【英文版 130】John Hagel: Case Studies in Push Models vs. Pull Platforms

发掘拉动力：推动式模型和拉动式平台的案例分析

【Background】

【背景介绍】

Recognize the Power of Pull: Case Studies in Push Models vs. Pull Platforms, with John Hagel, Co-Author of The Power of Pull 

John Hagel, author of The Power of Pull and other books, says we have put a giant target sign on the backs of American workers. We have designed jobs in the U.S. that tend to be “tightly scripted” and “highly standardized” ones that leave no room for “individual initiative or creativity.” In short, these are the types of jobs at which machines can perform much better than human beings. 

大家好，欢迎来到《全球精英的5分钟成长学院》。

今天我们请到了约翰·哈格尔。他是一位资深商业咨询顾问，也是一名作家，是《拉动力》一书的作者之一。今天的课程中，他将为我们讲述如何在机构和工作中具有创新力，以及如何促进企业进步。

作为《拉动力》和其他书籍的作者，约翰·哈格尔认为我们把巨大的靶子放在了美国工人的背后。我们把美国的工作设计成“照本宣科”和“高度标准化”的工作，没有留任何余地给“个人的首创或创新精神”。简而言之，这些工作其实机器能比人类做得更好。

【Course】

【课程】

In the work that we’ve done we’ve basically ended up focusing on a contrast between push-based approaches to business and pull-based approaches. Push-based approaches basically start with the assumption that you can make a prediction or forecast and then make sure all the right people and right resources are in the right place at the right time. And that’s worked very well. It created huge companies; a lot of wealth was generated. 

在过去的工作中，我们常常会把重点最后放在推动式方法和拉动式方法中的矛盾上。推动式方法是从你可以预测或预计的一个假设开始的，然后确认正确的团队和正确的资源用在了正确的时间和地点。那这样工作就会完成得很好。这种方法创造了许多大公司，也创造了很多财富。

The challenge is in a world that’s more rapidly changing there’s a need to adopt a different set of practices that we call pull platform, scalable pull platforms, platforms where you can draw out people and resources when they’re needed and where they’re needed. 

而挑战在于，在这样一个快速变化的世界里，我们需要采用一套不同的行为策略，我们叫它拉动式平台，可衡量的拉动式平台，通过这个平台，你能在需要的时间和地点顺利找到合适的人选和资源。

If you think about most traditional automobile companies in the assembly line operations of their factories it was a highly scripted, tightly specified set of activities. Very routine, very mundane. And if you talk to most of the traditional auto companies they would say that workers on these assembly lines, it’s unreasonable to expect them to be passionate or excited about the work they’re doing. That’s a push-based model in terms of just do the job in a predictable way. Don’t deviate. Be reliable and clock in and clock out when you’re expected to. 

想想那些最传统的汽车企业吧，他们工厂流水线上的工作就是照本宣科，有着严格要求的工作。这些工作极度常规，也极度单调。如果你和这些传统汽车工厂流水线上的工人聊天，他们会告诉你，指望他们对于自己的工作怀有热情或激情是异想天开。因为这是一个推动式的模型，它意味着把工作按照可预测的方式完成。永远不要偏离轨道，稳妥地、按部就班地做你该做的事就好。

Interesting alternative model was really pioneered by Toyota. They said to the workers, “Look, we understand that you’re gonna have some routine activities that you have to perform as part of your job. You’re in a manufacturing operation. But your real job? Your real job is problem solving, creative problem solving. We know that in an average day you run into all kinds of unanticipated problems on that assembly line. Your job, number one, is to identify those problems, make sure they don’t escape the moment but in the moment identify the problem and solve the problem. If you can’t solve the problem we’re gonna put a little pull cord next to your station at the assembly line. You pull that cord, and the entire assembly line is gonna come to a screeching halt. The factory, in effect, will shut down. And at that moment you’re gonna be swarmed by a team of people who will come in and help you to solve that problem. And you’re gonna be a hero for having pulled that cord. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a great thing because you found a problem and you acknowledged that you couldn’t solve the problem and you got help necessary to do it.” 

不过，还有一个很有趣的替代模型，它最早是由日本丰田公司开创的。他们对工人说，“听着，我们理解在你们的工作中包括一部分必须完成的常规工作，因为你们在生产线上。但你们真正的工作是什么？你们真正的工作是解决问题，有创意地解决问题。我们知道每天你们都会在流水线上遇到各式各样的没有预想到的问题。你们的首要工作，就是去发现那些问题，确保不漏掉他们，你们要及时发现并处理掉这些问题。我们会放一根小拉绳儿在你的工位旁边，当你自己没办法解决这个问题的时间的时候，就可以拉一下，那整条流水线的人都会马上停下来，整个工厂都会停下来。到那时候，你会被一大群人进来围着，他们都是来帮你解决这个问题的。你会因为拉了那根小绳儿而成为一个英雄。这不是一件坏事。这是一件大好事，因为你发现了一个问题，你知道你没法解决，所以你得到了必要的帮助。”

Well, it’s really interesting. In that context you created, in effect, a pull platform. When needed, where needed you brought in a team of experts to solve an unanticipated problem. Passion levels on that front line went way up in terms of now there’s a job where I’m making a difference. So I think it’s an interesting illustration of moving from push to pull by creating that platform where it was problem solving, number one. Number two, because it was problem solving that wasn’t anticipated you couldn’t possibly have all the resources in the right place at the right time. You had to create a platform where the resources could be pulled in as needed. 

这真的是很有意思。在那个环境里你实际上创造了一个“拉动式平台”。无论何时何地，只要你需要，你都可以叫来一批专家来帮你解决预料之外的问题。这样，前线的工作热情度将直线上升，因为现在这是一份我可以做出一些改变的工作了。所以我觉得这是一个非常有意思的“从推到拉”的情景。第一，它创造了一个可以解决问题的平台。第二，因为它必须解决之前没有预料到的问题，所以你不太可能在对的时间对的地点有你需要的全部资源。你必须创造一个平台，这样资源才能在需要时被“拉动”起来。

Power of Pull Level 1 

第一级拉动力

When we talk about pull platforms often people focus on one level of pull which is what we call access. It’s simply if I have a need I can make a request, get the resource or the information I need when needed. And that’s a very useful form of pull. You can think about Google as a search engine is a great scalable pull platform in that regard. But that’s only the first level of pull. There are actually two other levels that become more and more important. 

当我们讨论拉动式平台时，人们往往关注的第一级拉动力就是“通道”。这很简单，就是当我有需要的时候，我可以发起一个申请，然后及时获得我需要的资源和信息。那这就是一个很有用的拉动式平台了。这样，你可以把谷歌搜索引擎想成一个巨大的可衡量的拉动式平台。但这只是第一级的拉动力。实际上，还有两个其他层级要重要得多。

Power of Pull Level 2 

第二级拉动力

One level has to do with the notion that in a more rapidly changing world, where there’s so much uncertainty, we don’t even have much comfort that we frame the right question. What’s the question? What are we trying to answer? And in that kind of environment a second form of pull that we call attraction. How do you attract people in resources to you, that you didn’t even know existed, but when you encounter them you say, “My God, that was so helpful. They had an insight that I didn’t even know was there or that I could ask for and yet it helped me to solve a problem.” That’s, in effect, a form of serendipity, unexpected encounters and creating pull platforms where you enhance that opportunity for serendipity and attraction, that’s very powerful. 

这一层级和一个认知有关，那就是这个发展越来越快速的世界充满了不确定性，我们甚至无法确定我们是不是提出了正确的问题。问题是什么？我们尝试回答的是什么？在这种环境下，第二级拉动力我们叫它“吸引力”。你如何吸引有资源的人，这些人你可能事先都不知道他们的存在，但当你遇到他们的时候你会发现，“天呐，这能帮到我太多了！”我事先都不知道可以有他们这样的洞察，或者我没法找到这样的洞察，但这些洞察却可以帮我解决一个问题。这实际上，是一种意外之喜，一个意料之外的相遇创造了一个拉动式平台。在这个平台上你能增加获得这种意外之喜和吸引力，这是非常有用的。

One of the early implementations of this is a company called Innocentive, which was created basically to help people in large corporations, particularly in the R&D function, Research and Development. In essence what Innocentive does is it provides a platform where you can post a really challenging problem and offer a reward to anybody who can come and provide a solution. And it’s been remarkably effective. People get very challenging problems and get solutions to those problems. 

早年间的一个实例来自于一家叫做“创新动力”的公司，它主要为大型企业中提供帮助，尤其是研发上的帮助。创新动力公司本质上做的其实就是提供一个平台，你可以在上面发布非常有挑战性的问题，通过悬赏来吸引人们回答并提出解决方案。这个平台惊人地高效。人们发布非常困难的问题，然后得到解决方案。

It turns out that the significant majority of the answers that are posted and get rewards on Innocentive’s platform do not come from within the discipline that the problem was posted. So if it was a problem in chemistry you’re more than likely not to get the answer from another chemist. You’re likely to get the answer from somebody in a completely different discipline who’s just coming at this with a very different angle. So it’s that unexpected encounter. You wouldn’t even know to go outside the discipline or where to go outside the discipline to find the answer, yet Innocentive creates that opportunity where posting the problem attracts all kinds of innovative ideas and ultimately a solution to the problem. 

结果，“创新动力”公司平台上那些解决问题并拿到悬赏的回答者许多都不是和提问者来自相同的领域。如果是一个化学相关的问题，回答你的问题的人很有可能不是来自化学领域，事实上，可能会有一个来自完全不同领域的人回答你，他会从一个非常不同的角度回答这个问题。所以这就是意料之外的相遇。你都不会想到要到领域之外，或是其他哪里去找到答案，但“创新动力”创造了这个机会，在这里提出问题会吸引各种创新的想法，并且最终可以找到一个解决问题的办法。

Power of Pull Level 3 

第三级拉动力

So there’s a third level of pull which has to do with achieve which is all about learning faster. I think one of the interesting early illustrations of this kind of pull platform is a company in China that’s not very well known here in the United States called Li & Fung and they started as a very traditional trading company but essentially they’ve evolved into a very sophisticated orchestrator of a global network of participants. Their customers are apparel designers. So think of Calvin Klein or Ann Taylor. Basically, they take the designs that these designers come up with and then they take care of everything from sourcing of the raw materials to dying of the fabric, weaving of the fabric, assembly of the apparel and delivery to various distribution centers, retail distribution centers around the world. 

第三级拉动力是“实现”，它和快速学习密切相关。有一个早期的例子很有趣，是关于一家中国公司的，这家公司在美国不太有名，它叫利丰公司。起初它是一家非常传统的贸易公司，但是最终却演变成一家非常成熟的公司，有着覆盖全球的商业伙伴网络。他们的客户是服装设计品牌，像是CK或是安·泰勒。基本上他们就是买下这些设计公司的设计方案，然后安排好之后的所有事，包括原材料的采购、布料的染色和纺织、以及服装生产线的组建，最后把成品运输到遍布世界的分销中心和零售中心。

Li & Fung does none of this themselves. They rely on a global network of about 15,000 business partners today - highly specialized that they bring in and they construct, in essence, customized supply networks for not just an individual designer but down to the individual item of apparel. So if it’s a high end wool sweater it’s gonna be a different set of participants than if it’s a low end wool sweater, different dying techniques, different weaving techniques, etc. 

但这些没有一样是利丰自己完成的。如今，他们依靠一个包含大约15,000个商业伙伴的全球网络来完成。这个网络非常专业化，他们拿到产品然后进行生产。从根本上而言，他们不仅仅是为一个独立设计师定制供应网络，而是为一件衣服单品而定制。如果是一件高端羊毛毛衣，那么链条中的供应商将和生产低端羊毛毛衣的供应商完全不同，包括不同的染色技术、不同的纺织技术等等。

But what’s really interesting in this network is that if you go out and talk to the participants, the partners that Li & Fung has brought together – and we’ve interviewed a large number of them to find out why are they part of this network. Interesting response without prompting and top of mind is the reason we’re part of this network is because we learn faster by being part of this network than we could on our own or as part of another network. 

但这个网络真正有意思的是，如果你去和其中的一个利丰平台上的供应商聊天，实际上我们也和他们中的大多数聊过，因为我们想要找出他们为什么会加入这个供应网络。他们都不假思索地脱口而出一个很有趣的回答，那就是我们参与这个供应网络是因为我们可以在这里快速学习，比起自己单独做、或是在其他供应网络里要学得更快。

What has happened is Li & Fung has spent a lot of time thinking about how can we help our participants get better faster. So they’ve created real time performance feedback loops. As a partner you can get a read on what kind of performance you have along many different dimensions relative to analogous partners in the network. So you have very precise views of where your performance gaps are. 

实际上，利丰花了大量时间思考如何帮助他们的商业伙伴在更短的时间内变得更好。所以他们创建了实时表现反馈环路。作为一个商业伙伴，你可以读到同链路里的其他同类供应商相比，你各维度的表现如何。所以你可以获得有关你不足之处的精确评价。

But then Li & Fung goes further and doesn’t just give them that information. They help to bring together the right participants in the network who can help this particular partner address that performance gap, learn new practices, new ways of operating their business. So there’s this constant effort to identify performance gaps and work together to try to address those performance gaps and the result has been rather impressive in terms of the motivation that people have to participate in the network and the performance improvement that comes from it. 

但利丰基于此更进了一步，不仅仅是给了商业伙伴这个信息，利丰还帮助把这个网络中合适的伙伴匹配起来，精准地帮助这个特定的供应商去解决自身的不足问题，学习新的做法、新的商业运营模式。所以利丰一直都在努力帮助发现企业自身的问题，然后一起解决这些不足。而结果也非常出色，企业不仅愿意加入这个网络，他们表现也都因此获得了进步。

【Summary】

【总结】

Recognize the Power of Pull: Case Studies in Push Models vs. Pull Platforms, with John Hagel, Co-Author of The Power of Pull 

在这节课中，约翰·哈格尔为我们讲解了如何在机构和工作中具有创新力，以及如何促进企业进步。

It’s time to reinvent the formula for how work is conducted, Hagel says. In our rapidly changing economy, we more than ever need people in the workplace who can take initiative and exercise their imagination “to respond to unexpected events.” That’s not something machines are good at. They are designed to perform very predictable activities. 

哈格尔认为，现在是时候重新设立完成工作的准则了。在快速变化的经济中，我们尤其需要在工作中具有主动性，用想象力来“应对意想不到的事件”。这是机器不擅长的事。他们是用来完成可预测的行为的。

In this lesson, Hagel explores why we need to reframe race against the machine as race with the machine. In other words, we need to look at the ways in which machines can augment human labor rather than replace it. So then the problem is not really about technology, but rather, “how do we innovate our institutions and our work practices?” In short, he says, we need to understand and harness the power of pull. 

在这堂课中，哈格尔带领我们一起探索为什么我们需要重新调整赛道，把过去的“与机器对战”变为“与机器共同战斗”。换言之，我们需要找到一些方法，让机器帮助人类劳动力，而不是替代人类劳动力。也就是说，问题就不在于技术，而是“我们如何对企业和工作创新？”。简而言之，哈格尔认为我们要能够理解和利用“拉力”。 

Power of Pull Level 1 

• Access – the ability to fluidly find resources when and where you need them (Example: Google) 

一、第一级拉动力

通道——在需要的时间和地点，灵活地找到资源（例子：谷歌）

Power of Pull Level 2 

• Attract – the ability to draw new people, ideas and information to you (Example: Innocentive) 

二、第二级拉动力

吸引——吸引新人才、新想法、新信息的能力（例子：创新动力公司）

Power of Pull Level 3

• Achieve – the ability to use access and attract practices to drive performance rapidly to the next level (Example: Li & Fung) 

三、第三级拉动力

实现——利用“通道”和“吸引”快速提升表现的能力（例子：利丰公司）

本节目英文版音频和视频均由美国Big Think Edge 独家授权，中文版由喜马拉雅制作播出。感谢收听，我们下集节目再见！