the.world.is.flat-第75部分

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responsibility　of　shooting　the　picture　and　defining　the　desired　artistic　expression；　
we　had　to　get　involved　in　the　
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technology　of　the　photograph。　We　had　to　become　the　lab。　We　woke　up　one　morning　and　
said；　'We　are　the　lab。'〃　
How　so？　Because　digital　cameras　gave　Greer　the　ability　to　download　those　digital　
images　into　a　PC　or　laptop　and；　with　a　little　magic　software　and　hardware；　perform　
all　sorts　of　new　functions。　〃So　in　addition　to　being　the　photographer；　we　had　to　become　
the　processing　lab　and　the　color　separator；〃　said　Greer。　Once　the　technology　made　
that　possible；　Greer's　customers　demanded　it。　Because　Greer　could　control　the　image　
farther　down　the　supply　chain；　they　said　he　should　control　it；　he　must　control　it。　
And　then　they　also　said　because　it　was　all　digital　now；　and　all　under　his　control；　
it　should　be　included　among　the　services　his　team　provided　as　the　photographic　


creators　of　the　image。　〃The　clients　said；　'We　will　not　pay　you　extra　for　it；'〃　said　
Greer。　〃We　used　to　go　to　an　outside　service　to　touch　up　the　pictures…to　remove　red…eye　
or　blemishes…but　now　we　have　to　be　the　retouchers　ourselves　also。　They　expect　＇red…eye＇　
to　be　removed　by　us；　digitally；　even　before　they　see　it。　For　twenty　years　we　only　
practiced　the　art　of　photography…color　and　composition　and　texture　and　how　to　make　
people　comfortable　in　front　of　a　camera。　This　is　what　we　were　good　at。　Now　we　had　
to　learn　to　be　good　at　all　these　other　things。　It　is　not　what　we　signed　up　for；　but　
the　competitive　marketplace　and　the　technology　forced　us　into　it。〃　
Greer　said　every　aspect　of　his　company　went　through　a　similar　flattening。　Film　
production　went　digital；　so　the　marketplace　and　the　technology　forced　them　to　become　
their　own　film　editors；　graphics　studio；　sound　production　facility；　and　everything　
else；　including　producers　of　their　own　DVDs。　Each　of　those　functions　used　to　be　farmed　
out　to　a　separate　company。　The　whole　supply　chain　got　flattened　and　shrunk　into　one　
box　that　sat　on　someone's　desktop。　The　same　thing　happened　in　the　graphics　part　of　
their　business：　Greer　&　Associates　became　their　own　typesetters；　illustrators；　and　
sometimes　even　printers；　because　they　owned　digital　color　printers。　〃Things　were　
supposed　to　get　easier；〃　he　said。　〃Now　I　feel　like　I'm　going　to　McDonald's；　but　instead　
of　getting　fast　food；　I'm　being　asked　to　bus　my　own　table　and　wash　the　dishes　too。〃　
He　continued：　〃It　is　as　if　the　manufacturers　of　technology　got　together　

with　our　clients　and　outsourced　all　of　these　different　tasks　to　us。　If　we　put　our　
foot　down　and　say　you　have　to　pay　for　each　of　these　services；　there　is　someone　right　
behind　us　saying；　'I　will　do　it　all'　So　the　services　required　go　up　significantly　
and　the　fees　you　can　charge　stay　the　same　or　go　down。〃　
It's　called　commoditization；　and　in　the　wake　of　the　triple　convergence；　it　is　
happening　faster　and　faster　across　a　whole　range　of　industries。　Asmore　and　more　analog　
processes　become　digital；　virtual；　mobile；　and　personal；　more　and　more　jobs　and　
functions　are　being　standardized；　digitized；　and　made　both　easy　to　manipulate　and　
available　to　more　players。　
When　everything　is　the　same　and　supply　is　plentiful；　said　Greer；　clients　have　too　
many　choices　and　no　basis　on　which　to　make　the　right　choice。　And　when　that　happens；　
you're　a　commodity。　You　are　vanilla。　
Fortunately；　Greer　responded　to　commoditization　by　opting　for　the　only　survival　
strategy　that　works：　a　shovel；　not　a　wall。　He　and　his　associates　dug　inside　themselves　
to　locate　the　company's　real　core　competency；　and　this　has　become　the　primary　energy　
source　propelling　their　business　forward　in　the　flat　world。　〃What　we　sell　now；〃　said　
Greer；　〃is　strategic　insight；　creative　instinct；　and　artistic　flair。　We　sell　inspired；　
creative　solutions；　we　sell　personality。　Our　core　competence　and　focus　is　now　on　all　
those　things　that　cannot　be　digitized。　I　know　our　clients　today　and　our　clients　in　
the　future　will　only　come　to　us　and　stick　with　us　for　those　things。。。　So　we　hired　
more　thinkers　and　outsourced　more　technology　pieces。〃　
In　the　old　days；　said　Greer；　many　companies　〃hid　behind　technology。　You　could　be　very　
good；　but　you　didn't　have　to　be　the　world's　best；　because　you　never　thought　you　were　
competing　with　the　world。　There　was　a　horizon　out　there　and　no　one　could　see　beyond　


that　horizon。　But　just　in　the　space　of　a　few　years　we　went　from　competing　with　firms　
down　the　street　to　competing　with　firms　across　the　globe。　Three　years　ago　it　was　
inconceivable　that　Greer　&　Associates　would　lose　a　contract　to　a　company　in　England；　
and　now　we　have。　Everyone　can　see　what　everyone　else　is　doing　now；　and　everyone　has　
the　same　tools；　so　you　have　to　be　the　very　best；　the　most　creative　thinker。〃　
Vanilla　just　won't　put　food　on　the　table　anymore。　〃You　have　to　offer　something　totally　
unique；〃　said　Greer。　'You　need　be　able　to　make　
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Chocolate　Chip　Cookie　Dough；　or　Cherry　（Jerry）　Garcia；　or　Chunky　Monkey〃…three　of　
the　more　exotic　brands　of　Ben　&　Jerry's　ice　cream　that　are　very　nonvanilla。　〃It　used　
to　be　about　what　you　were　able　to　do；〃　said　Greer。　〃Clients　would　say；　'Can　you　do　
this？　Can　you　do　that？'　Now　it's　much　more　about　the　creative　flair　and　personality　
you　can　bring　to　＇the　assignment＇　。　。　。　It's　all　about　imagination。〃　
Rule　#2：　And　the　small　shall　act　big。　。　。　One　way　small　companies　flourish　in　the　
flat　world　is　by　learning　to　act　really　big。　And　the　key　to　being　small　and　acting　
big　is　being　quick　to　take　advantage　of　all　the　new　tools　for　collaboration　to　reach　
farther；　faster；　wider；　and　deeper。　
I　can　think　of　no　better　way　to　illustrate　this　rule　than　to　tell　the　story　of　another　
friend；　Fadi　Ghandour；　the　cofounder　and　CEO　of　Aramex；　the　first　home…grown　package　
delivery　service　in　the　Arab　world　and　the　first　and　only　Arab　company　to　be　listed　
on　the　Nasdaq。　Originally　from　Lebanon；　Ghandour's　family　moved　to　Jordan　in　the　1960s；　
where　his　father；　AH；　founded　Royal　Jordanian　Airlines。　So　Ghandour　always　had　the　
airline　business　in　his　genes。　Shortly　after　graduating　from　George　Washington　
University　in　Washington；　D。C。；　Ghandour　returned　home　and　saw　a　niche　business　he　
thought　he　could　develop：　He　and　a　friend　raised　some　money　and　in　1982　started　a　
mini…Federal　Express　for　the　Middle　East　to　do　parcel　delivery。　At　the　time；　there　
was　only　one　global　parcel　delivery　service　operating　in　the　Arab　world：　DHL；　today　
owned　by　the　German　postal　service。　Ghandour's　idea　was　to　approach　American　companies；　
like　Federal　Express　and　Airborne　Express；　that　did　not　have　a　Middle　East　presence　
and　offer　to　become　their　local　delivery　service；　playing　on　the　fact　that　an　Arab　
company　would　know　the　region　and　how　to　get　around　unpleasantries　like　the　Israeli　
invasion　of　Lebanon；　the　Iran…Iraq　war；　and　the　American　invasion　of　Iraq。　
〃We　said　to　them；　'Look；　we　don't　compete　with　you　locally　in　your　home　market；　but　
we　understand　the　Middle　East　market；　so　why　not　give　your　packages　to　us　to　deliver　
out　here？〃　said　Ghandour。　〃We　will　be　your　Middle　East　delivery　arm。　Why　give　them　
to　your　global　competitor；　like　DHL？〃　Airborne　responded　positively；　and　Ghandour　
used　
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that　to　build　his　own　business　and　then　buy　up　or　partner　with　small　delivery　firms　
from　Egypt　to　Turkey　to　Saudi　Arabia　and　later　all　the　way　over　to　India；　Pakistan；　
and　Iran…creating　his　own　regional　network。　Airborne　did　not　have　the　money　that　
Federal　Express　was　investing　in　setting　up　its　own　operations　in　every　region　of　
the　globe；　so　it　created　an　alliance；　bringing　together　some　forty　regional　delivery　
companies；　like　Aramex；　into　a　virtual　global　network。　What　Airborne's　partners　got　


was　something　none　of　them　could　individually　afford　to　build　at　the　time…　a　global　
geographic　presence　and　a　computerized　package　tracking　and　tracing　system　to　compete　
with　that　of　a　FedEx　or　DHL。　
Airborne　〃made　their　online　computerized　tracking　and　tracing　system　available　to　
all　its　partners；　so　there　was　a　unified　language　and　set　of　quality　standards　for　
how　everyone　in　the　Airborne　alliance　would　deliver　and　track　and　trace　packages；〃　
explained　Ghandour。　With　his　company　headquartered　in　Amman；　Jordan；　Ghandour　tapped　
into　the　Airborne　system　by　leasing　a　data　line　that　was　connected　from　Amman　all　
the　way　to　Airborne's　big　mainframe　computer　in　its　headquarters　in　Seattle。　Through　
dumb　terminals　back　in　the　Middle　East；　Aramex　tracked　and　traced　its　packages　using　
Airborne's　back　room。　Aramex；　in　fact；　was　the　earliest　adopter　of　the　Airborne　system。　
Once　Ghandour's　Jordanian　employees　got　up　to　speed　on　it；　Airborne　hired　them　to　
go　around　the　world　to　install　systems　and　train　the　other　alliance　partners。　So　these　
Jordanians；　all　of　whom　spoke　English；　went　off　to　places　like　Sweden　and　the　Far　
East　and　taught　the　Airborne　methods　of　tracking　and　tracing。　Eventually；　Airborne　
bought　9　percent　of　Aramex　to　cement　the　relationship。　
The　arrangement　worked　well　for　everyone；　and　Aramex　came　to　dominate　the　parcel　
delivery　market　in　the　Arab　world；　so　well　that　in　1997；　Ghandour　decided　to　take　
the　company　public　on　Broadway；　also　known　as　the　Nasdaq。　Aramex　continued　to　grow　
into　a　nearly　200…million…a…year　company；　with　thirty…two　hundred　employees…and　
without　any　big　government　contracts。　Its　business　was　built　for　and　with　the　private　
sector；　highly　unusual　in　the　Arab　world。　Because　of　the　dotcom　boom；　which　deflected　
interest　from　brick…and…mortar　companies　like　Aramex；　and　then　the　dot…com　bust；　
which　knocked　out　the　Nasdaq；　

Aramex's　stock　price　never　really　took　off。　Thinking　that　the　market　simply　did　not　
appreciate　its　value；　Ghandour；　along　with　a　private　equity　firm　from　Dubai；　bought　
the　company　back　from　its　shareholders　in　early　2002。　
Unbeknownst　to　Ghandour；　this　move　coincided　with　the　flattening　of　the　world。　He　
suddenly　discovered　that　he　not　only　could　do　new　things；　but　he　had　to　do　new　things　
he　had　never　imagined　doing　before。　He　first　felt　the　world　going　flat　in　2003；　when　
Airborne　got　bought　out　by　DHL。　Airborne　announced　that　as　of　January　1；　2004；　it