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In fact, Louis Pratt, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is not even 60 years old and can serve for a few more years. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

However, in the case of Hewlett-Packard's founder William Wheelett being old and declining, and David Puckerd has died, some of HP's insistences can no longer withstand the pressure from the outside world.

Louis Pratt, for example, is not well received by investors. Gain, the HP he leads, has performed too steadily and made lackluster profits in the past few years since it entered the Internet wave.

In the past, HP could explain that low-key is its own style; But now Wall Street is not agreeing.

Other houses are in turmoil, how can you take a leisurely stroll!

Under these circumstances, Louis Pratt offered to resign this year and abdicate to make way for Xian.

It stands to reason that HP, which is a veteran witness to Silicon Valley, must be full of talent, and it is not a problem to choose a successor from within.

Indeed, a popular candidate has emerged from within HP, Ann Livermore, who has been with HP since 1982 and promoted to vice president in 1995.

To some extent, Ann Livermore's inclusion in the list of candidates for CEO is HP's refutation of questions about its rigid and aging system and its disconnection with the times.

In Silicon Valley, and indeed in the United States as a whole, there are very few female executives.

Louis Pratt has made a lot of improvements in this regard. Widowed in 1981 and raising two young daughters on his own, he empathized with many popular initiatives to humanize employees, which is also in line with HP's long-standing corporate culture.

It was against this backdrop that Ann Livermore rose from a marketing role to vice president and became a role model for women in the workplace.

If Ann Livermore does take over HP, it will undoubtedly send a message to the outside world: HP is not holding on to its shortcomings, but is always evolving with the times.

I have to say that Louis Pratt's abdication to make way for Xian laid out quite painstakingly.

But Wall Street isn't buying it.

Ann Livermore has been with HP for almost 20 years, and naturally she is deeply influenced by the corporate culture of HP Way, and if she becomes CEO, she will definitely stick to the same old ways.

What's more, HP's management is still overwhelmed, and Wall Street is unable to exert its most effective influence directly.

Because of this fundamental contradiction of interests. HP didn't do anything else this year, and was busy with the political ~ political struggle within the company.

In the end, Wall Street made a big move.

Didn't HP play the card of Ann Livermore, a female business executive, then, as you wish, find someone from the outside and parachute a female business executive with a brighter star halo.

As a result, Carrie Fiorina, who successfully completed the spin-off of Lucent from AT&T, was selected and sent to Silicon Valley.

Just like Carrie Fiorina, who is a star in the entertainment industry and is favored by Wall Street, she suddenly sat on the altar and became the first female CEO of a company in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was interpreted by the media as a sign that women broke through the ceiling of the workplace.

It's just that this kind of star-making movement triggered by the company's political ~ political struggle is very expensive.

Carrie Fiorina, who had been at Lucent for a long time, has to be compensated for her move to HP. As a result, she was given 65 million restricted HP shares.

In addition, there are 3 million signing bonuses, 1 million annual salaries and annual bonuses of 1.25 to 3.75 times, as well as 36,000 loan assistance, moving allowances, etc., and even personal affairs can be handled with company aircraft.

In short, Hewlett-Packard paid a fortune for a big star who was paid more than any previous CEO, including its two founders, William Wilytt and David Puckert; If Ann Livermore had been promoted internally to become CEO, it would have saved a lot of money.

Carrie Feorina, who can be described as both fame and fortune, is naturally loyal to the Wall Street benefactor who promoted her, rather than the few remaining agents of the Wheelett family's influence in HP.

Mr. The richest man hopes in his heart that HP can resist the harvest of Wall Street's "pig raising and killing pigs"; Even, he quietly supported behind his back.

But unfortunately, Louis Pratt did not have the posture of a hero, and after a few rounds of fighting, he was disheartened and lazy and had the idea of retreating; Hewlett-Packard's founding family was a dou who couldn't support him, and in the end, it was Wall Street that seized control of HP.

As John Chambers reminded, after the fall of HP, Fangyuan and Zheru Software in the Tang IT Kingdom will definitely be the next coveted target.

This is also a big reason why, even though the monopoly case of the United States of America v. Zheru Software has been suspended again, Tang Huan can take advantage of this gap to go to China on the other side of the Pacific Ocean to enjoy the heroic performance of the 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China, but one of the major reasons why he stayed in San Francisco.

Needless to say, Mr. the richest man is also afraid that at this delicate time, there will be a moth in the middle of the day.

Seeing that Tang Huan immediately understood the meaning of his words, John Chambers asked tentatively: "The anti-monopoly lawsuit of Zheru Software Company has been delayed until the end of the year; But next year is still coming, what will happen then? ”

Although John Chambers is an absolute hardcore confidant, the richest man still has to keep his true intentions about him.

Not for anything else, it's the art of leadership.

What's more, forcing his subordinates to accompany him to "bungee jumping" in the magnificent era is also a bit difficult for strongmen.

Tang Huan replied slowly: "Today, Fangyuan's computer standards have been firmly established, even without the cooperation of Zheru Software Company, it can lead the industry to develop together. ”

"Moreover, the change in name from 'Fangyuan Computer' to 'Fangyuan' is also a reminder to you that the company's business scope should not be limited to the computer field."

"As for Zheru Software, even if the worst outcome comes, it's not a big deal. After all, kingship does not last forever, and we can at least get out of it with our whole body. ”

Savoring the words of the richest man, John Chambers had a complicated look on his face, ranging from the relief of not having to accompany the madman to the cliff, and the reluctance to give up his ambition to dominate the business.

Tang Huan, who had all this in his eyes, finally smiled loudly, "No matter what, I won't let my momentary thoughts put my followers in danger." ”

……

Among the many backquarters of the richest man, there is definitely a different form of "eggs are not put in one basket".

Apple Computer, for example, is taking over a series of resources poured into Zheru.

After the iPod was officially launched in October last year, sales exceeded 200,000 units in that Christmas quarter. In the first quarter of this year, sales reached 120,000 units; Sales remained at about the same level for the next two quarters.

There is no doubt that just like the dawn of personal computers more than ten years ago, Apple's Apple-II shined, and in the current digital music market, Apple's iPod has achieved a leading role ~ Sao, and it can definitely afford to be a big success.

With such a good result, Apple Computer will definitely continue to make a big fuss about the iPod and tirelessly push the old and innovate.

As the first anniversary of the iPod generation is approaching, it is no surprise that Apple Computer will launch the second generation of the iPod with higher hardware specifications and better operating experience.

However, Apple Computer did not stop there, it also launched a new iPod, and Jobs specially invited the richest man to visit it.

After Tang Huan arrived at Apple Computer, he saw that Jobs, like his executives, was complaining about the report, why the cost of electricity had risen so much.

California's drastic power sector reforms include a number of initiatives, one of which is a ban on "long-term wholesale electricity prices."

Now, the negative impact on California's business, industry, and other fields is beginning to be felt.

California's local power supply companies, such as Pacific Watt Electric, are obviously in decline, while out-of-state energy giants like Enron have begun to control the right to speak, and there are too many excuses for their price increases, and they are all high-sounding, so that ordinary people do not know where to refute them.

Guy, these excuses are all facts.

California has had a dry climate this year, and while agriculture is more than enough to cope with the situation, hydropower plants have inevitably been affected.

This year is still very hot, and the peak of electricity consumption has reached a new high.

Now, the price of oil and natural gas has begun to rise, and Enron, which has become the main power supply in California, will of course pass on this cost to users to share.

All in all, I'm going to raise the price, and you can only bear it.

Jobs was annoyed that Apple Computer had managed to get out of the predicament with great difficulty, and the iPod, which had been exploited by factors such as Zheru's patents and music licenses from record companies, also made a little money, but had to suffer from high electricity prices.

He asked stupidly, "Zheru seems to have made great progress in the research and development of solar photovoltaics, right?" ”

"But for the urgent need, it still doesn't help, accept your fate." Tang Huan smiled slightly, and then urged: "Hurry up and show me the new ideas of the iPod." ”

"Here's a sample." Jobs handed over a small thing shaped like a USB flash drive, and introduced it decently: "It's called iPod_shuffle, and it weighs only twenty-two grams." ”

Playing with iPod_shuffle, Tang Huan pointed to the core and asked, "You replaced the microhard disk with flash memory as a storage medium?" ”

"That's true, we went with 256 MB of flash memory." Jobs nodded, "You can also see that compared to the iPod, iPod_shuffle also canceled the LCD screen and control wheel on the hardware, and canceled the address book, calendar and other functions on the internal software." So, it doesn't win by capacity, that's the task of the iPod II. ”

Tang Huan smiled playfully and asked, "What is the main selling point of the iPod_shuffle?" ”

Jobs, who was scratched in the itch, immediately happily explained, "Life_is_random - life is randomly interpreted, Give_chance_a_chance - give chance a chance." iPod_shuffle is designed to easily load a selection of songs, as well as play them in a random way, enjoying the joy of getting rid of stereotypes. ”

Mr. The richest man bowed slightly, a media player on the computer, the commonplace shuffle function, can play such a connotative trick, this is the difference between Jobs and Apple Computer.

One of the big selling points of the iPod is its fashion, and it is not difficult to imagine its popularity when big public figures, including US President Bill Clinton, use this product.

The iPod_shuffle derived from the iPod must be regarded as a low-end commodity with various shrinkage functions in the economically underdeveloped market, but in a developed market like the United States, it has completed a new cultural connotation.

Moreover, the iPod_shuffle of replacing microhard disks with flash memory will also become a real portable music player that is not afraid of environmental factors such as vibration, and is completely suitable for use during sports.

The richest man, who affirmed the market value of the iPod_shuffle, finally asked directly: "You came to me, and I must not only appreciate your creativity." Say, if there are any requirements, you need my cooperation. ”

Jobs was not polite, pointing to iPod_shuffle and said: "I want to reduce the price of iPod_shuffle to at least half of the iPod, and the key factor in this is flash memory." ”

Tang Huan said happily, "No problem, I will match you with the most high-quality and inexpensive flash memory supply chain." ”

……

Apple Computer is now fiddling with campaigns including advertising, and is getting more and more sophisticated, and the iPod second generation and iPod_shuffle have not yet been officially released, and they have hyped up and whetted the appetite of the market.

The popularity of the iPod shows that digital music players are replacing traditional tape Walkmans and CD Walkmans, and RB manufacturers, especially Sony, who are slow to respond, will undoubtedly face the fate of being eliminated.

Located in a Tokyo Metropolitan Jiseikai Central ~ Central Hospital in Minato-ku, Tokyo, 78-year-old Akio Morita has been admitted for several days because of pneumonia.

Although he withdrew from Sony's management at the end of 1993 due to a stroke, Akio Morita has been following Sony.

Like all companies that are prone to the mistake of stagnation after success, Sony, which has been cut off by the richest man in a series of projects, including lithium-ion batteries, is beginning to show its crisis.

For example, Sony's proudest Trilon picture tube, which is increasingly threatened by LCDs, has been led by Sharp.

Now, the Walkman, which has been popular all over the world for more than ten years, looks so old in front of Apple's iPod.

Feeling that the proud work he left behind, like this decayed shell, the vitality passed little by little, Akio Morita sighed gloomily.

……

Mr. The richest man was personally inquiring about the supply chain of flash memory, and Masako Wada called and said, "Akio Morita, the founder of Sony, has passed away. ”

Another famous general survived!

Tang Huan raised his eyebrows and ordered: "I can't get out of here, you can go and send the most sincere condolences on my behalf!" ”