137 The process of Nokia's founding is a microcosm of Finland's modern history, from socialism to capitalism, from exporting wood to exporting mobile phones. The legendary transformation experience of this century-old shop even lags behind the imported electrical appliances of the same old brand (first making light bulbs, now making aircraft engines).
Finns of different ages can be associated with Nokia. People over the age of 60 think that Nokia is a company selling wood and cables; People over 40 think Nokia is a company selling rain boots and toilet paper, while people over 20 think Nokia is a company selling mobile phones. Yes, these are Nokia, or used to be Nokia. In a word, Nokia is not only a household name in Finland, but also a famous trademark all over the world. "When Nokia did overseas marketing in the early 1960s, many people thought it was a Japanese company," Tuula Putkinen, the public relations manager at Nokia headquarters, said with a smile. Today, Nokia's popularity has far surpassed that of any Japanese company. In the survey of "Top 100 Brands" published by Interbrand, a well-known American market research company, Nokia (No.6) is the only non-American enterprise in the top 10 (the other is Mercedes-Benz), and it is also the only non-American enterprise that has been in the top 10 for two consecutive years, with a brand value as high as $30 billion, higher than McDonald's and Toyota.
Everyone has a relationship with Nokia.
In Finland, any local can talk about his or her relationship with Nokia Kan Kan. He may work in Nokia, or his relatives, classmates and friends work in Nokia. Otherwise, he is a die-hard consumer of Nokia. A 1865 enterprise that started by selling wood can achieve such achievements, and Finland has devoted almost all its efforts to leading this enterprise onto the international stage.
Nokia also lived up to expectations. For many years, it has been the largest enterprise in Finland. The export of a Nokia company accounts for 25% of Finland's national export. In Helsinki Stock Exchange, the market value of a Nokia company is equal to the sum of all other listed companies. These data show one thing: Nokia is Finland.
1967, Nokia wood, Finnish rubber and Finnish cable merged, which made Nokia thoroughly remould itself and provided the foundation for developing the electronic industry. 1992 Jorma-Jaakko-Ollila, who took over as CEO, is the soul figure who led this century-old store from Finland to the world and dominated the wireless communication market.
This business leader, who is regarded as a popular candidate for the future Finnish president, actually faced an old company that was riddled with holes and almost bankrupt at the beginning of his tenure. 1992 After the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, Finland lost its largest market and its economy stagnated. Nokia, which owns many businesses such as wires and cables, toilet paper, rubber shoes, televisions, personal computers, mobile phones and communication equipment, was hit even harder. Due to financial difficulties, the company once considered selling. Possible buyers include Swedish competitor Yixin, but Yixin is not interested in it.
So that the mobile phone can be easily put in your pocket.
At that time, in addition to lucrative mobile phones and communication equipment, Nokia's other businesses were either big losses or meager profits. Olara's task is to play the executioner and cut off the business that should not exist. He is also competent, just as Jack Welch took over as CEO of Singular Electric four years ago.
"From 1980 to1early 1990s, Nokia suffered heavy losses (knocked down by Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in Asia), and other businesses were not easy to do, so the whole company felt that there was no future," recalls Hannu H. Kari, director of the Communication Software and Multimedia Laboratory of Helsinki University of Science and Technology, who worked in Nokia's personal computer department at that time. Cali Analysis, focusing on the wireless communication industry, took the lead in launching the first GSM system at 1992, which was the key to Nokia's success.
This is the portrayal of Finland. Having lost the largest market, the Soviet Union (accounting for 13 of Finland's exports), Finland is destined to become a member of western capitalism, accept a stricter test of market economy, and readjust its resource allocation and industrial focus.
Olara has two biggest contributions to Nokia. First of all, he realized that brand is the most important element to communicate with consumers. If Nokia wants to go international from Finland, it must be led by a strong brand. Since 1992, Nokia has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing and advertising every year. Second, he repositioned the mobile phone business, from functional appeal to style appeal, which means that the mobile phone has changed from bulky to light and fashionable, "and it can be easily put in your pocket." 」
1997, Nokia launched a series of advertisements for "connecting people" (technology always comes from human nature) around the world. Consumers of all ages happily talked about the pictures of mobile phones, which broke away from the old model of emphasizing the functions of mobile phones and touched consumers all over the world: mobile phones are no longer just tools used by your father, and everyone should have one. In the following year, Nokia immediately surpassed Motorola to become the champion of the mobile phone market, and this year's share has climbed to 38%.
"When Nokia first introduced the red mobile phone, everyone was laughing, but now everyone is learning," Carrie said. "Nokia now sells not only technology, but also image. Buying a Nokia phone is like buying an IBM personal computer. 」
It is hard to imagine that at the age of 52, she was a serious and fanatical leftist when she was young, and she played capitalist games better than the western world. Ollila is a student leader in the university. She sent a friendly delegation to Moscow for exchange. She yearned for socialism very much. In the1970s when hippies were prevalent, she was also one of the radical dissidents.
And the shadow of socialism.
Wen Zhaodong, a professor at the Institute of Science and Technology of National Chengchi University who visited Nokia's headquarters, observed that Finns in their forties and fifties, like Olara, experienced great social changes during their growth and wandered between socialism and capitalism. When they were young, they had all kinds of international experience, outstanding knowledge and strong adaptability. Naturally, they were not soft on transforming the company into a top enterprise.
Aurora can lead the army to fight the capitalist war, but looking back, we can still see many socialist shadows in Nokia. Nokia's internal class is not obvious, and its working ability is not judged by its position, but by the recognition of its colleagues. "It is not clear who is the direct supervisor," Pucci said.
In Nokia, executives with high titles are often transferred to jobs with low titles, not to be demoted, but to rely on their talents and knowledge to get new jobs. Therefore, job rotation is very common in Nokia, and you often change jobs every two years. "It's hard to say what your job is. It's always changing, and your business card often needs to be reprinted." Carrie added, "If you dare to take responsibility, the job will be given to you. This is a Finn. 」
The most worthwhile enterprise for you.
The guarantee of work is even more obvious. Since last year, the global telecommunications industry has experienced a great recession. In the United States alone, 500,000 employees have been laid off. It's no news that the company announced tens of thousands of layoffs. Nokia was also affected, and its share price fell by half. This year, its revenue fell again, but it still gritted its teeth and laid off only 1 1,000 people, the lowest number in the industry.
In addition, Nokia headquarters also provides sauna, gym and medical consultation services. If employees need it, the company also helps to make an appointment to see a doctor, and the expenses are borne by the company. With all kinds of thoughtful measures, Nokia was selected as one of the "most worthwhile companies" by Fortune magazine this year.
Next, Nokia faces many challenges, such as the slow growth of the mobile phone market, the forced intervention of software giant Microsoft in the development of mobile phone platform software, the outstanding performance of rising star Samsung in the Asian market, and so on. Just like Finland's leading position in the mobile communication society, it is strongly threatened by Japan and South Korea. Since the second half of last year, Nokia has lagged behind its competitors in the time to market of various new mobile phones such as tri-band, GPRS and color screen, and a tough battle to defend the throne is starting from Finland.
Last summer, Olara and five front-line executives began intensive consultations to discuss the reconstruction of Nokia, with a turnover of $28 billion. In the next strategic planning, Nokia's mobile phone division is divided into nine business groups, from high-end to entry-level models, from GSM to CDMA specifications, from accessories to providing content services. Starting from May this year 1, it officially declared war on all mobile phone peers and booked Nokia's next 10 year.
Oliveira plus Nokia plus Finland, originally representing the left plus a century-old shop plus a small polar country, is an abrupt combination, but now it has become an excellent CEO plus a world brand plus the strongest national competitiveness, and has become a dream combination. This bizarre result is a familiar story for Finns who invented Santa Claus and are used to receiving mysterious gifts: as long as you have a dream, it will eventually come true, even after 137 years.