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- 合群合群
  ·2022-03-25
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- 合群合群
  ·2022-02-11
  Noted
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- 合群合群
  ·2022-02-11
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  Taking charge of putting out a fire at the age of 87 is too difficult for Canon's "Zhuge Liang"!
  贴着“中国制造”标签的佳能相机，不会再被生产出来了。
  Taking charge of putting out a fire at the age of 87 is too difficult for Canon's "Zhuge Liang"!
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Noted","listText":"&nbsp; Noted","text":"Noted","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":2,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/9092150552","repostId":"1184150844","repostType":4,"isVote":1,"tweetType":1,"viewCount":4120,"authorTweetTopStatus":1,"verified":2,"comments":[],"imageCount":0,"langContent":"EN","totalScore":0},{"id":9092150361,"gmtCreate":1644560430593,"gmtModify":1676533941516,"author":{"id":"4100948545205140","authorId":"4100948545205140","name":"合群","avatar":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/e95acad885a75d10e247934585af5d66","crmLevel":11,"crmLevelSwitch":0,"followedFlag":false,"idStr":"4100948545205140","authorIdStr":"4100948545205140"},"themes":[],"title":"","htmlText":"Sad","listText":"Sad","text":"Sad","images":[],"top":1,"highlighted":1,"essential":1,"paper":1,"likeSize":1,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"link":"https://ttm.financial/post/9092150361","repostId":"1132602324","repostType":4,"repost":{"id":"1132602324","kind":"news","weMediaInfo":{"introduction":"华商人物与企业新媒体第一殿堂。","home_visible":1,"media_name":"华商韬略","id":"27","head_image":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/08f34cc62ee54134a6a68fe6538c26f8"},"pubTimestamp":1644550170,"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/1132602324?lang=en_US&edition=fundamental","pubTime":"2022-02-11 11:29","market":"us","language":"zh","title":"Taking charge of putting out a fire at the age of 87 is too difficult for Canon's \"Zhuge Liang\"!","url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=1132602324","media":"华商韬略","summary":"贴着“中国制造”标签的佳能相机，不会再被生产出来了。","content":"<p><html><head></head><body>By Chen Mengdi</p><p>A fire captain who can never retire.</p><p>Canon cameras labeled \"Made in China\" will no longer be produced.</p><p>For 32 years, 1,317 employees, $220 million in investment, and an annual production of one million cameras and tens of millions of lenses all became history with the closure of Canon's Zhuhai factory.</p><p>Following the board's decision to close the factory, Chairman Fujio Mitarai signed a document. It was a compensation plan for laid-off employees, who could receive varying amounts of severance pay based on their years of service. A 30-year-old employee received the highest amount: 1.5 million yuan.</p><p>This caused a stir in the public mind, and Canon received a reputation for \"malicious compensation\". But Mr. Mitarai probably didn't have the energy and didn't want to pay much attention to it. Canon, the once giant, has more to come.</p><p>Importantly, he is already 87 years old.</p><p><b>01</b></p><p>Fujio Mitarai has two nicknames: at Canon, he is known as \"Grandpa,\" and throughout Japan, he is known as \"Harmonious Soul and Foreigner.\"</p><p>The former is a tribute to Venerable Nian Gaode, and the latter is a commentary on a business hero—a man who flexibly combines Japanese spirit, Western experience, and personal talent.</p><p>However, these two nicknames actually came to be known after Fujio Mitarai grew old. Until the age of 31, his primary identity within Canon remained that of \"nephew\".</p><p>Fujio is the nephew of Canon founder Takeshi Mitarai. This identity brought him the exclusive treatment of a \"second-generation rich kid\"—to go to the most difficult places.</p><p>Canon has a practice of selecting new employees internally, sending them to overseas branches for training, and then entrusting them with important responsibilities upon returning to China. Born in 1935, Fujio Mitarai received a preferential offer in 1966—to work as a salesman in the U.S. office.</p><p>Fujifu faced an awkward situation. Canon does not have a direct sales network in the United States and needs to entrust distributors to sell its camera products. To conduct direct selling, a large number of salespeople need to come to your door one by one, but the company has a pitiful number of employees: 13 people.</p><p>Worse still, Americans in the 1960s had two formulas in mind: German cameras = specialized, refined, and innovative + luxury brands, and Japanese cameras = shoddy production + economic entry-level. These two formulas brought countless ridicule to Canon's salespeople.</p><p>This wasn't the worst part. Due to Japan's slump following the Tokyo Olympics, the headquarters' financial situation was poor, and Canon was temporarily unable to afford direct sales, forcing it to extend its contracts with its distributors. Fujio Mitarai was half-unemployed when he first arrived in the United States and had to start as an accountant.</p><p>Fujio had to learn English on the spot and was financially strapped, so much so that even in his old age he would still think about the high cost of living in the United States: \"At that time, 1 US dollar was equivalent to 360 yen. A pork chop rice that cost 80 yen in Japan was 3 US dollars (1,000 yen) in the United States.\" His heart ached with just one bite.</p><p>Many years later, Fujio Mitarai made a subtle statement: \"Every day brings new and arduous entrepreneurial experiences, which have now become unforgettable memories.\" But in China, this statement has a direct meaning: every step brings a hurdle.</p><p>At the end of each hurdle, there is a huge pit.</p><p>In 1966, Canon achieved sales of $3.7 million in the United States, but made a profit of only $6,000. This caught the attention of the IRS: Is Canon evading taxes?</p><p>After finding no such matter, the auditor gave Fujio sincere advice: \"Let's just go back to Japan.\"</p><p>These words stung Fujio Mitarai, but they also sparked a major debate within him about the criteria of truth: why do unprofitable businesses?</p><p>After fully launching his direct selling business, Fujio Mitarai's time allocation was roughly as follows: On weekdays, he would dress in a suit and tie and visit distributors and customers everywhere, asking for their experience and promoting products. Because I didn't have a car, I had to rent one and sleep in a motel that cost a dozen dollars a night.</p><p>On weekends, Mitarai Fujio began learning to play golf and entered the circle of American professional managers through golf social networking. While playing, he asked Americans for advice on business strategies. This circle later evolved, and among his fellow golfers, names like Jack Welch appeared.</p><p>During the exchange, he realized that the biggest difference between American and Japanese companies is that American companies value both market share and profits, while Japanese companies often pursue market share while neglecting profits.</p><p>The words and deeds of American managers planted a seed in Fujio's heart. The concept of strict cost control and profit first took root in his heart and profoundly influenced Canon's future strategy.</p><p>This was also a beginning, with Japan's rising global economic standing at the top, the expanding influence of Japanese products at the bottom, and the growth of Canon's direct sales team at the bottom. High-quality and affordable cameras and copiers began to be accepted by American companies and the public. The company's performance subsequently increased year after year.</p><p>Fujio Mitarai said, \"Canon's rapid development in the United States, I think, is due to the enrichment of its direct sales network for products such as cameras that began in 1973 and copiers in 1974, as well as the effectiveness of its marketing strategy.\"</p><p>Canon America is thriving, with Fujio Mitarai rising through the ranks from salesperson to sales director, vice president of Canon America, and president.</p><p>In 1989, Fujio Mitarai was transferred back to the Japanese headquarters. By the time he left, Canon America was already a regional subsidiary with 6,000 employees, including cameras, copiers, and printers, and sales of $3 billion.</p><p><b>02</b></p><p>Some people return to headquarters for promotions, while others return to headquarters for recuperation. When Fujio returned to headquarters, it was like stepping into an epidemic area of large corporate diseases.</p><p>At headquarters, Fujio's title was vice president. However, his seniority needs to be recalculated, which makes him a back-row contestant in the seniority queue. One of the hallmarks of a back-row contestant is that proposals can be easily rejected.</p><p>But Fujio still got his chance. Half of it was due to his talent and performance experience, and the other half was due to whether it was luck or misfortune. In 1995, then-president Hajime Mitarai suddenly passed away due to an acute illness, and Fujio Mitarai was appointed as the sixth president of Canon in a time of crisis.</p><p>Fujio, 60, has two new discoveries. First, his qualifications are old enough and his status is high enough that few people can stand up and deny his opinions.</p><p>The second discovery wasn't so wonderful. Canon's loan reliance ratio is as high as 35%, and a pile of old debts is snowballing. Meanwhile, multiple R&D departments operate independently, leading to factional disputes and a disregard for costs in their research and development efforts. Canon, which appears powerful on the surface, is actually already strong on the surface but weak on the inside. What is needed most is probably a reform.</p><p>This indeed facilitated the biggest reform in Canon's history, and also established Fujio's status as a business hero and a harmonious genius.</p><p>Fujio's first move was towards the assembly line operation model that had been in operation for 40 years.</p><p>Replaced with a \"honeycomb team\" of six people, employees worked from sitting to standing, resulting in a 30% increase in productivity. Although the lifetime employment system has not been abolished, the seniority-based pay system has been replaced with a GPA adjustment based on more work, more pay.</p><p>The second fire spread to seven loss-making departments.</p><p>Among these loss-making divisions, Canon's PC business lost approximately 26 billion yen in 1995, for which Fujio Mitarai specifically approached Toshiba Vice President Yasuzo Nishimuro. Taizo Nishimuro told him, \"You need to sell 3 million PCs a year to avoid losing money.\"</p><p>This made Fujifu think for a whole night: \"We've been in the PC business for more than 20 years, and we've sold 800,000 units this year. Compared to the boom-bust line of 3 million units, there's absolutely no hope of profitability.\"</p><p>Back at Canon, Fujifu put forward the slogan: \"Losses are evil.\" He cut \"evil departments\" such as PCs, word processors, memory cards, and FLCDs, abandoned 35 factories and 20,000 meters of assembly lines, and a large number of workers were transferred or laid off. As a result, Canon was integrated into four core departments: copiers, printers, cameras, and optical equipment.</p><p>The third fire was directed at the R&D department, which spends excessively.</p><p>To improve the return on investment, Canon's R&D department was directly placed under the management of the President's Office. A fixed percentage of revenue is used for funding each year, while strictly controlling costs and maintaining an aggressive approach. In 2003 alone, Canon registered an average of nine patents per working day.</p><p>History has eloquently proven that, in any country, reforms that affect interests always cause major upheaval. The employees who were in the \"cut business lines\" fought desperately under the guise of hard work, and Fujio encountered numerous obstacles as a result.</p><p>Some resistance required Mitarai to painstakingly communicate with his colleagues for weeks, while others required him to accomplish it with a hawkish style and almost cold-blooded decisiveness.</p><p>This almost caused Canon to split, with reformers and opponents divided into two camps within the company.</p><p>The power struggle between the two sides was so evenly matched that when Fujio could not reconcile and resolve the issue, a compromise organization such as the \"Business Review Committee\" had to emerge, which would conduct a tiered review of the business for 3 and 5 years respectively. If it was not profitable, it would be eliminated.</p><p>However, throughout the reform, although the methods were moderated and the tactics were rhythmic, the general direction never wavered. Fujio's own attitude was: \"There are some things that cannot be listened to by the employees, and some things that must be listened to.\"</p><p>The reform of the camera business is a standard case of refined but persistent progress.</p><p>Canon, which started with cameras, became one of Japan's strongest film camera manufacturers as early as 1954. Canon began developing electronic cameras in the 1980s, but the market response was poor. After taking office, Fujio Mitarai attached great importance to digital cameras. At that time, the market leaders were Fujifilm and Olympus. In 1999, these two companies held 60% of the digital camera market share, while Canon only had 3%.</p><p>One important reason is that both companies' products feature a large number of innovative designs and provide a very good user experience.</p><p>Fujio Mitarai ordered them to catch up, demanding that the lens and battery be made thinner and smaller, but the image quality and functionality only improved, not decreased. So the R&D department worked day and night, reducing the camera thickness millimeter by millimeter. One employee complained: Are we going through such a difficult time just for a millimeter that is invisible to the eye?</p><p>Fujio Mitarai said, \"No matter how difficult it is, we cannot compromise on performance and design. This is a contest between technology and will.\"</p><p>In 2000, the DIGITAL IXUS, a small point-and-shoot DIGITAL camera with a lens only the size of a 1-yuan coin, was released. After its launch, Canon's market share in the global DIGITAL camera market began to steadily increase.</p><p>Following closely behind, the high-quality, compact, and lightweight Canon EOS 300D was released in 2003, thus beginning the Canon EOS dynasty.</p><p>According to official disclosures, from 2003 to 2020, Canon's interchangeable lens digital cameras (DSLR and mirrorless) have maintained the number one global market share for 18 consecutive years.</p><p>This reform has created a completely transformed Canon.</p><p>In fiscal year 1991, Canon's cash flow was negative 53.6 billion yen, but in fiscal year 2000, it turned into positive cash flow of 133.8 billion yen. In fiscal year 2001, both sales and profits reached record highs. In the future, Canon's transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and research and development will almost all require funding from its own sources.</p><p>As a result, outsiders commented: \"He dug up a gold mine from within Canon.\"</p><p>But Fujio Mitarai, with his consistently calm attitude, said one sentence: \"Making people realize that profit is the most important thing, and changing the mindset of Canon, is my greatest achievement since taking over Canon.\"</p><p>But only Fujio himself knew that from then on, \"never-ending reform and competition\" would become his motto throughout his life.</p><p><b>03</b></p><p>Throughout Canon's history, Fujio Mitarai has stepped down from his position three times, but in fact, he has always been at the helm of Canon.</p><p>Canon's development is closely related to the global macroeconomic environment. The period from 2005 to 2007 was a golden three years for Canon's development, with global GDP maintaining a growth rate of 5%, and Canon became a beneficiary.</p><p>In 2006, Fujio Mitarai stepped down as president and was elected chairman of the Japan Keidanren in the same year. This position is recognized by society as the \"Prime Minister of Japan's financial world\" and is the highest honor that a Japanese entrepreneur can receive.</p><p>Under Fujio Mitarai's leadership, Canon maintained steady growth for a decade, and the term \"Fujio boom\" began to quietly circulate within the company. But good days always come to an end.</p><p>In 2008, the global financial crisis struck, and the global digital market was also affected by the wave of bankruptcies. Canon's total operating profit in 2008 decreased by 34.4% compared to the previous year.</p><p>The financial reports are getting worse every year. In 2009, the Group's sales decreased by 21.6% year-on-year. In 2010, Canon's performance continued to decline. Due to the double blow of the European debt crisis and the appreciation of the yen, Canon's profit growth for the whole of 2011 was less than 1%. In 2012, Canon experienced its first decline in both sales and net profit in three years.</p><p>Due to the economic downturn in the European and American markets and the shrinking market caused by channel inventory adjustments, a large number of factory employees have left their jobs or taken leave for several months.</p><p>In 2012, faced with market pressure, then-president Kenji Uchida resigned, and Fujio Mitarai took over and resumed his position as head coach.</p><p>His first move was to use the company's substantial assets accumulated over the golden decade to begin large-scale acquisitions of technology companies and explore emerging markets.</p><p>Regarding the strategic shift, Fujifu has a clear expression: \"Canon will invest in four areas: first, the production and development of medical equipment and medical devices; second, the development of robots for production automation and unmanned operations; third, extending from existing camera technology to film production; and finally, applying camera and video technology to security monitoring.\"</p><p>This signifies a significant shift—while maintaining its existing business advantages, Canon will shift from the 2C to the 2B market.</p><p>In 2013, Canon completed the acquisition of the Dutch commercial printing company Osina, and in 2014, Canon acquired McVision, the world's largest video management software company. In 2015, it acquired the Swedish monitoring company Axis; in 2016, it acquired Toshiba's medical equipment division…</p><p>Behind these sweeping acquisitions lies Fujio's reflection on the industrial landscape. Mitarai Fujio said, \"Economic growth cannot be separated from population growth, so I consider the direction of industrial layout according to the population growth trend.\"</p><p>Against this backdrop of this shift, Canon's core business was gradually injected with new vitality by Fujio Mitarai.</p><p>Starting in 2013, Canon resumed double growth in sales and profits. In 2016 alone, the turnover declined due to the huge acquisition of Toshiba's medical division, but the performance rebounded rapidly the following year, with turnover increasing by 19.9% and net profit increasing by as much as 60.6%, shocking the entire industry.</p><p>New business areas have also given Canon hope for the transformation of its core business. Canon's 2015 financial report showed that the growth rate of its industrial, medical, and security businesses was 31.6%, far exceeding the growth rate of traditional businesses.</p><p>In 2016, Fujio Mitarai stepped down as president again. He was 81 years old, which is considered an age to enjoy his old age in East Asian culture.</p><p>But can this really be achieved?</p><p><b>　04</b></p><p>Fujio Mitarai, who had stepped down, was surprised to find that Canon's financial reports had been declining year after year since his departure. This may seem like a curse, but the real reason doesn't lie with one person.</p><p>With the rise of smartphones, Canon's camera market has been shrinking. Canon Group's revenue decreased slightly by 3.1% in 2018.</p><p>Canon Group's revenue decreased by 9.1% in 2019. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted Canon's performance, with revenue declining by 12.1%...</p><p>Financial reports reflect fundamentals, and this series of figures foreshadows another round of crisis for Canon, which also became the reason for Fujio Mitarai's departure. In 2020, at the age of 85, he served as president for the third time.</p><p>After taking office, Fujio Mitarai made a statement with his consistent attitude: \"The company is on the edge of a cliff. If it doesn't reform, it will die.\"</p><p>In Mitarai's judgment, market demand is accelerating towards mirrorless cameras, so production of flagship digital SLR cameras will cease within a few years.</p><p>On the one hand, Canon has begun to steadily transfer employees; On the other hand, due to the continued demand for mid-to-low-end SLR cameras in some global markets, Canon has temporarily retained some production capacity.</p><p>Therefore, the closure of the Zhuhai factory, which may seem like a huge uproar, is actually just one part of a new round of reforms.</p><p>At the same time, Canon will accelerate its transformation into the professional imaging market globally, mainly including medical imaging, industrial imaging, and security imaging, as well as the production of medical scanners, MRI equipment, construction site inspection instruments, bridge and tunnel inspection instruments, etc.</p><p>Among the many transformation businesses, medical imaging is the one that Canon is most concerned about. Since 2017, this business has been separately counted in the financial report as \"medical system\" turnover, accounting for 10.7% of the total turnover that year.</p><p>In 2020, Canon restructured its medical business. In May 2020, Canon's ophthalmic equipment business in China was reorganized from Canon (China) Co., Ltd. to Canon Medical Systems (China) Co., Ltd., striving to capture the opportunities in the medical device market brought about by national policies such as \"Healthy China 2030\".</p><p>However, medical industry insiders say that Canon is currently not in the first tier in either large-scale radiation or ultrasound (diagnostic equipment).</p><p>Under Fujio Mitarai's leadership, Canon showed a glimmer of hope in 2021, with its financial reports reviving its growth magic, with the group's revenue increasing by 11.2% year-on-year and net profit increasing by 157.7%. But will this be a good start?</p><p>For decades, Fujio Mitarai played the role of \"firefighter captain, saving the nation from danger,\" but in fact, he never lost his observation of the company, nor did he ever relinquish his authority over Canon.</p><p>This means that Canon's ups and downs are always tied to it, and the outside world actually foresaw Canon's crisis long ago.</p><p>In the business world, persisting in what is right for too long may turn into wrong, and persisting in what is wrong for too long may turn into right. Canon's overly focused business is a pursuit of excellence, but it will also narrow its path.</p><p>Fortune magazine commented: \"Unlike IBM researchers who ponder the nature of outer space, Canon's engineers are busy designing and redesigning products, so its patents are more focused on areas closely related to its own business.\"</p><p>Despite having tens of thousands of patents and having ranked first in the number of patents registered in the United States for 13 consecutive years, Canon has had very few disruptive innovations. These are all optimizations to the original details, focusing only on the optimal location.</p><p>For example, Canon has more than 2,000 patents for photosensitive drums related to digital copiers alone. Pursuing excellence without prioritizing cost-effectiveness, Canon products, whether cameras or other products, are not truly irreplaceable for consumers.</p><p>A Japanese investment analyst once pointed out: \"Since Canon invented the inkjet printer in the 1990s, it has not launched a product based entirely on new technology.\"</p><p>This is somewhat similar to the plot in the movie \"The Last Samurai,\" where, even after entering the era of firearms, Canon was still researching how to sharpen cold weapons. It is said that many senior Chinese employees shed tears when the Zhuhai factory closed.</p><p>Those were the tears of an era, but as the helmsman of Canon's great ship, Fujio Mitarai clearly had no time to share the sorrow and joy. There was still too much to do on this big ship, waiting for him to finish.</p><p>In a media interview, Fujio Mitarai proudly said, \"I have almost never been sick.\"</p><p>This may be Canon's luck, but it's also Canon's misfortune. According to Fujio's friends, he loved Chinese history from a young age and was well-versed in \"Records of the Three Kingdoms\" and \"Romance of the Three Kingdoms\". His favorite character was Zhuge Liang, and he once took \"devoting himself to the cause until death\" as his life motto. He had always wanted to visit the Wuhou Temple in Chengdu when he had some free time, but unfortunately, it seemed he would never live to see his retirement plan.</p><p></body></html></p>","collect":0,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Taking charge of putting out a fire at the age of 87 is too difficult for Canon's \"Zhuge Liang\"!</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 12.5px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nTaking charge of putting out a fire at the age of 87 is too difficult for Canon's \"Zhuge Liang\"!\n</h2>\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n<a class=\"head\" href=\"https://laohu8.com/wemedia/27\">\n\n<div class=\"h-thumb\" style=\"background-image:url(https://static.tigerbbs.com/08f34cc62ee54134a6a68fe6538c26f8);background-size:cover;\"></div>\n\n<div class=\"h-content\">\n<p class=\"h-name\">华商韬略 </p>\n<p class=\"h-time smaller\">2022-02-11 11:29</p>\n</div>\n</a>\n</h4>\n</header>\n<article>\n<p><html><head></head><body>By Chen Mengdi</p><p>A fire captain who can never retire.</p><p>Canon cameras labeled \"Made in China\" will no longer be produced.</p><p>For 32 years, 1,317 employees, $220 million in investment, and an annual production of one million cameras and tens of millions of lenses all became history with the closure of Canon's Zhuhai factory.</p><p>Following the board's decision to close the factory, Chairman Fujio Mitarai signed a document. It was a compensation plan for laid-off employees, who could receive varying amounts of severance pay based on their years of service. A 30-year-old employee received the highest amount: 1.5 million yuan.</p><p>This caused a stir in the public mind, and Canon received a reputation for \"malicious compensation\". But Mr. Mitarai probably didn't have the energy and didn't want to pay much attention to it. Canon, the once giant, has more to come.</p><p>Importantly, he is already 87 years old.</p><p><b>01</b></p><p>Fujio Mitarai has two nicknames: at Canon, he is known as \"Grandpa,\" and throughout Japan, he is known as \"Harmonious Soul and Foreigner.\"</p><p>The former is a tribute to Venerable Nian Gaode, and the latter is a commentary on a business hero—a man who flexibly combines Japanese spirit, Western experience, and personal talent.</p><p>However, these two nicknames actually came to be known after Fujio Mitarai grew old. Until the age of 31, his primary identity within Canon remained that of \"nephew\".</p><p>Fujio is the nephew of Canon founder Takeshi Mitarai. This identity brought him the exclusive treatment of a \"second-generation rich kid\"—to go to the most difficult places.</p><p>Canon has a practice of selecting new employees internally, sending them to overseas branches for training, and then entrusting them with important responsibilities upon returning to China. Born in 1935, Fujio Mitarai received a preferential offer in 1966—to work as a salesman in the U.S. office.</p><p>Fujifu faced an awkward situation. Canon does not have a direct sales network in the United States and needs to entrust distributors to sell its camera products. To conduct direct selling, a large number of salespeople need to come to your door one by one, but the company has a pitiful number of employees: 13 people.</p><p>Worse still, Americans in the 1960s had two formulas in mind: German cameras = specialized, refined, and innovative + luxury brands, and Japanese cameras = shoddy production + economic entry-level. These two formulas brought countless ridicule to Canon's salespeople.</p><p>This wasn't the worst part. Due to Japan's slump following the Tokyo Olympics, the headquarters' financial situation was poor, and Canon was temporarily unable to afford direct sales, forcing it to extend its contracts with its distributors. Fujio Mitarai was half-unemployed when he first arrived in the United States and had to start as an accountant.</p><p>Fujio had to learn English on the spot and was financially strapped, so much so that even in his old age he would still think about the high cost of living in the United States: \"At that time, 1 US dollar was equivalent to 360 yen. A pork chop rice that cost 80 yen in Japan was 3 US dollars (1,000 yen) in the United States.\" His heart ached with just one bite.</p><p>Many years later, Fujio Mitarai made a subtle statement: \"Every day brings new and arduous entrepreneurial experiences, which have now become unforgettable memories.\" But in China, this statement has a direct meaning: every step brings a hurdle.</p><p>At the end of each hurdle, there is a huge pit.</p><p>In 1966, Canon achieved sales of $3.7 million in the United States, but made a profit of only $6,000. This caught the attention of the IRS: Is Canon evading taxes?</p><p>After finding no such matter, the auditor gave Fujio sincere advice: \"Let's just go back to Japan.\"</p><p>These words stung Fujio Mitarai, but they also sparked a major debate within him about the criteria of truth: why do unprofitable businesses?</p><p>After fully launching his direct selling business, Fujio Mitarai's time allocation was roughly as follows: On weekdays, he would dress in a suit and tie and visit distributors and customers everywhere, asking for their experience and promoting products. Because I didn't have a car, I had to rent one and sleep in a motel that cost a dozen dollars a night.</p><p>On weekends, Mitarai Fujio began learning to play golf and entered the circle of American professional managers through golf social networking. While playing, he asked Americans for advice on business strategies. This circle later evolved, and among his fellow golfers, names like Jack Welch appeared.</p><p>During the exchange, he realized that the biggest difference between American and Japanese companies is that American companies value both market share and profits, while Japanese companies often pursue market share while neglecting profits.</p><p>The words and deeds of American managers planted a seed in Fujio's heart. The concept of strict cost control and profit first took root in his heart and profoundly influenced Canon's future strategy.</p><p>This was also a beginning, with Japan's rising global economic standing at the top, the expanding influence of Japanese products at the bottom, and the growth of Canon's direct sales team at the bottom. High-quality and affordable cameras and copiers began to be accepted by American companies and the public. The company's performance subsequently increased year after year.</p><p>Fujio Mitarai said, \"Canon's rapid development in the United States, I think, is due to the enrichment of its direct sales network for products such as cameras that began in 1973 and copiers in 1974, as well as the effectiveness of its marketing strategy.\"</p><p>Canon America is thriving, with Fujio Mitarai rising through the ranks from salesperson to sales director, vice president of Canon America, and president.</p><p>In 1989, Fujio Mitarai was transferred back to the Japanese headquarters. By the time he left, Canon America was already a regional subsidiary with 6,000 employees, including cameras, copiers, and printers, and sales of $3 billion.</p><p><b>02</b></p><p>Some people return to headquarters for promotions, while others return to headquarters for recuperation. When Fujio returned to headquarters, it was like stepping into an epidemic area of large corporate diseases.</p><p>At headquarters, Fujio's title was vice president. However, his seniority needs to be recalculated, which makes him a back-row contestant in the seniority queue. One of the hallmarks of a back-row contestant is that proposals can be easily rejected.</p><p>But Fujio still got his chance. Half of it was due to his talent and performance experience, and the other half was due to whether it was luck or misfortune. In 1995, then-president Hajime Mitarai suddenly passed away due to an acute illness, and Fujio Mitarai was appointed as the sixth president of Canon in a time of crisis.</p><p>Fujio, 60, has two new discoveries. First, his qualifications are old enough and his status is high enough that few people can stand up and deny his opinions.</p><p>The second discovery wasn't so wonderful. Canon's loan reliance ratio is as high as 35%, and a pile of old debts is snowballing. Meanwhile, multiple R&D departments operate independently, leading to factional disputes and a disregard for costs in their research and development efforts. Canon, which appears powerful on the surface, is actually already strong on the surface but weak on the inside. What is needed most is probably a reform.</p><p>This indeed facilitated the biggest reform in Canon's history, and also established Fujio's status as a business hero and a harmonious genius.</p><p>Fujio's first move was towards the assembly line operation model that had been in operation for 40 years.</p><p>Replaced with a \"honeycomb team\" of six people, employees worked from sitting to standing, resulting in a 30% increase in productivity. Although the lifetime employment system has not been abolished, the seniority-based pay system has been replaced with a GPA adjustment based on more work, more pay.</p><p>The second fire spread to seven loss-making departments.</p><p>Among these loss-making divisions, Canon's PC business lost approximately 26 billion yen in 1995, for which Fujio Mitarai specifically approached Toshiba Vice President Yasuzo Nishimuro. Taizo Nishimuro told him, \"You need to sell 3 million PCs a year to avoid losing money.\"</p><p>This made Fujifu think for a whole night: \"We've been in the PC business for more than 20 years, and we've sold 800,000 units this year. Compared to the boom-bust line of 3 million units, there's absolutely no hope of profitability.\"</p><p>Back at Canon, Fujifu put forward the slogan: \"Losses are evil.\" He cut \"evil departments\" such as PCs, word processors, memory cards, and FLCDs, abandoned 35 factories and 20,000 meters of assembly lines, and a large number of workers were transferred or laid off. As a result, Canon was integrated into four core departments: copiers, printers, cameras, and optical equipment.</p><p>The third fire was directed at the R&D department, which spends excessively.</p><p>To improve the return on investment, Canon's R&D department was directly placed under the management of the President's Office. A fixed percentage of revenue is used for funding each year, while strictly controlling costs and maintaining an aggressive approach. In 2003 alone, Canon registered an average of nine patents per working day.</p><p>History has eloquently proven that, in any country, reforms that affect interests always cause major upheaval. The employees who were in the \"cut business lines\" fought desperately under the guise of hard work, and Fujio encountered numerous obstacles as a result.</p><p>Some resistance required Mitarai to painstakingly communicate with his colleagues for weeks, while others required him to accomplish it with a hawkish style and almost cold-blooded decisiveness.</p><p>This almost caused Canon to split, with reformers and opponents divided into two camps within the company.</p><p>The power struggle between the two sides was so evenly matched that when Fujio could not reconcile and resolve the issue, a compromise organization such as the \"Business Review Committee\" had to emerge, which would conduct a tiered review of the business for 3 and 5 years respectively. If it was not profitable, it would be eliminated.</p><p>However, throughout the reform, although the methods were moderated and the tactics were rhythmic, the general direction never wavered. Fujio's own attitude was: \"There are some things that cannot be listened to by the employees, and some things that must be listened to.\"</p><p>The reform of the camera business is a standard case of refined but persistent progress.</p><p>Canon, which started with cameras, became one of Japan's strongest film camera manufacturers as early as 1954. Canon began developing electronic cameras in the 1980s, but the market response was poor. After taking office, Fujio Mitarai attached great importance to digital cameras. At that time, the market leaders were Fujifilm and Olympus. In 1999, these two companies held 60% of the digital camera market share, while Canon only had 3%.</p><p>One important reason is that both companies' products feature a large number of innovative designs and provide a very good user experience.</p><p>Fujio Mitarai ordered them to catch up, demanding that the lens and battery be made thinner and smaller, but the image quality and functionality only improved, not decreased. So the R&D department worked day and night, reducing the camera thickness millimeter by millimeter. One employee complained: Are we going through such a difficult time just for a millimeter that is invisible to the eye?</p><p>Fujio Mitarai said, \"No matter how difficult it is, we cannot compromise on performance and design. This is a contest between technology and will.\"</p><p>In 2000, the DIGITAL IXUS, a small point-and-shoot DIGITAL camera with a lens only the size of a 1-yuan coin, was released. After its launch, Canon's market share in the global DIGITAL camera market began to steadily increase.</p><p>Following closely behind, the high-quality, compact, and lightweight Canon EOS 300D was released in 2003, thus beginning the Canon EOS dynasty.</p><p>According to official disclosures, from 2003 to 2020, Canon's interchangeable lens digital cameras (DSLR and mirrorless) have maintained the number one global market share for 18 consecutive years.</p><p>This reform has created a completely transformed Canon.</p><p>In fiscal year 1991, Canon's cash flow was negative 53.6 billion yen, but in fiscal year 2000, it turned into positive cash flow of 133.8 billion yen. In fiscal year 2001, both sales and profits reached record highs. In the future, Canon's transformation, mergers and acquisitions, and research and development will almost all require funding from its own sources.</p><p>As a result, outsiders commented: \"He dug up a gold mine from within Canon.\"</p><p>But Fujio Mitarai, with his consistently calm attitude, said one sentence: \"Making people realize that profit is the most important thing, and changing the mindset of Canon, is my greatest achievement since taking over Canon.\"</p><p>But only Fujio himself knew that from then on, \"never-ending reform and competition\" would become his motto throughout his life.</p><p><b>03</b></p><p>Throughout Canon's history, Fujio Mitarai has stepped down from his position three times, but in fact, he has always been at the helm of Canon.</p><p>Canon's development is closely related to the global macroeconomic environment. The period from 2005 to 2007 was a golden three years for Canon's development, with global GDP maintaining a growth rate of 5%, and Canon became a beneficiary.</p><p>In 2006, Fujio Mitarai stepped down as president and was elected chairman of the Japan Keidanren in the same year. This position is recognized by society as the \"Prime Minister of Japan's financial world\" and is the highest honor that a Japanese entrepreneur can receive.</p><p>Under Fujio Mitarai's leadership, Canon maintained steady growth for a decade, and the term \"Fujio boom\" began to quietly circulate within the company. But good days always come to an end.</p><p>In 2008, the global financial crisis struck, and the global digital market was also affected by the wave of bankruptcies. Canon's total operating profit in 2008 decreased by 34.4% compared to the previous year.</p><p>The financial reports are getting worse every year. In 2009, the Group's sales decreased by 21.6% year-on-year. In 2010, Canon's performance continued to decline. Due to the double blow of the European debt crisis and the appreciation of the yen, Canon's profit growth for the whole of 2011 was less than 1%. In 2012, Canon experienced its first decline in both sales and net profit in three years.</p><p>Due to the economic downturn in the European and American markets and the shrinking market caused by channel inventory adjustments, a large number of factory employees have left their jobs or taken leave for several months.</p><p>In 2012, faced with market pressure, then-president Kenji Uchida resigned, and Fujio Mitarai took over and resumed his position as head coach.</p><p>His first move was to use the company's substantial assets accumulated over the golden decade to begin large-scale acquisitions of technology companies and explore emerging markets.</p><p>Regarding the strategic shift, Fujifu has a clear expression: \"Canon will invest in four areas: first, the production and development of medical equipment and medical devices; second, the development of robots for production automation and unmanned operations; third, extending from existing camera technology to film production; and finally, applying camera and video technology to security monitoring.\"</p><p>This signifies a significant shift—while maintaining its existing business advantages, Canon will shift from the 2C to the 2B market.</p><p>In 2013, Canon completed the acquisition of the Dutch commercial printing company Osina, and in 2014, Canon acquired McVision, the world's largest video management software company. In 2015, it acquired the Swedish monitoring company Axis; in 2016, it acquired Toshiba's medical equipment division…</p><p>Behind these sweeping acquisitions lies Fujio's reflection on the industrial landscape. Mitarai Fujio said, \"Economic growth cannot be separated from population growth, so I consider the direction of industrial layout according to the population growth trend.\"</p><p>Against this backdrop of this shift, Canon's core business was gradually injected with new vitality by Fujio Mitarai.</p><p>Starting in 2013, Canon resumed double growth in sales and profits. In 2016 alone, the turnover declined due to the huge acquisition of Toshiba's medical division, but the performance rebounded rapidly the following year, with turnover increasing by 19.9% and net profit increasing by as much as 60.6%, shocking the entire industry.</p><p>New business areas have also given Canon hope for the transformation of its core business. Canon's 2015 financial report showed that the growth rate of its industrial, medical, and security businesses was 31.6%, far exceeding the growth rate of traditional businesses.</p><p>In 2016, Fujio Mitarai stepped down as president again. He was 81 years old, which is considered an age to enjoy his old age in East Asian culture.</p><p>But can this really be achieved?</p><p><b>　04</b></p><p>Fujio Mitarai, who had stepped down, was surprised to find that Canon's financial reports had been declining year after year since his departure. This may seem like a curse, but the real reason doesn't lie with one person.</p><p>With the rise of smartphones, Canon's camera market has been shrinking. Canon Group's revenue decreased slightly by 3.1% in 2018.</p><p>Canon Group's revenue decreased by 9.1% in 2019. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted Canon's performance, with revenue declining by 12.1%...</p><p>Financial reports reflect fundamentals, and this series of figures foreshadows another round of crisis for Canon, which also became the reason for Fujio Mitarai's departure. In 2020, at the age of 85, he served as president for the third time.</p><p>After taking office, Fujio Mitarai made a statement with his consistent attitude: \"The company is on the edge of a cliff. If it doesn't reform, it will die.\"</p><p>In Mitarai's judgment, market demand is accelerating towards mirrorless cameras, so production of flagship digital SLR cameras will cease within a few years.</p><p>On the one hand, Canon has begun to steadily transfer employees; On the other hand, due to the continued demand for mid-to-low-end SLR cameras in some global markets, Canon has temporarily retained some production capacity.</p><p>Therefore, the closure of the Zhuhai factory, which may seem like a huge uproar, is actually just one part of a new round of reforms.</p><p>At the same time, Canon will accelerate its transformation into the professional imaging market globally, mainly including medical imaging, industrial imaging, and security imaging, as well as the production of medical scanners, MRI equipment, construction site inspection instruments, bridge and tunnel inspection instruments, etc.</p><p>Among the many transformation businesses, medical imaging is the one that Canon is most concerned about. Since 2017, this business has been separately counted in the financial report as \"medical system\" turnover, accounting for 10.7% of the total turnover that year.</p><p>In 2020, Canon restructured its medical business. In May 2020, Canon's ophthalmic equipment business in China was reorganized from Canon (China) Co., Ltd. to Canon Medical Systems (China) Co., Ltd., striving to capture the opportunities in the medical device market brought about by national policies such as \"Healthy China 2030\".</p><p>However, medical industry insiders say that Canon is currently not in the first tier in either large-scale radiation or ultrasound (diagnostic equipment).</p><p>Under Fujio Mitarai's leadership, Canon showed a glimmer of hope in 2021, with its financial reports reviving its growth magic, with the group's revenue increasing by 11.2% year-on-year and net profit increasing by 157.7%. But will this be a good start?</p><p>For decades, Fujio Mitarai played the role of \"firefighter captain, saving the nation from danger,\" but in fact, he never lost his observation of the company, nor did he ever relinquish his authority over Canon.</p><p>This means that Canon's ups and downs are always tied to it, and the outside world actually foresaw Canon's crisis long ago.</p><p>In the business world, persisting in what is right for too long may turn into wrong, and persisting in what is wrong for too long may turn into right. Canon's overly focused business is a pursuit of excellence, but it will also narrow its path.</p><p>Fortune magazine commented: \"Unlike IBM researchers who ponder the nature of outer space, Canon's engineers are busy designing and redesigning products, so its patents are more focused on areas closely related to its own business.\"</p><p>Despite having tens of thousands of patents and having ranked first in the number of patents registered in the United States for 13 consecutive years, Canon has had very few disruptive innovations. These are all optimizations to the original details, focusing only on the optimal location.</p><p>For example, Canon has more than 2,000 patents for photosensitive drums related to digital copiers alone. Pursuing excellence without prioritizing cost-effectiveness, Canon products, whether cameras or other products, are not truly irreplaceable for consumers.</p><p>A Japanese investment analyst once pointed out: \"Since Canon invented the inkjet printer in the 1990s, it has not launched a product based entirely on new technology.\"</p><p>This is somewhat similar to the plot in the movie \"The Last Samurai,\" where, even after entering the era of firearms, Canon was still researching how to sharpen cold weapons. It is said that many senior Chinese employees shed tears when the Zhuhai factory closed.</p><p>Those were the tears of an era, but as the helmsman of Canon's great ship, Fujio Mitarai clearly had no time to share the sorrow and joy. There was still too much to do on this big ship, waiting for him to finish.</p><p>In a media interview, Fujio Mitarai proudly said, \"I have almost never been sick.\"</p><p>This may be Canon's luck, but it's also Canon's misfortune. According to Fujio's friends, he loved Chinese history from a young age and was well-versed in \"Records of the Three Kingdoms\" and \"Romance of the Three Kingdoms\". His favorite character was Zhuge Liang, and he once took \"devoting himself to the cause until death\" as his life motto. He had always wanted to visit the Wuhou Temple in Chengdu when he had some free time, but unfortunately, it seemed he would never live to see his retirement plan.</p><p></body></html></p>\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","type":0,"thumbnail":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/d133880abfb922385fb07987b3492aad","relate_stocks":{},"source_url":"","is_english":false,"share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","article_id":"1132602324","content_text":"文/陈梦迪永远无法退休的救火队长。贴着“中国制造”标签的佳能相机，不会再被生产出来了。32年，1317名员工，2.2亿美元投资，年产百万台相机、千万片镜片，都随着佳能珠海工厂的关闭，自此成为历史。在董事会做出关厂决定后，董事长御手洗富士夫签署了一份文件。那是一份对遣散员工的补偿方案，员工可以根据服务年限，得到数额不等的退职金。一位30年的老员工拿到了最高额：150万元。这引起了公众心中的波澜，佳能得到了“恶意补偿”的名声。但御手洗先生大概没有精力，也不愿多作理会。佳能，这家曾经的巨头，还有更多的事情在等待他。重要的是，他已经87岁了。01御手洗富士夫有两个绰号，在佳能，他是“御爷爷”，在全日本，他是“和魂洋才”。前一个，是对年高德尊者的敬称，后一个，是对商业英雄的注释——一个把日本精神、西洋经验和个人才学灵活结合的人。但这两个绰号的流传，其实都发生在御手洗富士夫年老之后。直到31岁，他在佳能内部的第一身份，都是“侄子”。富士夫是佳能创始人御手洗毅的侄子，这个身份，给他带来了一个“富二代”的专有待遇——去最苦的地方。佳能有个惯例：在内部遴选新人，然后送往海外分公司历练，回国后委以重任。1935年出生的御手洗富士夫，因此在1966年获得了一个优差——去美国办事处担任推销员。富士夫面对的，是一个尴尬的局面。佳能在美国没有直销网，需要委托代理店销售它的相机产品。要开展直销，就需要大批推销员一家家上门，但公司的在编员工数量很可怜：13个人。更糟的是，60年代的美国人，心中有两个公式：德国相机=专精特新+奢侈品牌，日本相机=粗制滥造+经济入门。这两个公式，给佳能的推销员带来了无数讥讽。这还不是最糟的，由于日本陷入东京奥林匹克之后的低迷期，总部财务状况不佳，一时拿不出钱开展直销，佳能被迫与代理店延长合同。御手洗富士夫刚到美国就处于半失业状态，只得先从会计做起。富士夫的英语要现学，经济也拮据，以至于到了暮年还会念念不忘美国物价之高：“当时1美元折合360日元，在日本80日元一份的猪排饭，在美国是3美元（1000日元）。”吃一口他的心就痛一下。御手洗富士夫多年后有个含蓄的表达：“每天都有新的创业艰辛体验，如今都已成为难忘回忆。”但这句话在中国，有个直接的说法：一步一个坎。一步一个坎的尽头，是个大坑。1966年，佳能在美国实现370万美元销售额，但盈利仅6000美元。这引起了美国国税局的注意：佳能是不是在偷税？查无此事后，审计师面对富士夫，给出了真诚建议：“回日本算了。”这话刺伤了御手洗富士夫，但也引发了他内心中对真理标准的大讨论：为什么做不盈利的生意？全面开启直销业务后，御手洗富士夫的时间分配大概如下：工作日，他西装革履四处拜访经销商和客户，向他们请教经验、推销产品。因为没车，所以只能租车，晚上睡在十几美元一晚的汽车旅馆里。周末，御手洗富士夫开始学打高尔夫球，通过高尔夫社交进入美国职业经理人圈子，一边打球一边向美国人请教经营战略，这个圈子后来连续升级，在他的球友里，出现了杰克·韦尔奇这样的名字。在交流中，他意识到美国企业和日本企业最大的不同，就是美国企业重视市场份额的同时也重视利润，而日本企业往往会追求市场份额、忽略利润。美国经理人的言传身教，在富士夫的心里种下了一粒种子，严控成本、利润至上的观念，自此深入其心，以至于深刻影响了佳能在日后的战略。这同样是一个开始，上有日本在世界经济地位的提升，中有日本商品影响力的扩散，下有佳能直销队伍的壮大，物美价廉的照相机和复印机，开始被美国企业和民众接受。公司业绩随之连年上升。御手洗富士夫说：“佳能美国发展飞速，我认为应归功于1973年开始的照相机直销和1974年复印机等产品直销网的充实和市场战略的奏效。”佳能美国蒸蒸日上，御手洗富士夫一路从业务员升职为销售总监、佳能美国副总裁、总裁。1989年，御手洗富士夫调回日本总部，在他离开的时候，佳能美国已经是一个拥有6000名员工，包含相机、复印机、打印机业务，销售额达30亿美金的地区分公司了。02有的人回归总部，是高升，有的人回归总部，是休养。富士夫回到总部，是一脚踏入了大企业病的疫区。在总部，富士夫的头衔是副总裁。但他的资历要重新计算，这让他成为论资排辈队列中的后排选手，后排选手的一个标志，就是提议可以被随便否定。但富士夫还是等来了他的机会。一半是因为他的才华和业绩资历，另一半，说不清是幸运还是不幸——1995年，时任总裁御手洗肇得了急症猝然离世，御手洗富士夫临危受命，成为佳能第六任总裁。60岁的富士夫有两个新发现。第一个，他的资格足够老，地位足够高，很少有人能站出来否定他的意见。第二个发现就没那么美妙了。佳能贷款依赖率高达35%，一堆陈年债务在滚雪球。同时多个研发部门各自为政，不仅有派系之争，且研发不顾成本。表面强盛的佳能，实则早已外强中干。最需要的，可能是一场改革。这的确促成了佳能历史上最大的一场改革，也造就了富士夫商界英雄、和魂洋才的地位。富士夫的第一把火，烧向运转40年的流水线作业模式。以6个人一组的“蜂巢小组”取代，员工由坐着改为站着工作，生产效率提高30%。虽然没有取消终身雇佣制，但把年功序列薪酬制度代之以多劳多得的绩点调薪；第二把火，烧向了7个亏损部门。在这些亏损的部门中，佳能的PC业务在1995年大约亏损260亿日元，御手洗富士夫为此专门找到了东芝副总裁西室泰三。西室泰三告诉他：“PC要年售300万台才能不亏钱。”这让富士夫思考了整整一夜：“PC业务做了20多年，至今年销80万台，和300万台的荣枯线相比，是无论如何都看不到盈利希望的。”回到佳能，富士夫提出了一个口号：“亏损即罪恶”，他砍掉PC、文字处理机、储存卡、FLCD等“罪恶的部门”，废弃了35个工厂、2万米流水线，大量工人转岗和辞退，佳能因此被整合成复印机、打印机、照相机和光设备四个核心部门。第三把火，烧向了花钱无度的研发部门。为了提升投入产出比，佳能的研发部门被直接划归总裁办管理。每年固定几个点营收作为经费，严控成本同时保持激进。仅2003年，佳能平均每个工作日注册九项专利。历史雄辩地证明，无论在哪个国家，触及利益的改革，总是会引起大震荡。那么处于“被砍业务线”的员工，打着心血付出的旗号拼死抵抗，富士夫因此遇到了重重阻拦。有些抵抗，需要御手洗富士夫苦口婆心与同事沟通几周，有些抵抗，则需要他以鹰派作风和近乎冷血的决断力完成。这甚至几乎造成了佳能的分裂，在内部，革新派和反对派分成了两个阵营。双方的角力势均力敌，以至于当富士夫都无法调和解决时，不得已出现了“业务审议委员会”这样的妥协性组织，分别以3年、5年为限，对业务分级评审，一直不盈利将被淘汰。但在整场改革中，尽管手段有缓和、战术有节奏，大的方向却从未动摇，富士夫本人的态度是：“有些事不能听员工的，有些事非听不可。”对于相机业务的改革，是一个精进而孤行的标准案例。靠相机起家的佳能，早在1954年，就成为日本最强胶片相机厂商之一。从80年代，佳能就开始研发电子相机，但市场反响不佳。上任后，御手洗富士夫非常重视数码相机，当时市场领先的是富士胶卷和奥林巴斯，1999年这两家公司占有数码相机60%的份额，而佳能仅3%。一个重要原因，在于两家公司的产品拥有了大量创新设计，用户感受颇佳。御手洗富士夫下令追赶，要求把镜头和电池都做得更薄更小巧，但画质和功能只升不降。于是研发部披星戴月，一毫米一毫米缩减着相机厚度。一位员工因此抱怨：我们这么难，难道就是为了眼睛看不出的一毫米吗？御手洗富士夫说：“无论多难，也不能在性能和设计方面做任何妥协。这是技术与意志的较量。”2000年，小型卡式数码相机DIGITAL IXUS发布，镜头仅1元硬币大小，推出后佳能在全球数码相机市场占有率开始稳增。紧接其后，高画质、小巧轻量的佳能EOS 300D在2003年发布，从此开启佳能EOS王朝。官方披露，从2003年到2020年，佳能的可更换镜头数码相机（数码单反和无反）已连续18年保持全球市场第一份额。这场改革，造就了一个脱胎换骨的佳能。在1991财年，佳能的现金流为负536亿日元，2000财年时，扭转为1338亿日元正现金流量，2001财年销售额和利润均创历史新高。日后佳能转型、并购、研发、所需的资金几乎都出于自有。外界因此评论：“他从佳能内部挖出了一座金矿。”但御手洗富士夫却以他一以贯之的淡然态度，说了一句话：“让人们认识到利润是第一位的，对佳能进行观念上的变革，是我接手佳能后的最大成就。”但只有富士夫自己知道，从那时起，“永不停息的改革与竞争”，将成为他贯穿一生的座右铭。03在佳能的历史上，御手洗富士夫曾经三次卸任出任，事实上，他一直掌舵佳能。佳能的发展与全球宏观环境紧密相关。2005年到2007年是佳能发展黄金三年，全球GDP保持着5%的增长速度，佳能成为了受益者。2006年，御手洗富士夫卸任总裁，同年当选日本经团联会长，这是一个被社会认定为“日本财经界首相”的职务，是日本企业家能获得的最高荣耀。在御手洗富士夫的治下，佳能保持了长达十年的平稳增长，“富士夫景气”的说法，开始在公司内部悄悄流传。但好日子总有终结的一天。2008年，世界金融危机到来了，在破产倒闭潮中，全球数码市场同样未能免于波及，佳能在2008年的总经营利润，较上年下降了34.4%。财报一年比一年难看。2009年，集团销售额同比下降21.6%。2010年，业绩继续下滑，由于受到欧债危机以及日元升值的双重打击，佳能2011年全年利润增长不足1%，在2012年，佳能出现三年来首次销售额和净利润双降。由于欧美市场大环境萧条及渠道库存调整造成的市场萎缩，工厂大量员工离职或进入长达数月的休假。2012年，在市场的压力面前，时任总裁内田恒二主动请辞，御手洗富士夫披挂上阵，重执帅位。他的第一个动作，是动用公司在黄金十年里积累下的雄厚家底，开始大手笔收购科技企业，寻找新兴市场。对于战略转向，富士夫有一个清晰的表达：“佳能将投资四个方面，首先是医疗设备、医疗器具的生产开发；其次是生产自动化、无人化方面的机器人开发；然后是从现有的照相机技术延伸到电影制作；最后是将照相机、摄像机技术用于安防监控。”这意味着一个大幅度的转向——在保证原有业务优势的同时，佳能将从2C转向2B市场。2013年，佳能完成对荷兰商务印刷公司奥西那的收购，2014年，佳能收购了世界最大视频管理软件公司麦视通；2015年，收购瑞典监控公司Axis，2016年，收购东芝医疗设备部门……在这些大刀阔斧的收购背后，其实隐含着富士夫对于产业格局的一个思考，御手洗富士夫说：“经济增长离不开人口增长，所以我按照人口增长趋势考虑产业布局方向。”在这样的转向背景下，佳能的基本盘，被御手洗富士夫一点点注入了新的活力。从2013年开始，佳能再次恢复销售额和利润双增长。仅2016年因巨资收购东芝医疗部门出现营业额下降，但次年业绩迅猛反弹，营业额增长19.9%，净利润增长高达60.6%，震动了整个产业界。新领域业务也让佳能看到核心业务转型的希望。2015年佳能财报显示，工业、医疗、安防业务增速为31.6%，远高于传统业务增长。2016年，御手洗富士夫再次卸任总裁，他已经81岁，在东亚文化中，这是一个颐养天年的年纪。但这真的可以实现吗？　04卸任的御手洗富士夫，惊讶地发现，自他卸任后，佳能的财报又开始一年不如一年。这看起来像个魔咒，但真实的原因，并不在于一人。随着智能手机崛起，佳能相机市场不断萎缩。2018年佳能集团营业额微减3.1%。2019年佳能集团营业额降低9.1%。2020年，新冠疫情爆发，佳能业绩受重创，营业额下降12.1%……财报是基本面的映射，这一连串的数字，预示着佳能的又一轮危机，也成为了御手洗富士夫出山的理由。2020年，85岁的他三度出任总裁。在上任之后，御手洗富士夫用他一以贯之的态度做出了表态：“公司到了悬崖边上，不改革，就等死。”在御手洗富士夫的判断中，市场需求正加速转向无反相机，因此旗舰数码单反相机的生产将在几年内停止。一方面，佳能开始稳步转岗员工；另一方面，因全球部分市场对中低端单反相机仍然有需求，佳能仍然暂时保留了部分生产力。因此，珠海工厂的关闭，看似带着巨大的声浪席卷而来，其实只是隶属于新一轮改革中的一环。与此同时，佳能在全球将加速转型专业级成像市场，主要包括医疗影像、工业影像、安防影像，生产医疗扫描仪、核磁共振设备、工地施工检测仪、桥梁隧道检测仪等。在诸多转型业务中，医疗影像是佳能最为关注的一项。从2017年开始，这一业务在财报中被单独统计“医疗系统”营业额，当年在总营业额中占比达10.7%。2020年，佳能将医疗业务重组，佳能在华眼科设备业务2020年5月从佳能（中国）有限公司整编至佳能医疗系统（中国）有限公司，努力捕捉“健康中国2030”等国策带来的医疗器械市场的机遇。但医疗业内人士称，不管是大放射还是超声（诊断设备），佳能目前都达不到第一梯队。在御手洗富士夫的执掌下，2021年的佳能，露出了一丝转机的曙光，它的财报重现增长魔力，集团营业额同比增长11.2%，纯利润增长157.7%。但这会是一个美好的开始吗？在长达数十年的时间里，御手洗富士夫始终在扮演一个“救火队长、挽危救亡”的角色，但事实上，他从未失去对于公司的观察，也从未脱手佳能的权柄。这意味着，佳能的起伏，始终系于其身，而对于佳能的危机，外界其实早有预见。在商业世界里，对的坚持太久可能会变成错的，错的坚持太久可能会变成对的。佳能业务过于聚焦是追求极致，也会把路越走越窄。《财富》杂志评论：“与IBM科研人员们冥思苦想着外太空的本质不同，佳能的工程师们忙于设计和重新设计产品，因此它的专利更集中在与自身业务紧密相关的领域。”尽管佳能有数万个专利，曾连续13年在美国注册专利数量第一，但颠覆性创新寥寥。都是原有细节优化，只看局部最优。例如，佳能仅关于数码复印机的感光鼓专利就有2000种以上。追求极致却不追求性价比，佳能产品不管是相机还是其他，对于消费者而言，并没有真正的不可替代性。一位日本投资分析师曾指出：“佳能从90年代发明喷墨打印机以来，并没有推出一种完全基于全新技术的产品。”这有点像是电影《最后的武士》中的情节，在进入热兵器时代后，佳能还在研究如何把冷兵器淬炼得更锋利。据称，在珠海工厂关闭的时候，许多资深中国员工都流下了眼泪。那是一个时代的泪水，但作为佳能这艘大船的掌舵者，御手洗富士夫显然无暇同此悲欣。这艘大船上还有太多的事，等着他去完成。在一次媒体采访中，御手洗富士夫很骄傲地说过一句话：“我几乎没有生过病。”这可能是佳能的幸运，但又是佳能的不幸。据富士夫身边的朋友透露，他自幼热爱中国历史，熟读《三国志》与《三国演义》，最喜欢的人物是诸葛亮，一度以“鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已”为人生座右铭。他一直想闲下来去成都武侯祠看看，可惜的是，他似乎永远也等不到自己的退休计划。","news_type":1,"symbols_score_info":{"CAJ":0.9}},"isVote":1,"tweetType":1,"viewCount":4585,"authorTweetTopStatus":1,"verified":2,"comments":[],"imageCount":0,"langContent":"EN","totalScore":0}],"defaultTab":"posts","isTTM":true}