the.world.is.flat-第44节

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the　emergence　of　a　large　cadre　of　managers；　innovators；　business　consultants；　
business　schools；　designers；　IT　specialists；　CEOs；　and　workers　to　get　comfortable　
with；　and　develop；　the　sorts　of　horizontal　collaboration　and　value…creation　processes　
and　habits　that　could　take　advantage　of　this　new；　flatter　playing　field。　In　short；　
the　convergence　of　the　ten　flatteners　begat　the　convergence　of　a　set　of　business　
practices　and　skills　that　would　get　the　most　out　of　the　flat　world。　And　then　the　two　
began　to　mutually　reinforce　each　other。　
〃When　people　asked；　'Why　didn't　the　IT　revolution　lead　to　more　productivity　right　
away？'　it　was　because　you　needed　more　than　just　new　computers；〃　saidRomer。　〃You　needed　
new　business　processes　and　new　types　of　skills　to　go　with　them。　The　new　way　of　doing　
things　makes　the　information　technologies　more　valuable；　and　the　new　and　better　
information　technologies　make　the　new　ways　of　doing　things　more　possible。〃　
Globalization　2。0　was　really　the　era　of　mainframe　computing；　which　was　very　
vertical…command…and…control　oriented；　with　companies　and　their　individual　
departments　tending　to　be　organized　in　vertical　silos。　Globalization　3。0；　which　is　
built　around　the　convergence　of　the　ten　flat179　
teners；　and　particularly　the　combination　of　the　PC；　the　microprocessor；　the　Internet；　
and　fiber　optics；　flipped　the　playing　field　from　largely　top…down　to　more　side　to　
side。　And　this　naturally　fostered　and　demanded　new　business　practices；　which　were　
less　about　command　and　control　and　more　about　connecting　and　collaborating　
horizontally。　
〃We　have　gone　from　a　vertical　chain　of　command　for　value　creation　to　a　much　more　
horizontal　chain　ofcommand　for　value　creation；〃　explained　Carly　Fiorina。　Innovations　
in　companies　like　HP；　she　said；　now　come　more　and　more　often　from　horizontal　
collaboration　among　different　departments　and　teams　spread　all　across　the　globe。　For　
instance；　HP；　Cisco；　and　Nokia　recently　collaborated　on　the　development　of　a　camera/　


cell　phone　that　beams　its　digitized　pictures　to　an　HP　printer；　which　quickly　prints　
them　out。　Each　company　had　developed　a　very　sophisticated　technological　specialty；　
but　it　could　add　value　only　when　its　specialty　was　horizontally　combined　with　the　
specialties　of　the　other　two　companies。　
〃How　you　collaborate　horizontally　and　manage　horizontally　requires　a　totally　
different　set　of　skills〃　from　traditional　top…down　approaches；　Fiorina　added。　
Let　me　offer　just　a　few　examples。　In　the　past　five　years；　HP　has　gone　from　a　company　
that　had　eighty…seven　different　supply　chains…each　managed　vertically　and　
independently；　with　its　own　hierarchy　of　managers　and　back…office　support…to　a　
company　with　just　five　supply　chains　that　manage　50　billion　in　business；　and　where　
functions　like　accounting；　billing；　and　human　resources　are　handled　through　a　
companywide　system。　
Southwest　Airlines　took　advantage　of　the　convergence　of　the　ten　flat…teners　to　create　
a　system　where　its　customers　can　download　their　boarding　passes　at　home。　But　until　
I　personally　altered　my　ticket…buying　habits　and　reengineered　myself　to　collaborate　
horizontally　with　Southwest；　this　technological　breakthrough　didn't　produce　a　
productivity　breakthrough　for　me　or　Southwest。　What　the　bizhub　commercial　is　about　
is　the　difference　between　the　employee　who　understands　the　convergent　technologies　
in　the　new　bizhub　machine　（and　how　to　get　the　most　out　of　them）　and　the　employee　in　
the　very　same　office　who　does　not。　Not　until　the　latter　

changes　his　work　habits　will　productivity　in　that　fictional　office　go　up；　even　though　
the　office　has　this　amazing　new　machine。　
Finally；　consider　the　example　of　WPP…the　second…largest　
advertising…marketing…communications　consortium　in　the　world。　WPP；　which　is　based　
in　England；　did　not　exist　as　we　now　know　it　twenty　years　ago。　It　is　a　product　of　the　
consolidation　of　some　of　the　biggest　names　in　the　business…from　Young　&　Rubicam　to　
Ogilvy　&　Mather　to　Hill　&　Knowlton。　The　alliance　was　put　together　to　capture　more　
and　more　of　big　clients'　marketing　needs；　such　as　advertising；　direct　mail；　media　
buying；　and　branding。　
〃For　years　the　big　challenge　for　WPP　was　how　to　get　its　own　companies　to　collaborate；〃　
said　Allen　Adamson；　managing　director　of　WPP's　branding　firm；　Landor　Associates。　〃Now；　
though；　it　is　often　no　longer　enough　just　to　get　the　companies　in　WPP　to　work　together　
per　se。　Increasingly；　we　find　ourselves　pulling　together　individuals　from　within　each　
of　these　companies　to　form　a　customized　collaborative　team　just　for　one　client。　The　
solution　that　will　create　value　for　that　client　did　not　exist　in　any　one　company　or　
even　in　the　traditional　integration　of　the　companies。　It　had　to　be　much　more　
specifically　tailored。　So　we　had　to　go　down　inside　the　whole　group　and　pluck　the　
individual　who　is　the　right　ad　person；　to　work　with　the　right　branding　person；　to　
work　with　the　right　media　person　for　this　particular　client。〃　
When　GE　decided　in　2003　to　spin　off　its　insurance　businesses　into　a　separate　company；　
WPP　assembled　a　customized　team　to　handle　everything　from　the　naming　of　the　new　
company…Genworth…all　the　way　down　to　its　first　advertising　campaign　and　
direct…marketing　program。　〃As　a　leader　withinthis　organization；〃　said　Adamson；　〃what　


you　have　to　do　is　figure　out　the　value　proposition　that　is　needed　for　each　client　
and　then　identify　and　assemble　the　individual　talents　within　WPP's　workforce　that　
will　in　effect　form　a　virtual　company　just　for　that　client。　In　the　case　of　GE；　we　
even　gave　a　name　to　the　virtual　collaborative　team　we　formed：　Klamath　Communications。〃　
When　the　world　went　flat；　WPP　adapted　itself　to　get　the　most　out　of　itself。　It　changed　
its　office　architecture　and　practices；　just　like　those　companies　that　adjusted　their　
steam…run　factories　to　the　electric　motor。　But　
181　
WPP　not　only　got　rid　of　all　its　walls；　it　got　rid　of　all　its　floors。　It　looked　at　
all　its　employees　from　all　its　companies　as　a　vast　pool　of　individual　specialists　
who　could　be　assembled　horizontally　into　collaborative　teams；　depending　on　the　unique　
demands　of　any　given　project。　And　that　team　would　then　become　a　de　facto　new　company　
with　its　own　name。　
It　will　take　time　for　this　new　playing　field　and　the　new　business　practices　to　be　
fully　aligned。　It's　a　work　in　progress。　But　here's　a　little　warning。　It　is　happening　
much　faster　than　you　think；　and　it　is　happening　globally。　
Remember；　this　was　a　triple　convergence！　
Convergence　III　
How　so？　Just　as　we　finished　creating　this　new；　more　horizontal　playing　field；　and　
companies　and　individuals　primarily　in　the　West　started　quickly　adapting　to　it；　3　
billion　people　who　had　been　frozen　out　of　the　field　suddenly　found　themselves　
liberated　to　plug　and　play　with　everybody　else。　
Save　for　a　tiny　minority；　these　3　billion　people　had　never　been　allowed　to　compete　
and　collaborate　before；　because　they　lived　in　largely　closed　economies　with　very　
vertical；　hierarchical　political　and　economic　structures。　I　am　talking　about　the　
people　ofChina；　India；Russia；　Eastern　Europe；Latin　America；　and　Central　Asia。　Their　
economies　and　political　systems　all　opened　up　during　the　course　of　the　1990s；　so　that　
their　people　were　increasingly　free　to　join　the　free…market　game。　And　when　did　these　
3　billion　people　converge　with　the　new　playing　field　and　the　new　processes？　Right　
when　the　field　was　being　flattened；　right　when　millions　of　them　could　compete　and　
collaborate　more　equally；　more　horizontally；　and　with　cheaper　and　more　readily　
available　tools　than　ever　before。　Indeed；　thanks　to　the　flattening　of　the　world；　many　
of　these　new　entrants　didn't　even　have　to　leave　home　to　participate。　Thanks　to　the　
ten　flatten…ers；　the　playing　field　came　to　them！　
It　is　this　triple　convergence…of　new　players；　on　a　new　playing　field；　developing　new　
processes　and　habits　for　horizontal　collaboration　…　that　I　be182　
lieve　is　the　most　important　force　shaping　global　economics　and　politics　in　the　early　
twenty…first　century。　Giving　so　many　people　access　to　all　these　tools　of　collaboration；　
along　with　the　ability　through　search　engines　and　the　Web　to　access　billions　of　pages　
of　raw　information；　ensures　that　the　next　generation　of　innovations　will　come　from　
all　over　Planet　Flat。　The　scale　of　the　global　community　that　is　soon　going　to　be　able　
to　participate　in　all　sorts　of　discovery　and　innovation　is　something　the　world　has　
simply　never　seen　before。　


Throughout　the　Cold　War　there　were　just　three　major　trading　blocs…North　America；　
Western　Europe；　and　Japan　plus　East　Asia…and　the　competition　among　the　three　was　
relatively　controlled；　since　they　were　all　Cold　War　allies　on　the　same　side　of　the　
great　global　divide。　There　were　also　still　a　lot　of　walls　around　for　labor　and　
industries　to　hide　behind。　The　wage　rates　in　these　three　trading　blocs　were　roughly　
the　same；　the　workforces　roughly　the　same　size；　and　the　education　levels　roughly　
equivalent。　〃You　had　a　gentlemanly　competition；〃　noted　Intel's　Chairman　Craig　
Barrett。　
Then　along　came　the　triple　convergence。　The　Berlin　Wall　came　down；　the　Berlin　mall　
opened　up；　and　suddenly　some　3