，上面這些話屬於吹毛求疵。該書給出了關於主流之外創新者的恰當而有趣的例子：與養駱駝的阿米什農戶合作賣駝奶的沙特創業家；一個由法國叛逆藝術家組成的、名爲UX的祕密組織，其成員闖入巴黎先賢祠(Panthéon)，修復了一座被人遺忘的19世紀座鐘。然而，有時她們的建議落入了“跳出框框思考”的俗套。

There are intriguing asides, such as how when Occupy movement participants went back to work, they were struck by how hierarchical their workplaces were, though it is less clear if they did anything about it. But for those wanting a fresh perspective on business practices or working lives, this is a snappy introduction to a new way of thinking.

該書也包含一些耐人尋味的內容，例如描寫當“佔領運動”(Occupy movement)的參與者回來工作時，他們是多麼吃驚於自己工作場所的等級森嚴——儘管讀者不太清楚他們是否就此做了什麼。不過，對那些想從全新視角觀察商業實踐或職場生活的人來說，這本書是通向一種新思維方式的快速入門。