 | ||
| ||
英 國首相布朗（Gordon Brown）在內閣瀕臨垮台的危機中改組人事，希望為自己的政治生命帶來生機，新閣陣容裡，國防大臣安斯華斯（Bob Ainsworth）只有中學畢業，曾是Jaguar車廠的機械工人，「政府企業顧問」則是中學中輟生出身的電視真人秀主持人舒格（Alan Sugar）。 56歲的安斯華斯出生在英格蘭第九大城卡文特利市，中學畢業後在市內的Jaguar車廠工作長達20年，並成為工會活躍成員，在工會裡的地位日益上升，1984年當選市議員，1989到1992年擔任副議長。 1992年，他出馬角逐國會議員，一戰成功，1997年布萊爾（Tony Blair）出任首相後，安斯華斯成為黨鞭，在幕後執行黨內紀律，協助工黨在國會通過法案，英國國會通過加入伊拉克戰爭，主要就是由他促成。他後來成為國防部次官，5日晉升國防部長。 不過，加入伊戰，以及繼續陪著美國駐兵在阿富汗，在英國愈來愈不得人心，但撤不撤軍一直是兩難，安斯華斯當初力促參戰，現在若改口要撤兵，恐怕會招來出爾反爾的批評。 |
Alan Sugar
英國的「政府企業顧問」又稱「企業沙皇」，新沙皇是62歲的舒格，他並非是工黨迷，在1992年曾投書倫敦金融時報表示：「某個名叫戈登‧布朗的先生，指 控我在經濟衰退時期發橫財，這話我聽了覺得惡心。我可不曉得這位布朗先生是何方神聖，恕我無知。不管他是誰，他都沒有好好做功課，這位老兄不知道自己在說 什麼。」
兩人後來顯然熟了起來，布朗兩年前邀他加入「經濟領袖委員會」，現在又請他擔任政府最高經濟顧問，一般認為，從基層幹起的舒格，可能為經濟政策帶來一些新意。
舒格出身倫敦東區一個猶太裁縫家庭，16歲輟學，用100英鎊積蓄開廂型車兜售汽車天線和錄音機，但他努力上進，成年後創辦幾家科技公司，並從事科技投 資，2007年出售英國天空廣播公司（BSkyB），2008年成為泰晤士報英國富翁榜第92名，目前身價約8億英鎊（約新台幣 417億元）。
舒格後來主持英國版「誰是接班人」（The Apprentice），聲名更盛，節目主持人那句Your're fired（你被開除了），幾乎人人耳熟能詳。
Sir Alan Sugar, 16th November 2005
Alan Sugar brought his knowledgeable, straightforward, wise yet witty business perspective to an Oxford audience of over 300 people on Wednesday 16th November 2005 during a question and answer session which he generously allowed to run over time.
Sir Alan asserted that “There’s nothing stopping anybody in this country from doing exactly what I have done; it’s no secret that I started with absolutely nothing” he started his business with £100 in post office savings which purchased a van for £50, motor insurance for £8 and £42 in stock. Accordingly, he had little sympathy for complaints about banks or venture capitalists and reminded the audience that banks are businesses and that “most ideas are totally useless and there are no free lunches” he compared the investor sentiments of the “dotcom boom to a phenomenon that lasted for about five and a half minutes” and advised fledgling entrepreneurs to start small. Sugar explained that he was originally motivated by a desire for self sufficiency and his inspirations included his “Uncle John, because he was the only person I knew that had a business, I came from a working class background with family who lived on council estates, business was completely alien…and when I decided to start in business, he was my guru, if you like, and all he had was a corner shop in Victoria.” Alan Sugar’s inspirations today include Rupert Murdoch for his qualities as a “speculator, gambler and a maverick” and he admires Branson, he conceded to the Oxford audience that “his style of doing business is completely different to mine but it’s successful.” Sugar disclosed his thoughts about ‘entrepreneurship’ in general, indicating his dismay at the misuse of the word ‘entrepreneurship’ as a descriptive word for people who would otherwise be described as ‘enterprising’ or ‘business oriented’; he viewed entrepreneurial traits as inherent and akin to those of an accomplished concert pianist or artist.
Sugar offered amusingly dry responses to various questions; his response to a protest from an audience member about whether business has to be dominated by targets, profit and money was “Yes, it all has to be about money and targets” to lecture theatre laughter. Sir Alan later betrayed the fact that he wishes he had re-directed energies spent on managing Tottenham Football Club to charitable causes such as Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. The football club was sold by Alan Sugar for a gross profit of approximately £30 Million - he advised the audience to “stick to what you know” and to have a good knowledge of the sector areas in which they choose to do business. On the subject of human resources he joked that “everybody is dispensable” and later explained via an anecdote about early entrepreneurial experiences with an engineer who perceived himself as pivotal and ‘indispensable’ to Sugar’s businesses. Sir Alan provided a humorous diatribe around his views of ‘management consultants’ and then proceeded to discuss global technology and manufacturing considerations, teasing the Oxford audience by playfully suggesting that they probably had “management consultant” aspirations. The vast majority of the audience were members of Oxford Entrepreneurs, the largest student society of its kind in the UK.
A student enquired whether an Oxford presence on The Apprentice (TV programme) was long overdue, especially in the light of a Harvard candidate on the American version of the TV show, Sir Alan responded “…Well you can apply for The Apprentice next time around with the other 10,000 people…we mustn’t make any special favours because I’m here this evening”
沒有留言:
張貼留言