创业与职业化管理.doc

创业与职业化管理 Paul Contomichalos 简介百时美施贵宝公司前任董事长兼总裁、百润公司联合创始人及董事长9月24日通过MBA课程的学习，我们懂得了如何高效地运作一个组织，但却并一定能够充分了解如何创业和实施组织创新。而这正是百时美施贵宝公司前任董事长兼总裁、百润公司联合创始人及董事长Paul Contomichalos先生在2003年9月24日中欧管理论坛上的演讲主旨。 Contomichalos先生与大家共享了他在BMS公司以及新近创建的百润公司中获得的经验，并就职业经理人与创业企业家之间的差异阐释了自己的观点。此外，他还结合创造自身商业模式的过程，提供了一些相关性的建议，主要包括如何创建新企业，如何形成清晰的思路、建立强有力的团队、树立重视分析的意识等重要问题。 Entrepreneur vs. Professional Manager(Excerpts from a speech given at CEIBS by Paul Contomichalos. Content rights reserved by the speaker and CEIBS. Use of the content must be with the prior approval from CEIBS.) Paul Contomichalos (Biography)Former Chairman & President of Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMS) China, Co-Founder and Chairman of Profex Inc. Sept. 24, 2003As we all know, when were in business, its not only successes but therere lots of experiences including some failure that we can learn from. But I would talk about and elaborate about my experience on the subject of Entrepreneur vs. Professional Manager. Ive thought a lot about this topic. Let me start by saying, first of all, Im very thrilled to be here, because Ive known CEIBS started in the year when I came to China in 1994, right? So it was an early mover as a university. Thats why you have a kind of good faculty experience, professionals, great reputation which leads to great careers and great jobs. So youre a special audience because first of all youre smart, because you chose CEIBS. And those of you who didnt go to CEIBS and are here, you are also smart, because you chose to come this afternoon or this evening. I want to warn you something that I like to ask questions. Even though I have these slides, I still want to ask some questions. Some of you I know, so I may pick on you if no one wants to answer my question. Let me start with this question - who from the audience knows me? And by knows let me define - I mean, Have we worked together? Or had a coffee together, or had a drink together? Let me see. Put your hands up. No one knows me? How many are you? Let me count. Ok, so quite a few of you. So, as Pro. Zhang kindly mentioned, my name is Paul Contomichalos; Im originally from Greece; Born and grew up in Athens and then went to the United States for an MBA degree. And then came to China - Ill talk a little bit about my experience and career. The topic Im going to be addressing is one Ive spent a lot of time thinking about. And its a big decision to make - to make the transition from a corporate kind environment to a more entrepreneurial environment. So what I would like to do is share some of my experiences over time, what I have learned in and also hopefully we can both- yourselves and me - learn from the process because I like to constantly learn and gain new experience. So lets start by a kind of definition so well have a little bit of a common language, because people can use different definitions. What is a professional manager and what is an entrepreneur? The way Id like to look at it is that the professional manager is someone within an existing, in many cases, it could be a public company. It doesnt matter what your position is. It could be a manager, a director, general manager, a president, CEO It doesnt matter. But its someone working within this environment. For the balance of my presentation, I would call this company manager, this person. So when I talk about company manager I will talk about people within an existing company and in most cases public. Now, entrepreneur is not only someone who starts a business in my opinion, or a member of a start-up team. For example, if in a new company, you are the first holding a position, youre very entrepreneurial. So it could be a member of a start-up team, either within a big company or possibly within a smaller organisation. So thats how I will refer to this and obviously that would be an entrepreneur. Lets look now at the role and responsibility of a company manager. A company manager can be the plant manager for IBM, or can be the marketing head for LOral or Bristol Meyer. Entrepreneur is anyone who works in an environment of their own. So the role I see as a company manager is to do everything within your control to maximise value to shareholders, right? That is within the area of your responsibility. So you work in a team with other members. And you have a defined area that you are responsible for. Now when you are an entrepreneur, its quite different. Because entrepreneurs build business to fulfill personal goals. That is the reason they create businesses. Thats quite different. Its not good or bad, only different. Lets look at the scope of a company manager vs. an entrepreneur. For example, lets take, which company, lets take Dell, Dell Computers, today. The way they define their business if you are working for them youll see what business is Dell in - computers. So they are in the computer business. And what is the core competence of Dell? Supply chain? Anything else? Service? OK So if you are working in China for Dell, you work within this environment, this pre-defined framework or parameters. If you are working for Dell in China, you have an idea of creating an Internet coffee using Dell computers, do you think headquarters would buy this idea? Im not picking on Dell. But its very, very difficult because you work within a defined framework which has been set by the corporation youre working with. And thats your own. When Michael Dell started Dell, he was an entrepreneur. In fact, he was quintessential entrepreneur. And at that time he defined what the company would look like, what capabilities the company will have and so on. I dont know Michael Dell, But he probably thought at that time, what business do we want to be in? Because these was an unlimited opportunity of businesses for them to be in - and subsequently, what capabilities do we like to develop? Those are the questions the entrepreneur asks which are quite different form the questions a company manager will ask. And again for the entrepreneur the options, think about it, are vast. Because you are creating something from scratch. So the options as to where we want to play, what are the key competencies we want to develop are unlimited. And thats why it is overwhelming sometimes, because the most difficult thing to do is to decide what not to do, not what to do, because the opportunities are vast, so sometimes deciding what not to do is most difficult to do. In a new company being focusing and insuring the success of the things we do is the most important.Lets look a little bit more in depth at each of these two areas. Lets start with the company manager. And I have spent 15 years with Bristol Meyer Squibb, had different positions with them, but with one company working in different countries with different jobs. I have seen a lot of types of people within one company. Ive seen bureaucrats. What is a bureaucrat? Bureaucrat is someone who whatever you tell them, they say it cant be done, right? Or, can not find the way to do it. So we have a lot of bureaucrats. We have people who say its not my job. You try to do something and they only look at their job description very, very strictly and they do not want to go even a step beyond that. Because maybe its risky, maybe they do not want to take that risk, or maybe they are lazy. So we have those types of people. What are the other people we have? We have those who want to keep the boss happy. So they anticipate what the boss want, so I give them what they want. So we have those people too. It gets better I guess. We have efficient managers. What are the efficient managers? They are people that do things in the right way. When they have a task, they will do it well, and they will do it in the right way. And those are absolutely crucial to any organisation. We also have seen that we have business builders - people that find new ways that create businesses within big companies and obviously if youre working in China and youre the first one in China starting a business is easier, but again we have people we have the mindset of building or creating businesses. And we also have pioneers and people who are very entrepreneurial within big companies or small companies but anyway corporation. We have people with an entrepreneurial mind and a pioneering kind of spirit. So we can see all kinds of people. And I guess if you are sitting in the audience you think you are towards the left of this, never think about becoming an entrepreneur stay with a big company, because at least maybe there is a way to survive. But if youre on the right, you like to build things, you like to create, you like to innovate, maybe at some point of your career, its a right thing to look at an entrepreneurial kind of job - starting a company or being part of the start-up team. Obviously, we all know - a lot of you have put up your hands and youre working with big companies - the benefit that we have can be quite lucrative and also rewarding. So, we have generally package salary compensation. If were doing good, our career development is usually quite good. We can get promotion, because corporations or big companies have a lot of businesses that we can get promoted in. And there is relative job security. I put the word relative because there is no such thing as job security. But at least if you are working with a 20-billion dollar company, chances are they will be around. You never know. So there is lower risk. There is generally very good training, exposure to new areas, its prestige, image working for a good company no doubt. And then very, very important, we have access to a lot of resources of the corporation. That is probably for those of you who have ventured out to become entrepreneurs, or those of you who will one day, youll find that is something sometime we underestimate the corporate resources and the systems, structures the company may have. So in summary, generally speaking, if were performing well, if were doing well, we have relatively good package were offered as a member, a performing member - Im not saying people that dont do their jobs - but if you are performing and performing adequately in a big company. Not too bad. Now, question - being a company manager, whom is it for? Everyone? Some people? What do you think? Shareholders? OK Why isnt it for everyone? I think it is. Those are all correct points. It depends on when you are in your career stage. But I firmly believe its for everyone. Because everyone should gain experience and you know you can argue, Why do you say that? Bill Gates, I think he dropped out of school or whatever and started Microsoft and he is now the richest person in the world. So why should people go through or have a corporate experience? Yes, but how many Bill Gates are there and how many people who did that you dont know about because they ended up probably not doing too well. There are a lot of those examples. The statistics show that people who start companies with the relevant experience and track record generally do much, much better. So you are here because you have thought about, maybe you have in mind deliberated entrepreneur, you said how does company life compare with entrepreneurial life or big company life. So I guess a key question is for how long, or is it for life? Ive talked with a lot of people that say Ive been thinking about starting a business, but they havent taken the action. And its a difficult decision. So thats a key question I think for every one at some point in your career. Its probably the bigger decision youll have to make in a way. Because the goal from IBM to Dell, from LOral to a competitor or so on, or from Bristol Meyer Squibb to Johnson and Johnson is a relatively easier decision, because if you are working within an environment. But starting a company is a bigger decision, and usually you make it once, because either you succeed you continue; you fail, then you do something else. So its a very, very big decision in all our careers. Lets turn focus to the entrepreneur and look at entrepreneur Let me remind you, an entrepreneur is someone who builds, if you build your own business. Again, he thinks about at what area, what type of business and what capabilities. But the key is you do it to fulfill needs and goals. The options are unlimited. So the scope of this kind of venture is really vast. It can be at times overwhelming. Now, I firmly believe that the most important thing that people started businesses or are part of team, they dont know why they are doing it. Let me explain what I mean. This is not my opinion. This is from some reading Ive done. People quote the following reasons of starting a business. One is to control my own destiny. And the second is make money. Now, again this is from some reading Ive done, these reasons are extremely general and vague, because what does it mean to control my destiny or make money? You have to go deeper - peel the onion, as I like to look at it. So control my destiny. What do you want? The satisfaction of a long-term creation? You want to write history, do something new, novel, pioneering? Become a case study at CEIBS because you created some new business? You want to be the boss? Because some people say, I want to be the boss, my own boss. Do you do it because you want a flexible schedule so you dont want to have to go work 9-5? And then what sacrifice do you have to make now that you are prepared to make them. These are very important points. I will discuss them a little bit more. Make money. People say, Oh, I want to get rich. What does it mean - make money? You want to make quick money? Money immediately? You want to make enough money to be able to maintain your life style? Having your car and servant at home or whatever? Or you want to make big money, huge money later. Those questions are very, very, very important. You may find if you talk to people or maybe if you think of yourself you need to understand why. Because that will drive what type of business you want to start and so on. And let me explain what I mean by that. These are very, very different reasons for people to start their company. So, when and only when you have decided the why and you have clarified and crystallised in your mind, then you look at what type of business do you need to build or be part of to fulfill the goals you have. And there are 3 types of entrepreneurial ventures Id like to call them. There is quick profit. And Ill talk about it. So there is a quick profit entrepreneur. There is a life style entrepreneur. And there is a sustainable value entrepreneur. Very, very different, and Ill discuss why. You may start to get the idea. OK, lets look at type, size and so on. Lets start with quick profit. What could a quick profit type of company? Anyone? Restaurant. OK. Lets see. Trading is an example, right? Import, export. The size is a small-scale type business. That relies squarely on the founder or the founders of the company. And you have immediate money. For example, if you have a friend in Singapore and theyre looking for refrigerator in China - I just make it up - and you know someone in China you find the source; you buy it in one RMB; you sell it in one and a half. You make quick money, right? Immediate money. You dont invest. Thats an example of a business. Obviously, thats a very small scale business. But they could be restaurant, they could be other businesses. Business is basically that you dont need to invest a lot behind. Now, life style could be services, could be an advertising company, could be a consulting company. Again, relatively small scaled. By the way, a lot of these businesses can become big businesses. Dont misunderstand me. But statistics show that most of these businesses remain small type businesses. Yes, there are big companies. But the majority of the start-ups remain small companies. Why? Because they rely on the founders. And they dont build the scale as is necessary. In this case, the payoff is enough money to maintain the life style I want to have. Now lets look at the sustainable value, which is a quite different type of company. Now, here it could be in any area. And it could be a trading, an import, export or service company. But it is any business that has proprietary assets. Some value that could be protected over time. What could be proprietary assets? Patents? Exactly. Trademarks, new technology that you can protect. A brand. If you build a brand in consumer, it could take a little longer, but if you build a very strong brand name, you have that proprietary asset. Or it could be a network of customers that you have some relationship that you have built over time, and so on. But you need to have a proprietary asset. Again, here companies tend to go from medium-sized - they dont start as medium-sized, but they have the potential to be large companies. Again, here you dont rely on the founder or the founders of the company, but you rely on the start-up team and the infrastructure. Its a different type of animal. I guess the payoff I like to think about it as the immortality of creation, the fact that you build, you create something that lasts for a long, long time. And something that is very, very important is, there is big payoff as far as money later through selling the company, or through having shares of the company that becomes very big, in most cases public company. So, you can see that these are very, very different. And again, let me reiterate it doesnt mean that every business that is service or import falls in this category. But again, generally speaking, its those type of companies that fall in the Quick Profit and Life Style area. So, think about the previous point that I was making about the why. Why do you want to start the company? You need to be very clear. Because these are very differen