2009.06.15 Elon Musk的精彩演讲

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WIRED的商业颠覆性设计的微博直播。工程师不需要管理？
作者：Daniel Indiviglio
2009年6月15日
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我刚刚听到了Elon Musk的精彩演讲，他是PayPal的联合创始人，也是Tesla Motors（一家开发电动汽车的公司）和SpaceX（一家开发私人和商业太空运输技术的公司）的创始人。在谈话的一个部分，他被问到为什么美国的汽车公司会失败。他指责管理不善。然后他断言，如果像他这样的工程师来管理这些公司，这些公司会有更好的发展。


马斯克是一个令人难以置信的聪明人，也是一个符合我心意的人，他学过物理学。但是他一定没有学过足够的哲学，否则他就会听说柏拉图的哲学家国王的想法--以及为什么这个想法是相当荒谬的。像柏拉图一样，马斯克忽视了某些职责应该留给那些在功能上受过训练的人去完成。例如，哲学家应该坚持研究哲学，而那些更精通治理的人应该坚持做统治者。同样，工程师应该坚持设计东西，让那些懂得管理的人去管理。


我理解马斯克的想法。工程师比拥有MBA的任意商人更了解他们的产品。但是，除非他们也有MBA，否则这些工程师可能不了解管理一个公司的日常工作中所涉及的其他复杂问题。

不要误会我的意思：我认为马斯克说通用汽车和克莱斯勒可能有糟糕的管理是正确的。但我发现，他们的工程师可能做得更好，这有点荒唐。虽然应该就各种商业问题咨询工程师，如可行性、成本效益的生产等。管理层应该管理公司。

Daniel Indiviglio在2009年至2011年期间是《大西洋》杂志的副编辑。他现在是路透社Breakingviews的华盛顿特区的专栏作家。他也是菲利普斯基金会的2011年罗伯特-诺瓦克新闻学研究员。




WIRED's Business Disruptive By Design Liveblogging: Engineers Don't Need Management?
By Daniel Indiviglio
JUNE 15, 2009
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I just heard a great talk with Elon Musk, cofounder of PayPal and founder of Tesla Motors (a company that develops electric cars) and SpaceX (a company that develops technology for private and commercial space transport). In one part of the talk, he was asked why the U.S. auto companies have failed. He blamed poor management. He then asserted that these companies would have been better off if engineers, like him, managed the companies instead.


Musk is an incredibly smart guy and a man after my own heart, having studied physics. But he must have not studied enough philosophy, or he would have heard of Plato's idea of a philosopher king -- and why that idea was pretty ridiculous. Like Plato, Musk ignores that certain duties should be left to those who are functionally trained for those duties. For example, philosophers should stick to philosophy and those better versed in governing should stick to being rulers. Similarly, engineers should stick to designing stuff and let those who understand management manage.


I understand where Musk is coming from. Engineers understand their products better than arbitrary businessmen with MBAs might. But, unless they've also got MBAs, those same engineers probably don't understand the other intricacies involved in the day-to-day of managing a company.

Don't get me wrong: I think Musk is correct in saying that GM and Chrysler probably had poor management. But I find it somewhat absurd that their engineers might have done a better job. While engineers should be consulted on a variety of business issues, like feasibility, cost effective production, etc. Management should run the company.

Daniel Indiviglio was an associate editor at The Atlantic from 2009 through 2011. He is now the Washington, D.C.-based columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He is also a 2011 Robert Novak Journalism Fellow through the Phillips Foundation.