Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 977
……

In fact, the former CEO of HP, Louis Pratt, was not even 60 years old and could serve for a few more years.

However, with HP founder William Hewlett old and frail and David Packard already dead, some of HP's persistence can no longer withstand external pressure.

Louis Pratt, for example, was not well received by investors.Gein, the Hewlett-Packard he led, has performed too steadily in the past few years since entering the Internet wave, and its profits have been flat.

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

Other houses are in a hurry, how can you just walk around in the courtyard!

Under this circumstance, Louis Platt offered to resign this year and abdicated to make way for others.

Logically speaking, HP, which is so experienced that it can be called a witness of Silicon Valley, must be full of talents. It is not a problem at all to select a successor from within.

Indeed, a popular candidate within HP emerged, Ann Livermore, who had been with HP since [-] and was promoted to vice president in [-].

To some extent, Ann Livermore's entry into the CEO shortlist is HP's rebuttal to the outside world's doubts about its rigid and aging system, out of touch with the times, and so on.

In Silicon Valley, and even in large companies in the United States, there are very few female executives.

And Louis Pratt has made a lot of improvements in this regard.Widowed in [-] and raising two young daughters alone, he sympathetically launched many popular initiatives on humane care for employees, which is also in line with HP's long-standing corporate culture.

It is against this background that Ann Livermore has worked her way up from a marketing position to a vice president, becoming a role model for women in the workplace.

If Ann Livermore really takes over HP, it will undoubtedly send a message to the outside world: HP is not holding back, but has been advancing with the times.

It must be said that Louis Platt's abdication and replacement of talents was quite painstaking.

But Wall Street isn't buying it.

Ann Livermore has been serving HP for nearly twenty years, so she is naturally deeply influenced by HP's corporate culture. If she becomes the CEO, she will definitely stick to the same old formula.

More importantly, HP's management is still in the water, and Wall Street cannot directly exert the most effective influence.

Because of this fundamental conflict of interests.This year HP has done nothing but busy itself with the political struggle within the company.

In the end, Wall Street got the better of it.

Didn't HP play the card of Ann Livermore, a female corporate executive? Then, as you wish, find someone from the outside and parachute a female corporate 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 favored by Wall Street, she suddenly ascended to the altar and became the first female CEO of a company that is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The media interpreted it as a breakthrough for women in the workplace. Ceiling sign.

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

Carrie Fiorina used to have a good stay at Lucent, but now she has switched to HP, there must be some kind of compensation.So, she got 500 million restricted HP shares.

Other benefits include: a signing bonus of 300 million yuan, an annual salary of 100 million yuan and an annual bonus of [-] to [-] times, as well as [-] yuan in loan assistance, moving allowances, etc., and even It is also possible to use the company aircraft for personal affairs.

In short, HP spent a lot of money to hire a big star, and the treatment exceeds that of any previous CEO, including the two founders William Hewlett and David Packard; With Ann Livermore as CEO, that would surely save a lot of money.

Carrie Fiorina, who can be said to have gained both fame and fortune, is naturally loyal to the Wall Street benefactor who promoted her, not the few remaining agents of the Hewlett family's influence in Hewlett-Packard.

Mr. Richest hoped that HP would be able to withstand Wall Street's harvest of "raising pigs and killing pigs"; even, he quietly supported it behind his back.

But helplessly, Louis Pratt did not have the appearance of a hero, and after a few rounds of fighting, he was disheartened and resigned; the founder family of HP was too helpless, and in the end it was Wall Street that seized control of HP .

As John Chambers reminded, after the fall of Hewlett-Packard, Tang's IT kingdom Fangyuan and Zheru Software will definitely become the next coveted targets.

This is also why, since the monopoly case of the United States of America v. Zheru Software Company 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 appreciate the heroic appearance of the [-]th anniversary celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China, but he stays in San Francisco. reason.

Needless to say, Mr. Richest Man is also afraid that at this delicate time, something unexpected will happen.

Seeing that Tang Huan immediately understood what he meant, John Chambers tentatively asked: "Zheru Software's anti-monopoly lawsuit has been delayed until the end of the year; but next year is still coming, what will happen then? What to do?"

Although John Chambers is an absolute confidant, Mr. Richest Man still has to keep his true intentions about him.

If nothing else, it is the art of leadership.

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

Tang Huan replied slowly and carefully: "Today, the Fangyuan computer standard has been firmly established and indestructible. Even without the cooperation of Zheru Software Company, it can lead the development of the industry with the same life and death."

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

"As for Zheru Software Company, even if we wait for the worst result, it's not a big deal. After all, kingship has no eternity, and we can at least get out of it."

Tasting the words of Mr. Richest Man, John Chambers showed a complicated look on his face, he was relieved that he didn't have to accompany the madman to the cliff, and he was also reluctant to give up his ambition to dominate.

Tang Huan, who had a panoramic view of all this, finally smiled loudly, "No matter what, I won't let my own whim put my followers in danger."

……

Among the many back-hands of the richest man, there must be a kind of "don't put all eggs in one basket" in different forms.

For example, Apple Computer is taking over a series of resources poured over by Zheru.

After the iPod was officially launched on the market in October last year, the sales volume exceeded 20 units in the quarter of that Christmas; in the first quarter of this year, the sales volume reached 12 units; Sales also remained roughly at this level.

Undoubtedly, just like the dawn of personal computers more than ten years ago, Apple Computer's Apple-II shined brightly. In the current digital music market that is somewhat chaotic and reborn, Apple Computer's iPod has achieved dominance~ Sao , definitely deserves the evaluation of great success.

With such good results, Apple Computer must continue to make a big fuss on the iPod and tirelessly innovate.

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

However, Apple Computer's actions did not stop there. It also launched a new iPod, so Jobs specially invited the richest man to visit.

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

California has launched a huge reform of the electric power industry. Among them, there are many measures, one of which is to ban the "long-term wholesale electricity price".

Up to now, the negative impact on California's commercial, industrial and other fields has begun to emerge one by one.

Local power supply companies in California, such as Pacific Watts, have obviously declined, while out-of-state energy giants like Enron have begun to control their voices.There are too many excuses for its price increase, and all of them are high-sounding, so ordinary people don't know where to criticize.

Gein, these excuses are all true.

The climate in California is dry this year. Although the developed agriculture is sufficient to cope with this situation, the hydropower stations are inevitably affected.

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

But now, the price of oil and natural gas has started to rise, and Enron, which has become the main power supply company in California, of course has to transfer this cost to users to share.

All in all, I want to raise the price, you can only suffer.

What Jobs was upset about was that Apple Computer had finally managed to get out of its predicament. The iPod, which had been exploited by Zheru's patents, record company music licensing and other factors, also made some money, but had to suffer from high electricity prices.

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

"But for this kind of urgent need, it still won't help, let's accept our fate." Tang Huan smiled slightly, and then urged: "Hurry up and show me the new idea of ​​iPod."

"This is a sample." Jobs handed over a small thing shaped like a U disk, and introduced it triumphantly: "It's called iPod_shuffle, and it weighs only 22 grams."

Playing with the iPod_shuffle, Tang Huan pointed to the core and asked: "You replaced the micro hard drive with flash memory as the storage medium?"

"Indeed, we use 256 MB of flash memory." Jobs nodded, "As you can see, compared to the iPod, the iPod_shuffle also cancels the LCD screen and the control wheel on the hardware, and cancels the internal software. Functions such as address book, calendar, etc. So, it does not win by storage capacity, that is the task of the second generation of iPod."

Tang Huan smiled playfully, and asked cooperatively, "Then what is the main selling point of iPod_shuffle?"

Jobs, who was scratched to the itch, immediately explained happily, "Life_is_random-life is randomly performed, Give_chance_a_chance-give chance a chance. iPod_shuffle is designed to easily load the selection of songs and play them in a random way, so as to Enjoy the joy of being completely free from rigid arrangements.”

The richest man nodded slightly. In the media player on the computer, the usual random playback function can play such connotative tricks. This is the difference between Jobs and Apple Computer.

One of the biggest selling points of the iPod is its fashion, and it is not difficult to imagine its popularity as it is used by big-name public figures, including US President Bill Clinton.

The iPod_shuffle derived from the iPod must be regarded as a low-end product with reduced functions in an economically underdeveloped market, but in a developed market like the United States, it has brought out new cultural connotations.

Moreover, the iPod_shuffle, which replaces the micro-hard drive with flash memory, will also become a portable music player that is not afraid of vibration and other environmental factors and is completely suitable for use during exercise.

The richest man, who affirmed the market value of iPod_shuffle, finally asked directly: "If you come to me, you must not only appreciate your creativity. Tell me, if you have any requirements, I need to cooperate."

Jobs was also 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 is the flash memory."

Tang Huan said happily, "No problem, I will provide you with the most affordable flash memory supply chain."

……

Apple Computer is now playing more and more clever activities including advertising. The iPod [-]nd generation and iPod_shuffle have not been officially released yet, and they have been hyped up, which has whetted the appetite of the market.

The booming market of the iPod indicates that digital music players will replace traditional tape players and CD players. However, manufacturers who are slow to respond, especially Sony, will undoubtedly face the fate of being eliminated.

Akio Morita, 78 years old, has been admitted to the Saiseikai Central Hospital in Minato-ku, Tokyo for several days because of pneumonia.

Although he withdrew from Sony's management due to a stroke at the end of [-], Akio Morita has always been concerned about Sony.

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

For example, the Trinitron picture tube, which Sony is most proud of, is increasingly threatened by LCD, and it 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 Computer's iPod.

Feeling that the proud work he left behind, like this decaying shell, the vitality was gradually passing away, Akio Morita sighed with a gloomy expression.

……

The richest man is personally asking about the supply chain of flash memory, and Masako Wada called and said: "Sony founder Akio Morita passed away."

Another famous general was boiled to death!
Tang Huan frowned, and ordered: "I can't get away from here, so you represent me and send the most sincere condolences!"

(End of this chapter)