the.world.is.flat-第87节

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identify　and　isolate　these　forty　to　fifty　components　and　then　sit　down　and　ask　＇the　
company＇；　'How　much　money　are　you　spending　in　each　component？　Where　are　you　best　in　
class？　Where　are　you　differentiated？　What　are　the　totally　nondifferenti…ated　
components　of　your　business？　Where　do　you　think　you　have　capabilities　but　are　not　


sure　you　are　ever　going　to　be　great　there　because　you'd　have　to　put　more　money　in　
than　you　want？'〃　
When　you　are　done；　said　Tropiano；　you　basically　have　an　X…ray　of　the　company；　
identifying　four　or　five　〃hot　spots。〃　One　or　two　might　be　core　competencies；　others　
might　be　skills　that　the　company　wasn't　fully　aware　that　it　even　had　and　that　should　
be　built　up。　Other　hot　spots　on　the　X…ray；　though；　might　be　components　where　five　
different　departments　are　duplicating　the　same　functions　or　services　that　others　
outside　the　company　could　do　better　and　more　cheaply　and　so　should　be　
outsourced…provided　there　is　still　a　savings　to　be　made　once　all　the　costs　and　
disruptions　of　outsourcing　are　taken　into　account。　
〃So　you　go　look　at　this　＇X…ray＇　and　say；　'I　have　these　areas　here　that　are　going　to　
be　really　hot　and　core；'〃　says　Tropiano；　〃and　then　let　go　of　the　things　that　you　can　
outsource；　and　free　up　those　funds　and　focus　on　the　

projects　that　could　one　day　be　part　of　your　core　competency。　For　the　average　company；　
you　are　doing　well　if　25　percent　is　core　competency　and　strategic　and　really　
differentiating；　and　the　rest　you　may　continue　to　do　and　try　to　improve　or　you　may　
outsource。〃　
I　first　got　interested　in　this　phenomenon　when　an　Internet　business　news　headline　
caught　my　eye：　〃HP　bags　150　million　India　bank　contract。〃　The　story　on　
Computerworld。com　（February　25；　2004）　quoted　a　statement　by　HP　saying　that　it　had　
inked　a　ten…year　outsourcing　contract　with　the　Bank　of　India　in　Mumbai。　The　150　
million　contract　was　the　largest　ever　won　by　HP　Services　in　the　Asia…Pacific　region；　
according　to　Natarajan　Sundaram；　head　of　marketing　for　HP　Services　India。　The　deal　
called　for　HP　to　implement　and　manage　a　core　banking　system　across　750　Bank　of　India　
branches。　〃This　is　the　first　time　we　at　HP　are　looking　at　the　outsourcing　of　the　core　
banking　function　in　the　Asia…Pacific　region；〃　said　Sundaram。　Several　multinational　
companies　competed　for　the　contract；　including　IBM。　Under　the　contract；　HP　would　take　
charge　of　data　warehousing　and　document…imaging　technology；　telebanking；　Internet　
banking；　and　automated　teller　machines　for　the　whole　bank　chain。　
Other　stories　explained　that　the　Bank　of　India　had　been　facing　increasing　competition　
from　both　public…　and　private…sector　banks　and　multinational　corporations。　It　
realized　that　it　needed　to　adopt　Web…based　banking；　standardize　and　upgrade　its　
computer　systems；　lower　its　transaction　costs；　and　generally　become　more　
customer…friendly。　So　it　did　what　any　other　multinational　would　do…it　gave　itself　
a　chest　X…ray　and　decided　to　outsource　all　the　funtions　it　did　not　believe　were　part　
of　its　core　competency　or　that　it　simply　did　not　have　the　internal　skills　to　do　at　
the　highest　level。　
Still；　when　the　Bank　of　India　decides　to　outsource　its　back　room　to　an　American…owned　
computer　company；　well；　that　just　seemed　too　weird　for　words。　〃Run　that　by　me　again；〃　
I　said；　rubbing　my　eyes。　〃HP；　the　folks　I　call　when　my　printer　breaks；　won　the　
outsourcing　contract　for　managing　the　back　room　of　India's　750…branch　state…owned　
bank？　What　in　the　world　does　Hewlett…Packard　know　about　running　the　backroom　systems　
of　an　Indian　bank？〃　


359　
Out　of　curiosity；　I　decided　to　visit　the　HP　headquarters　in　Palo　Alto　to　find　out。　
There；　I　met　Maureen　Conway；　HP's　vice　president　for　emerging　market　solutions；　and　
put　the　above　question　directly　to　her。　
〃How　did　we　think　we　could　take　our　internal　capabilities　and　make　them　good　for　other　
people？〃　she　answered　rhetorically。　In　brief；　she　explained；　HP　is　constantly　hosting　
customer　visits；　where　its　corporate　clients　come　to　its　headquarters　and　see　the　
innovations　that　HP　has　brought　to　managing　its　own　information　systems。　Many　of　those　
customers　go　away　intrigued　at　how　this　big　company　has　adapted　itself　to　the　flat　
world。　How；they　ask；did　HP；　which　once　had　eighty…seven　different　supply　chains…each　
managed　vertically　and　independently；　with　its　own　hierarchy　of　managers　and　
back…office　support…compress　them　into　just　five　supply　chains　that　manage　50　
billion　in　business；　and　in　which　functions　like　accounting；　billing；　and　human　
resources　are　handled　through　a　companywide　system？　What　computers　and　business　
processes　did　HP　install　to　consolidate　all　this　efficiently？　HP；　which　does　business　
in　178　countries；　used　to　handle　all　its　accounts　payable　and　receivable　for　each　
individual　country　in　that　country。　It　was　totally　chopped　up。　Just　in　the　last　couple　
of　years；　HP　created　three　transaction…processing　hubs…in　Bangalore；　Barcelona；　and　
Guadalajara…with　uniform　standards　and　special　work　flow　software　that　allowed　HP　
offices　in　all　178　countries　to　process　all　billing　functions　through　these　three　
hubs。　
Seeing　the　reaction　of　its　customers　to　its　own　internal　operations；　HP　said　one　day；　
〃Hey；　why　don't　we　commercialize　this？〃　Said　Conway；　〃That　became　the　nucleus　of　our　
business　process　outsourcing　service　。　。　。　We　were　doing　our　own　chest　X…rays　and　
discovered　we　had　assets　that　other　people　cared　about；　and　that　is　a　business。〃　
In　other　words；　the　flattening　of　the　world　was　both　the　disease　and　the　cure　for　
the　Bank　of　India。　It　clearly　could　not　keep　up　with　its　competitors　in　the　flattening　
banking　environment　of　India；　and；　at　the　same　time；　it　was　able　to　get　a　chest　X…ray　
and　then　outsource　to　HP　all　those　things　that　it　no　longer　made　sense　to　do　itself。　
And　HP；　having　done　its　own　chest　X…ray；　discovered　that　it　was　carrying　a　whole　new　
consulting　business　inside　its　breast。　Sure；　most　of　the　work　for　the　Bank　of　India　
will　
360　
be　done　by　HP　employees　in　India　or　Bank　of　India　employees　who　will　actually　join　
HP。　But　some　of　the　profits　will　find　their　way　back　to　the　mother　ship　in　Palo　Alto；　
which　will　be　supporting　the　whole　operation　through　its　global　knowledge　supply　
chain。　
Most　of　HP's　revenues　today　come　from　outside　the　United　States。　But　the　core　HP　
knowledge　and　infrastructure　teams　who　can　put　together　the　processes　that　win　those　
contracts…like　running　the　back　room　of　the　Bank　of　India…are　still　in　the　United　
States。　
〃The　ability　to　dream　is　here；　more　than　in　other　parts　of　the　world；〃　said　Conway。　
〃The　nucleus　of　creativity　is　here；　not　because　people　are　smarter…it　is　the　
environment；　the　freedom　of　thought。　The　dream　machine　is　still　here。〃　


Rule　#6：　The　best　companies　outsource　to　win；　not　to　shrink。　They　outsource　to　innovate　
faster　and　more　cheaply　in　order　to　grow　larger；　gain　market　share；　and　hire　more　
and　different　specialists…not　to　save　money　by　firing　more　people。　
Dov　Seidman　runs　LRN；　a　business　that　provides　online　legal；　compliance；　and　ethics　
education　to　employees　of　global　companies　and　helps　executives　and　board　members　
manage　corporate　governance　responsibilities。　We　were　having　lunch　in　the　fall　of　
2004　when　Seidman　casually　mentioned　that　he　had　recently　signed　an　outsourcing　
contract　with　the　Indian　consulting　firm　MindTree。　
〃Why　are　you　cutting　costs？〃　I　asked　him。　
〃I　am　outsourcing　to　win；　not　to　save　money；〃　Seidman　answered。　〃Go　to　our　Web　site。　
I　currently　have　over　thirty　job　openings；　and　these　are　knowledge　jobs。　We're　
expanding。　We're　hiring。　I　am　adding　people　and　creating　new　processes。〃　
Seidman's　experience　is　what　most　outsourcing　is　actually　about…companies　
outsourcing　to　acquire　knowledge　talent　to　grow　their　business　faster；　not　simply　
to　cut　costs　and　cut　back。　Seidman's　company　is　a　leader　in　one　of　those　completely　
new　industries　that　just　appeared　in　the　flat　world…helping　multinationals　foster　
an　ethical　corporate　culture　around　an　employee　base　spread　all　over　the　world。　
Although　LRN　

is　a　BE　company…founded　ten　years　before　Enron　exploded…demand　for　its　services　surged　
in　the　PE　era…post…Enron。　In　the　wake　of　the　collapse　of　Enron　and　other　corporate　
governance　scandals；　a　lot　more　companies　became　interested　in　what　LRN　was　
offering…online　programs　for　companies　to　forge　common　expectations　and　
understandings　of　their　legal　and　ethical　responsibilities；　from　the　boardroom　to　
the　factory　floor。　When　companies　sign　up　with　LRN；　their　employees　are　given　anonline　
education；　including　tests　that　cover　everything　from　your　company's　code　of　conduct　
to　when　you　are　allowed　to　accept　a　gift　to　what　you　need　to　think　about　before　hitting　
Send　on　an　e…mail　to　what　constitutes　a　bribe　of　a　foreign　official。　
As　the　whole　issue　of　corporate　governance　began　to　mushroom　in　the　early　2000s；　
Seidman　realized　that　his　customers；　much　like　E*Trade；　would　need　a　more　integrated　
platform。　While　it　was　great　that　he　was　educating　their　employees　with　one　online　
curriculum　and　advising　boards　on　ethics　issues　with　another；　he　knew　that　company　
executives　would　want　a　one…