全球各地有許多企業(yè)總想模仿蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)──這家全球最成功的消費電子產品巨擘。但他們最后很可能會失敗。為了效法已故的蘋果公司共同創(chuàng)辦人喬布斯(Steve Jobs)，有數(shù)以千計的CEO與其它高階主管們都在讀──或者已經(jīng)讀過──Walter Isaacson的《喬布斯傳》。但他們也可能會失敗。沒有一家公司會像蘋果一樣，也不會再有像喬布斯一樣的CEO了。 根據(jù) McKinsey & Co.發(fā)表一篇名為《最佳實踐的風險：你想模仿蘋果公司嗎？》(The Perils of Best Practice: Should You Emulate Apple?)的分析報告指出，盡管可能對于公司業(yè)務帶來慘痛的代價，也無法阻擋那些想要成為蘋果與喬布斯的崇拜者們不斷地嘗試、失敗、再嘗試。這份報告的作者們認為，蘋果公司壓倒性的成功及在該領域持續(xù)主導的地位已經(jīng)導致業(yè)界一種盲目的崇拜，使得許多競爭對手以及在其它經(jīng)濟產業(yè)的公司們爭相追逐一種成為 市場主導的烏托邦世界，甚至使自己逐漸脫離原有的產業(yè)現(xiàn)實。作者更進一步指出： “經(jīng)理人們積極地想從實際上是一家如此卓越的公司中歸納出普世觀點，而將自己公司的業(yè)務置于策略或營運錯誤的風險中。然而，就算不斷地面對大部份公司都無法達到預期結果的事實，甚至有些公司還付出慘痛的代價，但這種想要模仿的欲望仍比其理智更強烈。例如，尋求策略與步驟一致的標準可能導致‘羊群效應’，隨著時間的推移，使模仿的廠商利潤逐漸減少。” 雖然McKinsey公司的分析報告以蘋果公司作為企業(yè)最想模仿的完美案例，但其前提實際在于強調最佳實踐的概念，以及企業(yè)、研究人員和顧問如何提升管理作業(yè)臻于至善。透過學習和尋求復制他人(或公司)的經(jīng)歷，可能讓公司高階主管避開一些陷阱，從而建立成功的企業(yè)。不過，這種想法忽略了一個重要的前提──就 算經(jīng)營著同樣的業(yè)務領域，能為一家公司及其主管帶來成功的模式，并不見得適用于其它人或企業(yè)。 “無論是開發(fā)新產品或執(zhí)行高效率的供應鏈， 經(jīng)驗證有效的策略似乎常常都得從頭開始，”McKinsey的報告強調，“不過，將真正卓越的公司成功經(jīng)驗轉化為更普遍的案例時，處處都充滿著危機。觀察家和管理學家們常受到明星企業(yè)的光環(huán)所蒙蔽，經(jīng)常在未深入探究其取得成功的時空背景或分析其成就的真正本質前，就先將這些公司所做的一切都視為最佳實踐?！? 本文授權編譯自EBN Online，版權所有，謝絕轉載 本文下一頁：蘋果的成功無法復制

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{pagination} 當然，誰都想象蘋果和喬布斯一樣的成功。但先看看這家公司最近的財報數(shù)字本身就已經(jīng)相當不凡了。截至今年九月，該公司的營收將從2011年時的1,080億美元成長至2012年預估約有1,560億美元，比兩年前的650億美元增加一倍以上。凈利也將從2011年的每股27.68美元大幅成長到2012年約44.27美元。蘋果堪稱為世界上最賺錢的公司。這也反映在該公司目前6,580億美元的市值，比任何一家公開上市 的企業(yè)更多，也比Google (2,380億美元)、微軟(2,600億美元)、HP ($360億美元)、思科($1,010億美元)和戴爾($180億美元)等公司全部的資本加總起來更多。 為什么其它企業(yè)不 能模仿這樣一家成功的模范公司，在自己的領域同樣達到登峰造極呢？對此，我有兩個答案。首先，盡管在喬布斯一年多前去世后，坊間有40幾種書籍以及無數(shù)的文章記載該公司的一切，但很少有人真正知道蘋果成功背后的秘密武器。其次，就算真的取得了蘋果如何成功的秘訣，也無法直接復制其成功經(jīng)驗。還有太多外來因素必須剛好能有效結合，包括適切的經(jīng)營環(huán)境、具吸引力的商品、創(chuàng)新的精神，以及和諧的管理團隊等。 針對上述的問題，McKinsey公司的研究報告還有更好的解答。這份研究報告的作者群Marla Capozzi、Ari Kellen與Sven Smit認為，雖然從主導企學習其“最佳實踐”，甚至試圖模仿，這一切看來都沒有問題，但由于狹隘地著重于創(chuàng)造另一家成功企業(yè)，而未密切關注如何落實于自 家公司以及考慮自家公司的特質，最后終將招致悲劇發(fā)生。 他們得出的結論是：“我們并不是說公司不應該模仿蘋果或其它真正了不起的企業(yè)。許多公司都可以從蘋果在設計上的成就、品牌的忠誠度和零售業(yè)經(jīng)營等種種方面得到更多啟示。相反地，我們的分析在于提醒并建議高層管理人員必須對于他們所要仿效的公司采取一種更清晰的洞察力，并了解自己想從學習中取得的回報與成果?！? 我 個人得到的結論是這樣的：你的公司并不是蘋果，你公司的CEO也不是喬布斯或庫克(Tim Cook)，那么也就沒有什么能像蘋果一樣取得如今成就的方法。雖然你可以借鑒該公司最佳實踐的方法，但所學到的知識也不適用于你(公司)目前的處境。再者，有任何人真的能保證他們知道蘋果真正的最佳實踐方法嗎？何不為你的企業(yè)創(chuàng)造一種專屬經(jīng)驗與成功的獨特模式！ 編譯：Susan Hong 本文授權編譯自EBN Online，版權所有，謝絕轉載 參考英文原文：Trying to Be Like Apple Can Harm Your Business，by Bolaji Ojo, Editor in Chief

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{pagination} Trying to Be Like Apple Can Harm Your Business Bolaji Ojo Many businesses worldwide are trying to emulate Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), the world's most successful consumer electronics company. They will most likely fail. Thousands of CEOs and other senior executives will read -- or have already read -- Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs in an effort to be more like the late Apple co-founder. They'll probably fail, too. No company is like Apple, and no CEO will ever be like Jobs. It won't stop the Apple and Jobs wannabes from trying, failing, and trying again with -- sorry to say -- devastating consequences for their businesses, according to a new report titled "The Perils of Best Practice: Should You Emulate Apple?" from McKinsey & Co. The authors argued in the paper that Apple's overwhelming success and its continued dominance of its segments has resulted in a cult following that's led competitors and many companies in other economic industries to pursue a utopian world of market domination while disengaging themselves from the realities of their industry segments. They said further: Managers tempted to distill universal insights from what are in fact exceptional companies put their own businesses at risk for strategic or operational missteps. Yet the desire to emulate is often stronger than mere rationality, even in the face of repeated evidence that most companies won't achieve the anticipated outcomes and that some will suffer a hard fall. Research by our colleagues, for instance, has shown that lockstep benchmarking may lead to "herding" effects that, over time, diminish emulators' margins. While the McKinsey report used Apple as the perfect example of a company that businesses would like to emulate, its central premise is focused actually on the concept of best-practices and how enterprises, researchers, and consultants have elevated this to the apex of management operations. By learning about and seeking to replicate what others have done -- so the concept goes -- executives can avoid pitfalls and build successful enterprises. This idea omits one critical caveat, though, and that is the reality that what worked for one company and corporate executive may not work for others, even if they operate in the same business segment. "Tried-and-true approaches often seem preferable to starting from scratch, whether for developing new products or running efficient supply chains," noted the McKinsey report. "However, perils abound when truly exceptional companies morph into ever more ubiquitous examples. Observers and management theorists alike, blinded by star power, eventually assume that everything these companies do should be regarded as best practice -- often without examining the context in which they derive their success or without parsing the true nature of their accomplishments." Of course, it's hard not to want to be like Apple or as crazily successful as Jobs. First, the company's more recent financial results and capitalization are simply extraordinary. Its sales for fiscal 2012 ending September is forecast to jump to $156 billion from $108 billion in fiscal 2011 and more than double the $65 billion it reported only two years ago. Net profits, too, are seen surging to $44.27 per share this fiscal year, from $27.68 in fiscal 2011. At its current net income run rate, Apple is probably the world's most profitable company. This is reflected in the company's market valuation, which now stands at about $658 billion, greater than that of any other publicly traded enterprise and more than the combined capitalization of Google ($238 billion), Microsoft ($260 billion), Hewlett-Packard ($36 billion), Cisco ($101 billion), and Dell ($18 billion). Why shouldn't other enterprises strive to emulate such an exemplary company to similarly climb to the top of their industry segments? I have two answers. First, few people know the secret sauce behind Apple's success, despite the more than 40 books and thousands of articles that have been written about the company since Jobs died one year ago. Second, just having Apple's formula is not enough to recreate its success elsewhere. Too many other factors must come together nicely, including the right business environment, attractive products, innovative spirit, and coordinated management. A better answer to the question above came from the McKinsey study. The authors Marla Capozzi, Ari Kellen, and Sven Smit argued that while it is alright to learn best-practices from leading companies and even attempt to emulate them, narrowly focusing on creating another enterprise's success without paying close attention to how these would be applicable considering your company's peculiar characteristics could be disastrous. They concluded as follows: We don't mean to say that companies should never emulate Apple or other truly exceptional businesses. Many companies can draw new insights from Apple's achievements in design, brand loyalty, and retailing, to name a few things. Rather, our analysis is a cautionary tale suggesting that executives take a clear-eyed view of the companies they want to emulate, as well as the returns and outcomes they expect from doing so. My personal conclusion is this: Your company is not Apple, and your CEO is not Steve Jobs or Tim Cook. There are no ways to emulate Apple to be as successful as the company is today, and while you can learn from its best-practices, some of the knowledge gained won't be applicable to your situation. Plus, can anybody really vouch that they know Apple's true best-practices? Find a way to create an experience and success that is unique for your enterprise.