幾年前我就開(kāi)始聽(tīng)到這句話：“我們其實(shí)是一家擁有XX的科技公司?！备餍袠I(yè)公司的首席執(zhí)行官都這么說(shuō)。2011年，美國(guó)聯(lián)合航空首席執(zhí)行官石志輝對(duì)我說(shuō)：“我們其實(shí)是一家擁有翅膀的科技公司?！逼渌藙t在經(jīng)營(yíng)“一家擁有輪子的科技公司”，“擁有鐵軌的”、“擁有精煉廠的”、“擁有商店的”科技公司。他們說(shuō)得都對(duì)。

如今，我們周圍的新事實(shí)已經(jīng)證明，各行業(yè)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者實(shí)際上都身處科技行業(yè)。杰夫·伊梅爾特領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的通用電氣公司日前宣布推出一項(xiàng)新業(yè)務(wù)，旨在分析來(lái)自全球各地，包括通用在內(nèi)的任何公司的工業(yè)機(jī)械所產(chǎn)生的海量數(shù)據(jù)，從而預(yù)測(cè)并改善這些機(jī)械的性能。通用電氣正在積極地重新定位，讓自己成為一家擁有預(yù)測(cè)性分析軟件業(yè)務(wù)的工業(yè)公司。如今的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手包括IBM和谷歌。

特拉維斯·卡拉尼克執(zhí)掌的優(yōu)步公司宣布，這家打車服務(wù)商正在賠錢，但投資者并不在意，他們對(duì)該公司的估值高達(dá)500億美元，甚至更多。在美國(guó)，每家出租車和房車公司如今都是科技公司，這一趨勢(shì)很快就會(huì)蔓延到全世界。美國(guó)國(guó)防部長(zhǎng)阿什·卡特在硅谷建立了國(guó)防創(chuàng)新機(jī)構(gòu)來(lái)研究機(jī)器人、增量制造、大數(shù)據(jù)分析、網(wǎng)絡(luò)安全等技術(shù)，他很清楚自己如今身處什么行業(yè)。運(yùn)動(dòng)品牌阿迪達(dá)斯也在首席執(zhí)行官赫爾伯特·海納的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下重新振作，該公司在8月初收購(gòu)了Runtastic。阿迪達(dá)斯不再是一家單純的運(yùn)動(dòng)裝備生產(chǎn)商，而是一家為運(yùn)動(dòng)員提供應(yīng)用和設(shè)備的公司。

甚至連咖啡公司也可以是科技公司：Keurig Green Mountain公司的業(yè)務(wù)就建立在創(chuàng)新性釀造技術(shù)之上，但業(yè)績(jī)疲軟導(dǎo)致該公司前景不明，股價(jià)在8月6日猛跌29%。該公司的前景現(xiàn)在很大程度上依靠新推出的一種冷飲機(jī)器?！度A盛頓郵報(bào)》報(bào)道稱，這種機(jī)器“是對(duì)Keurig公司科技能力的一次大考，也是首席執(zhí)行官布萊恩·凱利為公司長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展進(jìn)行的一次定位?！?/p>

成為科技公司的領(lǐng)袖并不需要精通科技。石志輝是個(gè)律師，伊梅爾特原來(lái)是個(gè)營(yíng)銷人員，海納的專業(yè)是經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)。（不過(guò)卡特是個(gè)例外，他是理論物理學(xué)家。）領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者需要具備用科技語(yǔ)言進(jìn)行表達(dá)，以及識(shí)別人才的能力。而最重要的，通常也是對(duì)領(lǐng)袖最具挑戰(zhàn)性的一個(gè)能力，則是設(shè)想哪些是可以實(shí)現(xiàn)的?？萍嫉哪芰φ诔鋈祟愂褂盟哪芰?。

說(shuō)來(lái)奇怪，大膽的想象正成為科技型企業(yè)的領(lǐng)袖核心能力。對(duì)所有公司來(lái)說(shuō)，這一點(diǎn)都十分重要。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：嚴(yán)匡正

審校：任文科

I started hearing it years ago: “We’re actually a technology company with [fill in the blank],” CEOs of every kind of business were saying. “We’re actually a technology company with wings,” United Continental CEO Jeff Smisek told me in 2011. Others were running “a tech company with wheels,” “with rails,” “with refineries,” “with stores.” And they were all correct.

Today, we’re surrounded by new evidence that leaders in every discipline are actually in the tech business. Jeff Immelt’s GE yesterday announced a new business that will analyze massive amounts of data generated by industrial machines—GE’s or anyone else’s—anywhere in the world, predicting and improving their performance. GE is aggressively repositioning itself as an industrial company, but now that encompasses predictive analytics software. Its competitors include IBM and Google.

Travis Kalanick’s Uber announced on Wednesday that his company is losing money, but investors don’t care; they value the company at $50 billion or more. Leaders of every taxi and limo company in the U.S., and soon the world, are running tech companies now. Defense Secretary Ash Carter has formed a Defense Innovation Unit in Silicon Valley to learn more about robotics, additive manufacturing, big data analytics, cybersecurity, and more; he knows what business he’s in now. Adidas, the athletic apparel firm being reinvigorated by CEOHerbert Hainer, announced yesterday it’s buying Runtastic. It doesn’t make athletic apparel; it makes apps and hardware for athletes.

Even a coffee company is a technology business: Shares of Keurig Green Mountain, which has built its business on innovative brewing tech, plunged 29% yesterday on weak earnings and outlook. Now much depends on its introduction of a new cold-beverage machine—which, the WSJ reported on Wednesday, “marks a major test of Keurig’s technology skills and Chief Executive Brian Kelley’s effort to position the company for long-term growth.”

Being the leader of a technology enterprise doesn’t demand deep tech skills. Smisek is a lawyer; Immelt came up as a marketer; Hainer majored in economics. (Carter, though, is a theoretical physicist.) It does demand an ability to speak the language of technology and an ability to evaluate people. Most important—and generally most challenging for leaders—is that it demands an ability to imagine what might be possible. Technology’s capability is outrunning our ability to use it.

Strange to say, but fearless imagination is becoming a key competency for leaders of tech-enabled enterprises—which means pretty much all of them.