微軟告別戾氣 不再試圖消滅高新企業

When I ran software companies in the late 1990s, my peers and I both hoped for, and dreaded, meetings with Microsoft.

上世紀90年代末，當我掌管軟件企業的時候，我的同行和我一方面希望與微軟(Microsoft)會面，另一方面又害怕與它會面。

The prospect of being acquired and making real Money — that was tempting. But little fame and glory would follow. Chances were high that the technology would be bought in order to kill it; partnering and collaboration were decidedly and pointedly not the name of the game.

被收購，掙到真金白銀——這樣的前景十分誘人。然而，接下來不會有什麼名譽和榮耀。很可能發生的情況是，微軟收購該技術的目的，就是爲了將其扼殺；合夥與合作明擺着是不存在的。

How things have changed.

今非昔比了。

Since chief executive Satya Nadella was appointed in February 2014, Microsoft has become a far more open place. Many in the tech world thought the sky had fallen in when Kirk Koenigsbauer, vice-president of Microsoft’s Office 365, appeared on stage at an Apple product launch. But that was indicative of a whole new mindset: instead of trying to eliminate every other tech company on the planet, these days Microsoft wants friends. Partnerships abound: Dropbox hosts billions of Office 365 documents, while Skype and Salesforce are integrated into Office productivity apps.

自2014年2月薩蒂亞•納德拉(Satya Nadella)被任命爲首席執行官以來，微軟已變得開放多了。當微軟Office 365的副總裁柯克•柯尼希斯鮑爾(Kirk Koenigsbauer)出現在蘋果(Apple)產品推介會的舞臺上時，技術圈的很多人都感覺太陽打西邊出來了。不過，這顯示了一種全新的思維：如今，微軟不再試圖消滅地球上其他每一個高科技企業，它也想結交朋友了。微軟與許多企業達成了合作：Dropbox上存有大量Office 365的文檔，而Skype和Salesforce也被集成進了Office的效率應用。

Acquisitions are done differently too. Where acquired businesses were once shut down, now they are tapped for wisdom and insight. Founders of acquired companies are taken seriously as entrepreneurs, their views canvassed not just about Microsoft’s products but about its culture too. Where once founders were deemed a threat, now their position as entrepreneurial outsiders is seen as an asset, an opportunity to learn and to refresh both culture and know-how.

完成收購的方式也不同了。微軟曾經把收購來的企業關閉，如今卻會利用這些企業的智慧和洞察力。微軟把被收購企業的創始人當做創業家認真對待，不僅徵詢他們對微軟產品的看法，還徵詢他們對微軟企業文化的看法。微軟曾經將這些企業創始人視爲威脅，如今將他們作爲外部創業者的立場視爲一份財富，認爲有機會從中學到東西、更新企業文化和相關專業技術。

Anyone who has been part of an acquisition knows that, however strategic such moves may be, what makes them succeed or fail is how well the two cultures fit. So most companies insist that the newcomer conforms to the ways of its acquirer. Microsoft’s approach is both harder and potentially richer: recognising in its acquisitions the opportunity to reinvigorate itself and its place in the world.

任何參與過收購的人都知道，不論這種舉動有怎樣的戰略意義，結果成功與否都取決於兩者的企業文化是否匹配。因此，多數企業堅持讓被併購的新來者遵從收購方的行爲方式。微軟的處理方法則更困難一些，可能也會帶來更多回報：它在其收購交易中發現爲自身重注活力和提振自己全球地位的機會。

You could say that the cultural transformation at Microsoft has replaced fortress walls with a porous membrane: a dynamic relationship between the company and the markets it serves, because that is the only way companies stay young and relevant.

可以說，微軟的文化轉型是用透氣的薄膜代替了城牆，這個透氣的薄膜就是微軟與其所服務市場間的動態關係。微軟這麼做的原因是，這是企業保持青春和市場地位的唯一方式。

Most companies I know today are attempting something similar. Daunted by the pace of change, they are trying to become more adaptive: less obsessed with planning, more concerned with flexibility. At Microsoft, this is framed as a shift from a fixed mindset — one that depends on a few superstars — to a growth mindset, in which everyone must be open to learning from everything and from each other.

如今，我瞭解的多數企業都在試圖採取類似做法。變革的節奏之快令他們害怕，他們試圖提高適應能力：不再那麼執着於規劃，而是更關心靈活性。在微軟，這種做法被表述爲從固定式理念轉向增長式理念。固定式理念依賴於少數幾位超級巨星，而在增長式理念下，每個人都必須願意從任何事物和彼此身上學習。

This shift is in line with Mr Nadella’s overall strategy: one in which all technology moves to the cloud and works seamlessly with any and every kind of software. To be a company that can do this requires people who can work effectively with all kinds of technology and all kinds of people. So the company has to be inclusive — both technologically and culturally. And because the technology environment changes at a furious pace, people must be able to do likewise.

這一轉變符合納德拉的總體戰略：按照該戰略，所有技術都要轉向雲端，與任何一種軟件都能無縫協作。要成爲能做到這一點的企業，需要能夠與各種各樣的技術和人有效協作的人才。因此，微軟必須具有包容性——不論是在技術上還是在企業文化上。而且，由於整個科技大環境正在急速轉變，人也必須能夠迅速地改變自己。

“Transformation has to start with you,” says Michel Van der Bel, chief executive of Microsoft UK, argues.

微軟英國首席執行官米海爾•範德貝爾(Michel Van der Bel)聲稱：“轉型必須從自身開始。”

In the past, Mr Van der Bel told me, performance was all about numbers. If the numbers were great, only at the end of a good third quarter might you start thinking about corporate culture.

過去，範德貝爾曾告訴我，業績只與數字有關。如果數字表現優異，只有在業績良好的第三季度末，人們可能纔會開始考慮企業文化的問題。

But not now. “Now,” he says, “you have to perform and transform at the same time, all the time. Sitting in your office looking at spreadsheets won’t help you meet your numbers. You have to get out, talk to partners, to customers — directly. You have to think about: what have you done differently in your behaviour that makes the company better? What are you learning?”

不過，如今的情況並非如此。他說：“如今，任何時候都必須在保證業績的同時進行轉型。坐在辦公室盯着電子表格不會有助於完成業績目標。你必須走出去，與合作伙伴、與客戶——面對面地——對話。你必須思考這樣的問題：你對自己的行爲方式做出的什麼改變讓公司變得更好了？你正在學到什麼？”

Mr Van der Bel carries an iPhone. It is OK to be curious and informed about other companies’ products. He is learning, he says, that for everyone else to change, they have to see change in their leaders immediately. “It starts with you. You must always show up energised and open. Annual surveys are a thing of the past; you have to get a sense of pulse on a weekly basis. I’m much more thoughtful about which meetings I attend, how I add value. You have to get out more and listen more.”

範德貝爾帶着一部iPhone手機。對其他公司的產品保持好奇和了解是完全沒有問題的。他說，他正在學到的是，要想讓其他人改變，必須讓他們一眼看到領導身上的變化。“改變從自身開始。你必須始終顯得精力充沛並且思想開放。那種一年一度的調查已經是過去式了。你必須每週都去了解。對於我要開什麼會，如何貢獻價值，我的想法更多了。你必須更多地走出去，更多地聽取他人的意見。”

No one at Microsoft believes they have got it all right and, given the task they have set themselves, change never ends. With acquisitions such as its $26bn deal for LinkedIn, no doubt the company is due another dose of honest feedback. But at least this time, Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s chief executive, is less likely to fear being relegated to the broom cupboard — and a lot more likely to be talking to the board.

在微軟，沒有人認爲自己全做對了。而且，考慮到他們爲自己制定的任務，改變是永遠不會結束的。像260億美元收購領英(LinkedIn)這樣的交易，無疑又會讓微軟得到一劑真誠的反饋。不過，至少現在領英首席執行官傑夫•韋納(Jeff Weiner)不太可能擔心被打入冷宮，更可能出現的，是他會與微軟的董事會對話。