the.world.is.flat-第78部分

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partner　on　products　and　on　service　provisions；　we　partner　with　universities　and　with　
other　participants　in　our　industry。　You　have　to　be　disciplined　about　what　they　can　
provide　and　what　we　can　sensibly　undertake　。　。　。　There　is　a　market　in　R　&　D　and　a　
market　in　suppliers　and　a　market　in　products；　and　you　need　to　have　a　structure　that　
responds　to　all　of　them。〃　
A　decade　ago；　he　added；　〃We　did　98　percent　of　our　research　and　technology　in　the　U。K。　
and　now　we　do　less　than　40　percent　in　the　U。K。　Now　we　do　it　as　well　in　the　U。S。；　Germany；　
India；　Scandinavia；　Japan；　Singapore；　Spain；　and　Italy。　We　now　recruit　from　a　much　
more　interna…　
356　
tional　group　of　universities　to　anticipate　the　mix　of　skills　and　nationalities　we　
will　want　in　ten　or　fifteen　years。〃　
When　Rolls…Royce　was　a　U。K。…centric　company；　he　added；　it　was　very　vertically　
organized。　〃But　we　had　to　flatten　ourselves；〃　said　Rose；　as　more　and　more　markets　
opened　worldwide　that　Rolls…Royce　could　sell　into　and　from　which　it　could　extract　
knowledge。　


And　what　does　the　future　hold？　
This　approach　to　change　that　Rolls…Royce　has　perfected　in　response　to　the　flattening　
of　the　world　is　going　to　become　the　standard　for　more　and　more　new　start…up　companies。　
If　you　were　to　approach　venture　capital　firms　in　Silicon　Valley　today　and　tell　them　
that　you　wanted　to　start　a　new　company　but　refused　to　outsource　or　offshore　anything；　
they　would　show　you　the　door　immediately。　Venture　capitalists　today　want　to　know　from　
day　one　that　your　start…up　is　going　to　take　advantage　of　the　triple　convergence　to　
collaborate　with　the　smartest；　most　efficient　people　you　can　find　anywhere　in　the　
world。　Which　is　why　in　the　flat　world；　more　and　more　companies　are　now　being　born　
global。　
〃In　the　old　days；〃　said　Vivek　Paul；　the　Wipro　president；　〃when　you　started　a　company；　
you　might　say　to　yourself；　'Boy；　in　twenty　years；　I　hope　we　will　be　a　multinational　
company。'　Today；　you　say　to　yourself　that　on　day　two　I　will　be　a　multinational。　Today；　
there　are　thirty…person　companies　starting　out　with　twenty　employees　in　Silicon　
Valley　and　ten　in　India　。　。　。　And　if　you　are　a　multiproduct　company；　you　are　probably　
going　to　have　some　manufacturing　relationships　in　Malaysia　and　China；　some　design　
in　Taiwan；　some　customer　support　in　India　and　the　Philippines；　and　possibly　some　
engineering　in　Russia　and　the　U。S。〃　These　are　the　so…called　micromultinationals；　and　
they　are　the　wave　of　the　future。　
Today；　your　first　management　job　out　of　business　school　could　be　melding　the　
specialties　of　a　knowledge　team　that　is　one…third　in　India；　one…third　in　China；　and　
a　sixth　each　in　Palo　Alto　and　Boston。　That　takes　a　very　special　kind　of　skill；　and　
it　is　going　to　be　much　in　demand　in　the　flat　world。　
Rule　#5：　In　a　flat　world；　the　best　companies　stay　healthy　by　getting　regular　chest　
X…rays　and　then　selling　the　results　to　their　clients。　

Because　niche　businesses　can　get　turned　into　vanilla　commodity　businesses　faster　than　
ever　in　a　flat　world；　the　best　companies　today　really　do　get　chest　X…rays　regularly…to　
constantly　identify　and　strengthen　their　niches　and　outsource　the　stuff　that　is　not　
very　differentiating。　What　do　I　mean　by　chest　X…rays？　Let　me　introduce　Laurie　Tropiano；　
IBM's　vice　president　for　business　consulting　services；　who　is　what　I　would　call　a　
corporate　radiologist。　What　Tropiano　and　her　team　at　IBM　do　is　basically　X…ray　your　
company　and　break　down　every　component　of　your　business　and　then　put　it　up　on　a　
wall…size　screen　so　you　can　study　your　corporate　skeleton。　Every　department；　every　
function；　is　broken　out　and　put　in　a　box　and　identified　as　to　whether　it　is　a　cost　
for　the　company　or　a　source　of　income；　or　a　little　of　both；　and　whether　it　is　a　unique　
core　competency　of　the　company　or　some　vanilla　function　that　anyone　else　could　do…　
possibly　cheaper　and　better。　
〃A　typical　company　has　forty　to　fifty　components；〃　Tropiano　explained　to　me　one　day　
at　IBM；　as　she　displayed　a　corporate　skeleton　up　on　her　screen；　〃so　what　we　do　is　
identify　and　isolate　these　forty　to　fifty　components　and　then　sit　down　and　ask　＇the　
company＇；　'How　much　money　are　you　spending　in　each　component？　Where　are　you　best　in　
class？　Where　are　you　differentiated？　What　are　the　totally　nondifferenti…ated　
components　of　your　business？　Where　do　you　think　you　have　capabilities　but　are　not　


sure　you　are　ever　going　to　be　great　there　because　you'd　have　to　put　more　money　in　
than　you　want？'〃　
When　you　are　done；　said　Tropiano；　you　basically　have　an　X…ray　of　the　company；　
identifying　four　or　five　〃hot　spots。〃　One　or　two　might　be　core　competencies；　others　
might　be　skills　that　the　company　wasn't　fully　aware　that　it　even　had　and　that　should　
be　built　up。　Other　hot　spots　on　the　X…ray；　though；　might　be　components　where　five　
different　departments　are　duplicating　the　same　functions　or　services　that　others　
outside　the　company　could　do　better　and　more　cheaply　and　so　should　be　
outsourced…provided　there　is　still　a　savings　to　be　made　once　all　the　costs　and　
disruptions　of　outsourcing　are　taken　into　account。　
〃So　you　go　look　at　this　＇X…ray＇　and　say；　'I　have　these　areas　here　that　are　going　to　
be　really　hot　and　core；'〃　says　Tropiano；　〃and　then　let　go　of　the　things　that　you　can　
outsource；　and　free　up　those　funds　and　focus　on　the　

projects　that　could　one　day　be　part　of　your　core　competency。　For　the　average　company；　
you　are　doing　well　if　25　percent　is　core　competency　and　strategic　and　really　
differentiating；　and　the　rest　you　may　continue　to　do　and　try　to　improve　or　you　may　
outsource。〃　
I　first　got　interested　in　this　phenomenon　when　an　Internet　business　news　headline　
caught　my　eye：　〃HP　bags　150　million　India　bank　contract。〃　The　story　on　
Computerworld。com　（February　25；　2004）　quoted　a　statement　by　HP　saying　that　it　had　
inked　a　ten…year　outsourcing　contract　with　the　Bank　of　India　in　Mumbai。　The　150　
million　contract　was　the　largest　ever　won　by　HP　Services　in　the　Asia…Pacific　region；　
according　to　Natarajan　Sundaram；　head　of　marketing　for　HP　Services　India。　The　deal　
called　for　HP　to　implement　and　manage　a　core　banking　system　across　750　Bank　of　India　
branches。　〃This　is　the　first　time　we　at　HP　are　looking　at　the　outsourcing　of　the　core　
banking　function　in　the　Asia…Pacific　region；〃　said　Sundaram。　Several　multinational　
companies　competed　for　the　contract；　including　IBM。　Under　the　contract；　HP　would　take　
charge　of　data　warehousing　and　document…imaging　technology；　telebanking；　Internet　
banking；　and　automated　teller　machines　for　the　whole　bank　chain。　
Other　stories　explained　that　the　Bank　of　India　had　been　facing　increasing　competition　
from　both　public…　and　private…sector　banks　and　multinational　corporations。　It　
realized　that　it　needed　to　adopt　Web…based　banking；　standardize　and　upgrade　its　
computer　systems；　lower　its　transaction　costs；　and　generally　become　more　
customer…friendly。　So　it　did　what　any　other　multinational　would　do…it　gave　itself　
a　chest　X…ray　and　decided　to　outsource　all　the　funtions　it　did　not　believe　were　part　
of　its　core　competency　or　that　it　simply　did　not　have　the　internal　skills　to　do　at　
the　highest　level。　
Still；　when　the　Bank　of　India　decides　to　outsource　its　back　room　to　an　American…owned　
computer　company；　well；　that　just　seemed　too　weird　for　words。　〃Run　that　by　me　again；〃　
I　said；　rubbing　my　eyes。　〃HP；　the　folks　I　call　when　my　printer　breaks；　won　the　
outsourcing　contract　for　managing　the　back　room　of　India's　750…branch　state…owned　
bank？　What　in　the　world　does　Hewlett…Packard　know　about　running　the　backroom　systems　
of　an　Indian　bank？〃　


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Out　of　curiosity；　I　decided　to　visit　the　HP　headquarters　in　Palo　Alto　to　find　out。　
There；　I　met　Maureen　Conway；　HP's　vice　president　for　emerging　market　solutions；　and　
put　the　above　question　directly　to　her。　
〃How　did　we　think　we　could　take　our　internal　capabilities　and　make　them　good　for　other　
people？〃　she　answered　rhetorically。　In　brief；　she　explained；　HP　is　constantly　hosting　
customer　visits；　where　its　corporate　clients　come　to　its　headquarters　and　see　the　
innovations　that　HP　has　brought　to　managing　its　own　information　systems。　Many　of　those　
customers　go　away　intrigued　at　how　this　big　company　has　adapted　itself　to　the　flat　
world。　How；they　ask；did　HP；　which　once　had　eighty…seven　different　supply　chains…each　
managed　vertically　and　independently；　with　its　own　hierarchy　of　managers　and　
back…office　support…compress　them　into　just　five　supply　chains　that　manage　50　
billion　in　business；　and　in　which　functions　like　accounting；　billing；　and　human　
resources　are　handled　through　a　companywide　system？　What　computers　and　business　
processes　did　HP　install　to　consolidate　all　this　efficiently？　HP；　which　does　business　
in　178　countries；　used　to　handle　all　its　accounts　payable　and　receivable　for　each　
individual　country　in　that　country。　It　was　totally　chopped　up。　Just　in　the　last　couple　
of　years；　HP　created　three　transaction…processing　hubs…in　Bangalore；　Barcelona；　and　
Guadalajara…with　uniform　standards　and　special　work　flow　software　that　allowed　HP　
offices　in　all　178　countries　to　process　all　billing　functions　through　these　three　
hubs。　
Seeing　the　reaction　of　its　customers　to　its　own　internal　operations；　HP　said　one　day；　
〃Hey；　why　don't　we　commercialize　this？〃　Said　Conway；　〃That　became　the　nucleus　of　our　
business　process　outsourcing　service　。　。　。　We　were　doing　our　own　chest　X…rays　and　
discovered　we　had　assets　that　other　people　cared　about；　and　that　is　a　business。〃　
In　other　words；　the　flattening　of　the　world　was　both　the　disease　and　the　cure　for　
the　Bank　of　India。　It　clearly　could　not　keep　up　with　its　competitors　in　the　flattening　
banking　environment　of　India；　and；　at　the　same　time；　it　was　able　to　get　a　chest　X…ray　
and　then　outsource　to　HP　all　those　things　that　it　no　longer　made　sense　to　do　itself。　
And　HP；　having　done　its　own　chest　X…ray；　discovered　that　it　was　carrying　a　whole　new　
consulting　business　inside　its　breast。　Sure；　most　of　the　work　for　the　Bank　of　India　
will　
360　
be　done　by　HP　employees　in　India　or　Bank　of　India　employees　who　will　actually　join　
HP。　But　some　of　the　profits　will　find　their　way　back　to　the　mother　ship　in　P