從其他行業(yè)尋找新創(chuàng)意，是一種實現(xiàn)戰(zhàn)略改進和突破的好方法。但通常實施起來卻很難。畢竟，按照一貫的做法、遵循行業(yè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和期望，要比參考其他行業(yè)更簡單且舒服得多。如何克服其中存在的困難，本文作者提出了一些應(yīng)對之法。? ?

現(xiàn)在企業(yè)正努力從新冠病毒流行的影響中恢復(fù)，我看到這樣一條建議廣為流傳：管理者要從其他行業(yè)尋找新創(chuàng)意。

As business scrambles to recover from the pandemic, I’ve seen one famous piece of advice doing the rounds: managers are told to?look to other industries?for fresh ideas.

經(jīng)典的例子是亨利·福特發(fā)明裝配流水線，這個靈感來自肉類加工業(yè)。屠宰場用“解體流水線”將宰殺的動物順著軌道送到負(fù)責(zé)各個步驟的工人面前，每位工人執(zhí)行特定步驟。福特把這個概念借過來，徹底改變了制造業(yè)。

The classic example is Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line, an idea he stole from the meat industry. Abbatoirs used a “dissembly line” to shunt carcasses along a steel rail from worker to worker, as each executed a specific task. Ford simply flipped the concept and revolutionized manufacturing.

像這樣向其他行業(yè)借鑒，是個不錯的主意，但我從事企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略咨詢顧問三十余年的經(jīng)驗告訴我，這種做法不一定管用。下文詳細解釋這種方法中的困難，以及應(yīng)對之法。

Looking to other industries like this is a neat idea, but my experience as a strategy consultant to businesses over three decades tells me that it doesn’t always work. In what follows, I’ll explain the challenges to the approach— and how to overcome them.

難題之一：沒有要求

Challenge 1: Lack of mandate

布萊爾是一家預(yù)拌混凝土跨國公司的工廠負(fù)責(zé)人，我問他是否會向其他行業(yè)借鑒客戶服務(wù)或定價等方面的“創(chuàng)意解決方案”，他的回答簡短且一針見血：“這不是我的職責(zé)所在。”

Blair is a Plant Manager for a multi-national company in the pre-mixed concrete industry. I asked him if he looked to other industries for “creative solutions” in terms of customer service or price, for instance. His answer was short and to the point: “It’s not in my job description.”

他的職責(zé)是確保自己任職的工廠高效運作，供應(yīng)充足，客戶和員工都滿意。他顯然只關(guān)注行業(yè)，不用考慮來自其他行業(yè)的新創(chuàng)意。根據(jù)經(jīng)驗，我知道他所在的公司自下而上都不用考慮這些。

His job is to make sure that his batching plant runs efficiently, that supplies are always on tap, and that customers and staff are happy. He’s clearly industry focused and any thinking outside the box which might come from another industry is simply not on the agenda. I know from experience that it’s not on anyone else’s agenda in his company either, all the way to the top.

難題之二：沒有權(quán)限

Challenge 2: Lack of authority

維羅妮卡是一家媒體公司的銷售主管。她的工作是向廣告商銷售電視廣告時間，監(jiān)督五名銷售代表的工作。我問她是否向其他行業(yè)尋求戰(zhàn)略創(chuàng)意，她的回答很明確，“我的職責(zé)不包括這個，而且我也沒有權(quán)限做這方面的工作?！?/p>

Veronica is Sales Manager for a media company. Her specific job is to sell television time to advertising agencies. She also supervises five sales representatives. When I asked her about looking outside her industry for strategy ideas her answer was clear. “It’s not in my brief to do that and, even if it was, I don’t have the authority to do anything about it.”

維羅妮卡的銷售工作中有很多接觸其他行業(yè)的機會，有時也對其他行業(yè)的戰(zhàn)略印象深刻，但她沒有權(quán)力在自己的公司嘗試，于是她的洞見無法發(fā)揮作用。

Veronica has a lot of exposure to other industries in her role selling advertising, and there are times when she is impressed with the strategy she sees in use. But she has no power to try them out in her own business, so her insights go unused.

難題之三：沒有信心

Challenge 3: Lack of confidence

人們擔(dān)心某項具體戰(zhàn)略從一個行業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)到另一個行業(yè)非常困難，甚至根本不可能。醫(yī)療行業(yè)員工容易出現(xiàn)這種傾向，認(rèn)為本行業(yè)的問題特殊，不可能向其他行業(yè)借鑒。

This concerns a fear that making any translation from one industry to another will be difficult — or worse, impossible.?Health care workers are particularly prone to this, believing that their challenges are unique and that they couldn’t possibly transfer initiatives from another industry to theirs.

我有一個客戶是退休老人俱樂部，安全記錄上有些問題，直接影響其保險理賠和保險基金，也影響吸引和保留人才的能力。該客戶遵循行業(yè)規(guī)范方法，難以從其他行業(yè)學(xué)習(xí)。我推薦了其他行業(yè)的制造商杜邦公司，這家公司十分關(guān)注安全問題。然而客戶公司的員工表示懷疑：制造商跟退休老人業(yè)務(wù)能扯上什么關(guān)系？

One of my clients, a retirement village, was having trouble with its safety record. This was impacting its insurance claims and insurance premiums directly, but it was also affecting its ability to attract and retain staff. It was following industry norms and practices so little could be learned from other industry participants. I nominated Dupont, an industrial manufacturer, from outside the retirement village’s industry as it was known as a fanatic on safety. But I was met with skepticism from staff. How is a manufacturer relevant to a retirement village?

如何克服這些困難

Overcoming the Challenges

其他行業(yè)有很多可借鑒的優(yōu)勢，因為以上幾個問題而讓機會白白溜走就太可惜了?？梢詤⒖枷旅鎺追N方法應(yīng)對：

With so much to gain from looking outside your industry it’s a shame to let an opportunity slip by because of obstacles like these. Here’s how you can get past them:

建立有自主權(quán)的團隊。“沒有要求”和“沒有權(quán)限”這兩個問題可以通過建立有自主權(quán)的團隊來解決。假設(shè)你決定觀察行業(yè)外的三家企業(yè)以尋找答案，那么你的“突破性創(chuàng)新團隊”應(yīng)該由三到十名能夠利用觀察到的結(jié)果來推動改變的員工組成。如果其中沒有公司的CEO，就要讓這個團隊能直接與CEO溝通。你要的是戰(zhàn)略變革，不是戰(zhàn)略拖延。還要保證團隊關(guān)注實際效用。對于具體的戰(zhàn)略行動方案，要關(guān)注導(dǎo)致障礙的戰(zhàn)略要素，尋找改善后可以實現(xiàn)競爭優(yōu)勢的地方，如產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量或客戶服務(wù)。記住，觀察不同行業(yè)的公司不是觀光游覽，對方不會浪費時間接待你做“行業(yè)參觀”。你必須清楚地說明和解釋自己的目的，否則一定會遭到拒絕，或是參觀了一趟卻一無所獲。

Assemble an empowered team?

Lack of mandate and lack of authority are overcome by establishing an empowered team. Let’s suppose that you decide to visit three organizations outside your industry for answers. Your “Breakthrough Team” should be in the range of three to ten people made up of individuals who can make a difference when results are bought back. If the CEO is not part of the team, make sure that a direct line exists to them. You want strategic change, not strategic stalling.? Also, make sure your team zeros in on impact. For true strategy initiatives, focus on the?strategic factor?where you’ve hit a brick wall and which would clearly make a competitive difference if significantly improved, e.g., product quality or customer service. Remember that visiting a business in a different industry is not a fishing trip. That organization doesn’t have time to waste on an “industrial visit.” Your purpose must be clearly stated and explained. Otherwise, you’ll receive a clear “no” from the targeted company or you’ll come away with nothing of use.

提供強有力的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。應(yīng)對缺乏信心的問題，需要強有力的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。倫敦大奧蒙德街兒童醫(yī)院的馬丁·埃利奧特（Martin Elliott）和埃倫·戈德曼（Alan Goldman）兩位高級醫(yī)師，看到了手術(shù)室和賽車維護組的相似之處。維護組要迅速且不出差錯地更換輪胎、給車加油，而復(fù)雜的手術(shù)中醫(yī)療團隊則要交接換班。這個項目成功的關(guān)鍵就是埃利奧特、戈德曼以及其他人的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。上文中退休老人俱樂部的十人團隊里有CEO和護理部主任，一開始就奠定了領(lǐng)導(dǎo)基礎(chǔ)，而且可以打消員工的疑慮。

Provide strong Leadership

Tackle the lack of confidence issue via strong Leadership. Senior doctors,?Martin Elliott and Alan Goldman, at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children?saw a link between their operating theaters and Ferrari’s pit crews in the racing-car industry. The specific comparison was between how pit crews changed tires and refuelled a car quickly and without error, and the handoffs for medical teams during team changeovers in complex operating cases. The Leadership of Elliott, Goldman, and others was key to the project’s credibility and to the result. The ten-member team in the retirement village case included the CEO and the Director of Nursing. Leadership was there at the outset through the CEO’s involvement and was able to cut through the staff’s initial skepticism.

考慮如何說服對方。要借鑒其他行業(yè)的方法，先要考慮如何說服其他行業(yè)的組織允許你們參觀。

Prepare your sales pitch

If you intend to go down this path, think about why an organization in another industry would want to entertain a visit from a group of unknown managers like yours.

根據(jù)我的經(jīng)驗，能讓目標(biāo)企業(yè)允許的由頭，包括增強企業(yè)員工的責(zé)任感，以及提升員工演講能力。還有一個原因是，被選為其他行業(yè)公司學(xué)習(xí)的典范這件事能提升員工士氣。此外，允許你參觀學(xué)習(xí)，還會促使目標(biāo)企業(yè)的管理者思考自己做了什么、如何做到的，實現(xiàn)有益的自省。別忘了，項目結(jié)束時你會獲得一份很有價值的報告?？梢耘c目標(biāo)企業(yè)的管理層分享報告摘要——當(dāng)然，有必要的話要修改一些具體細節(jié)保護行業(yè)機密。

The reasons businesses say “yes,” in my experience, range from being a good corporate citizen to improving the presentation skills of staff. Others include being beneficial for staff morale in knowing that they’ve been chosen for examination by another organization. In addition, your visit will require the targeted company managers to think about what they do and how they do it — engaging them in a useful self-examination. Don’t forget that at the end of your project you’ll have something of significant value — a report. You could undertake to share a summary of that with the management of any targeted business — with names suitably disguised to protect confidentiality, of course.

借鑒其他行業(yè)的經(jīng)驗實現(xiàn)戰(zhàn)略改進和突破，是一種很好的方法。這種方法之所以不常用，主要是因為惰性。按照一貫的做法、遵循行業(yè)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和期望，要比參考其他行業(yè)更簡單且舒適得多。因此只要你鼓起勇氣做出改變，就可能獲得競爭優(yōu)勢。

Looking outside your industry for strategy improvements and breakthroughs is a good approach. The core reason why it doesn’t work more often is inertia. Doing what you’ve always done and in accordance with industry standards and expectations is far easier and more comfortable than looking into other industries. This very fact affords you a potential competitive advantage — if you dare.

格拉漢姆·肯尼（Graham Kenny）|文

Graham Kenny, CEO of?KMS Education?and?Strategic Factors, is a recognized expert in strategy and performance measurement who helps managers, executives, and boards create successful organizations in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. He has been a professor of management in universities in the U.S., and Canada.?

朔間 | 譯? ? ?周強 | 編校