Saturday, October 27, 2007

課程總結-科技和策略

這個學期轉眼間就三分之二結束了,有一些課只上二十個個案,其餘的就用寫報告的方式結束,也沒有期中考,科技和策略就是這樣一個課程,今天結束了最後一堂課。這門課專門講科技產業的策略,課程由David Yoffie教授規劃,Andri Hagiu主講。Yoffie身為Intel的獨立董事,在科技業的人脈聲望都相當雄厚,所以幾乎我們每一堂可都可以請到CEO來現身說法,解答大家的疑問。

這個學期有來的包括了網路電視Brightcove的CEO-Jeremy Allaire, Rambus記憶體公司的Harold Hughes, 企業軟體公司SAP的資深副總裁Zia Yusuf, 3G通信新霸主Qualcomm的董事長Dr. Irwin Jacobs, 號稱下一個微軟的VMWare CEO - Diane Greene,還有正在爭取美國新的電信頻率700MHz的前FCC總裁Reed E Hundt, 及硬碟錄影機的領導品牌TiVo CEO Tom Rogers。其中我最欣賞的是Intel的CEO Otellini(雖然他不是來上課,是來徵才的),但是就把他算在裡面啦,非常平易近人,一點都不像大公司的老闆。

今天最後一堂課,老師傳統上要給我們一些人生的大道理。今天的主題是-如何在這一個無限頻寬,免費通訊(Skype),透過搜尋引擎可以低價接觸到所有用戶的時代裡找到創造價值的機會?

怎麼樣才算是一個成功的科技公司呢?
  1. 成功的科技公司要有遠大的願景(比爾蓋茲三十年前就想要每個人的桌上都有微軟)
  2. 成功的科技公司創造既深且廣的生態系統,驅使協力廠商為他們創造更多價值(WinTel)
  3. 成功的科技公司擁有專利並且從中獲利(Qualcomm)
  4. 成功的科技公司用創意結合不同的功能,改變市場(Apple)
Yoffie教授通往成功策略的五大常識法則
  1. 獨一無二-追隨別人的策略很少成功(說到不要盲從,請看巴菲特給股東的信
  2. 創造價值-成功的產品除了硬體之外還有服務,智財和整個產業生態系統
  3. 傳達價值-無法被客戶了解的價值毫無意義
  4. 勇敢創新-除了勇敢冒險突破之外別無成功之路
  5. 持續不懈-只有一直進步才能免於被競爭者超越
另外教授引用了一段關於教育的名言,很能代表哈佛的教育風格,我很喜歡。

William Johnson Cory (quoted in Lyttelton Hart-Davis Letters, ed. Rupert Hart-Davis, 2 (1979) 19-20.

"At school you are engaged not so much in acquiring knowledge as in making mental efforts under criticism. A certain amount of knowledge you can indeed with average faculties acquire so as to retain; nor need you regret the hours you spent on much that is forgotten, for the shadow of lost knowledge at least protects you from many illusions. But you go to a great school not so much for knowledge as for arts and habits; for the habit of attention, for the art of expression, for the art of assuming at a moment's notice a new intellectual position, for the art of entering quickly into another person's thoughts, for the habit of submitting to censure and refutation, for the art of indicating assent or dissent in graduated terms, for the habit of regarding minute points of accuracy, for the art of working out what is possible in a given time, for taste, for discrimination, for mental courage, and for mental soberness."

中文翻譯

(照片是Intel CEO歐得寧)

1 comment:

gInA said...

This is a great essay Michael. It came at a time most needed - right after my finals when I'm seriously doubting the purpose of my existance in HBS...

I always look forward to your insightful essays. Keep them coming!