Richest man

Chapter 38 The Americas: Bill Gates (2)
However, it was Gerry Kidder who actually missed the godsend opportunity to cooperate with IBM and gave it to Gates.As a result, in November 1980, IBM signed a contract with Microsoft. The "ant" got close to the giant, and later became a giant.

In June 1985, Microsoft and IBM reached an agreement to jointly develop the OS/6 operating system.According to the agreement, IBM can install it on its own computer at will, almost free of charge, and allows Microsoft to charge other computer manufacturers for the use of OS/2.At that time IBM had an absolute advantage in the PC market.The share of compatibles was so low that Roy agreed almost without thinking.By 2, the compatible machine market had reached 1989% share.Microsoft has made a profit of 80 billion US dollars in just a few years from the license fee of the operating system.

There are "people who let the luck that may only appear once in a century slip away", and there are "people who catch luck that may only appear once in a century".The former is Gerry Kidder of the American Digital Research Software Company, the same Gerry Kidder mentioned in the previous article who gave up the opportunity to Bill Gates.The latter is Bill Gates who seized this great opportunity and made his software company a milestone development.

Bill Gates, with his agility, quickly "grabbed a lucky opportunity that may only appear once in a century."And Bill Gates' ultimate monopoly can be attributed to his "fear of failure" and his "wisdom to avoid failure".

Gates is exceptionally gifted, competitive, self-reliant, self-confident and adventurous.His control over the industry was so great that "Capitalist" magazine commented in April 1991: "Microsoft is slaughtering rivals and looks like it will almost monopolize the software industry."

Another example of his competitive nature is his fear of failure, which clearly drives him to pursue high achievements despite being the richest man in the world.He told reporters in a 1990 interview: "I'm terrified of failure, absolutely, and every day I go into this office, I ask myself: Are we still working hard? Is anyone outpacing us? Is this or that product really Is it good? Can we add some oil and make things even better?"

It is undeniable that Gates did have extraordinary abilities when running Microsoft, and there are many good management methods worth learning, but it should also be seen objectively that behind Gates, there are actually thousands of people, big and small. Small software talents propped up his "Microsoft Empire".

With strong market advantages and financial power, Microsoft has repeatedly implemented the "star-attracting method" and incorporated many new technologies and functions created by other companies into its own products, especially Windows, making it an omnipotent treasure chest.In this situation, weak software companies really cannot participate in this game with Microsoft.

Indeed, although Microsoft is already a huge empire, it has never really developed a product with a huge market through its own original ideas.Basic was not invented by itself, DOS was also bought from other companies, Windows used technology from Xerox and Apple, Excel was actually a copy of Lotus 123, and Web browsers were also developed with the help of Netscape. , Word is purely a follow-up of Wordstar and WordPerfect... These imitated products constitute the main force of Microsoft.And some of its own ideas and products, such as Bob, MSN, Slate, Mungo, Park, etc., have no success.

Here, it is worth mentioning how Bill Gates' Microsoft can continue to "monopoly" here after the U.S. Steel Trust, the Oil Trust, etc. have long been subject to anti-monopoly laws, regardless of whether they really belong to the standard Whether the "monopoly" of "monopoly" will be broken, Microsoft is undoubtedly the place where smart people gather in the world.So, what does Bill Gates rely on to effectively manage these employees? The answer is: rely on Microsoft's humanized management.In particular, the non-hierarchical arrangement is appreciated by many employees of other companies.

People can see that as long as they are employees of Microsoft, they have their own offices or rooms.The size of each office is similar, even the office of Chairman Bill Gates is not much larger than others.Relying on ingenious and personalized management, Microsoft has attracted a large number of creative talents to work in Microsoft, and by creating a unique cultural atmosphere, these talents are willing to stay in Microsoft.

Carnegie has long been a veteran in shopping malls after hard work in life.

In the 19s, the iron and steel production and operation in the United States were extremely decentralized. From mining, ironmaking to final finished products such as rails and iron plates, many manufacturers had to pass through.Coupled with the fact that middlemen increase the cost of each production and sales link, the cost of the final product is very high.

Carnegie was well aware of these disadvantages of traditional steel companies, and he was determined to build a brand-new modern steel company that included the entire production process and integrated supply, production, and sales.But he did not enter immediately, but after several years of investigation, it was not until 1872, when Carnegie believed that the time was ripe to do a big job in the steelmaking business, that he attacked with lightning speed.

It should be believed that he chose the best time.First of all, technically speaking, the low-cost acidic converter steelmaking method has been invented, and he specially went to the UK to investigate the actual situation of the inventor Bessemer's application of this method in production.Secondly, the steel market in the United States is very vast, and the supply exceeds the demand.Iron ore is extremely rich in the United States, and the Michigan Iron Mine has entered the stage of large-scale mining.Again, in terms of financial resources, Carnegie already owned hundreds of thousands of dollars in stocks and other properties. He decided to change the old way of investing around and concentrate his funds on the steel business.Finally, what gave Carnegie the most confidence was the ability to manage large companies he had mastered during his more than ten years at the steel company.So, by the end of 1873, he finally co-founded the Carnegie-McCandreese Steel Company.The company has a total capital of 75 US dollars.Carnegie invested $25 and was the largest shareholder.In the following 20 years, Carnegie increased his wealth dozens of times.

In 1881, Carnegie realized his childhood dream and established the Carnegie Brothers Company with his younger brother Tom, whose steel production accounted for 1/37 of the United States. In 1892, Carnegie merged the Carnegie Brothers Company with two other companies. The companies merged to form the steel empire named after him - Carnegie Steel Company.He finally reached the pinnacle of his career and became a veritable steel tycoon.Standing side by side with Rockefeller and Morgan, he was one of the three giants in the American economic circle at that time.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Carnegie Steel Company had become the largest steel company in the world.It has more than 2 employees and the most advanced equipment in the world. Its annual output exceeds the national steel output of the United Kingdom, and its annual revenue reaches 4000 million US dollars.Carnegie is the company's largest shareholder, but he does not hold positions such as chairman or general manager.His success depends to a large extent on the appointment of a group of talents who understand technology and management.To this day, people still often quote one of his famous sayings: "If I burn all my factory equipment and materials, but as long as I keep my whole team, I will still be a steel king in a few years."

Rockefeller's shrewd calculation and good grasp of opportunities are no worse than Carnegie's. In 1858, Rockefeller, who was only 19 years old, borrowed $1000 from his father, plus $800 of his own savings, and partnered with Clark, who was 10 years older than him, to start a grain and meat company.This is the first company that Rockefeller has run in his life.Due to the smooth operation, he made a business of 4.5 US dollars in the first year and made a net profit of 4000 US dollars.At the end of the second year, the net profit was 1.2 US dollars, and Rockefeller received 6000 US dollars.

At this time, oil had been discovered in Pennsylvania, USA, and tens of thousands of people flocked to oil production areas as they did during the gold mining boom.When Rockefeller came to the oil producing area, he saw the potential crisis behind blind exploitation through the superficial "prosperity" scene.

After a period of investigation, he advised businessmen not to invest in crude oil production, because there are already 72 oil wells there, with a daily output of 1135 barrels, and the demand for oil is limited, so the oil market must fall, which is the inevitable result of blind exploitation.He warned that if you want to create a career, you must learn to wait, and waiting patiently is the prerequisite for success.

Sure enough, as expected by Rockefeller, "Pioneers can't make money."Due to the crazy oil drilling, the oil price fell again and again, and a barrel of crude oil plummeted from the original 20 US dollars to only 10 cents.Those oil drilling pioneers were defeated one by one.

Three years later, when crude oil plummeted again and again, Rockefeller thought it was time to invest in oil.He and Clark jointly invested $4000 to open an oil refinery in partnership with Andrews, an Englishman who worked in an oil refinery.Andrews used a new technology to extract kerosene, which made Andrews-Clark develop rapidly.

At this time, although Rockefeller was only in his early 20s, he was quite sophisticated in business.After waiting patiently and observing calmly for a period of time, he decided to let go.But his collaborator Clark was hesitant at this time and dared not take risks.The two had a serious disagreement over decisions about the oil business and had to part ways.The result of the breakup was that Rockefeller acquired all the shares of the company at a high price of $7.25.After that, he changed the name of the company to "Rockefeller-Andrews Company" and started his oil career with high hopes.

Rockefeller quickly expanded his refining equipment, with a daily oil output of 500 barrels and annual sales exceeding one million dollars.Rockefeller's company became the largest refiner in Cleveland.The ugly duckling finally turned into a white swan.

At that time, the oil industry was still very chaotic, with overproduction, poor quality, and chaotic prices... Fierce competition was already emerging. Rockefeller's company was like a small boat in the vast ocean, and it was in danger of sinking at any time.

Rockefeller, who was far-sighted and far-sighted, realized that he had to expand his business so that the ship could withstand the impact of the stormy sea.He decisively persuaded his younger brother William to join in, established a second oil refining company, and sent him to New York to manage oil import and export trade, opening up the European market as soon as possible.Before William left for New York, the two brothers had a heart-to-heart talk and made an oath smugly: "We want to expand and expand again. The more funds we have, the richer our capital for development will be. We will dominate the world!"

Although Rockefeller had no clear idea of ​​the "super empire" he was going to create at that time, he was full of confidence in the future of the enterprise and his personal future.From his headquarters in Cleveland, he commands the overall situation and meets all challenges.

To produce high-quality products and expand the market, the most important thing is to formulate quality management standards, cut costs and lower prices.He borrowed money from the bank to build a new refinery called "standard", which produced standard kerosene, which was very popular.

From the very beginning, he turned his attention to the international market.He opened an office in New York dedicated to selling the company's products to the East Coast and abroad.He cut costs as much as possible, such as making his own oil barrels, and buying a chemical company to make his own sulfuric acid for refining oil.He also bought tankers and pipelines to avoid paying for railroads.The thrifty habits of his youth were used by Rockefeller in production and brought great benefits.

Rockefeller was keen on the combination of companies, and he combined two investment partners with strong funds and good reputation.Three years later, on January 1870, 1, a new company was created with a capital of $10 million and its name was "Standard Oil Company."John Rockefeller, the founder and president of the company, obtained a 100/1th stake in the company when he was only 34 years old.

Scientific management, meticulous management, and high-quality products have won the reputation of Standard Oil Company and also enabled it to have a solid competitiveness. When Rockefeller first entered the oil industry in 1865, there were 55 refineries in Cleveland. By the time Standard Oil was established in 1870, only 26 had survived. By the end of 1872, Standard Oil controlled 26 of these 21.

Rockefeller hated the prevailing competitive method of lowering prices again and again until the competitors were driven out of the industry, and then raising prices at will.He offered competitors cash or Standard stock in exchange for ownership of their refineries, and most agreed to sell the plant to Standard.It can be said that he is a pioneer in understanding the value of mergers.Rockefeller used the method of mergers to buy refineries extensively across the country.By the end of 1879, just nine years after its establishment as a legal entity, Standard Corporation controlled 9 percent of the nation's oil refining industry.By 90, 1880% of the oil produced in the United States was refined by Standard Oil.Since the history of the United States, there has never been a company that can completely dominate the market so completely.

With the development of Rockefeller's oil empire, the danger of being unmanageable due to its huge size has also become more and more dangerous.Rockefeller clearly saw this malady and paid attention to it.

At this time, Rockefeller found an article in a public publication, which wrote: "The era of small businessmen is over, and the era of big companies is coming." He spoke highly of it, and hired Dowd, the author of the article, as a legal counsel with a monthly salary of up to $500.

Dodd was a young lawyer. After he became popular, he tried every means to find legal loopholes for Rockefeller's company.One day, when he was carefully studying the trust system in the "English Law", he suddenly came up with inspiration and proposed the concept of "trust" as a monopoly organization.

(End of this chapter)