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special music to go with games。 They eventually discovered that when they combined
the right music with the right game they not only sold many； many more copies of that
game； but they could spin off the music for sale on CD or download as well。 So some
big game companies have recently started their own music divisions； and some artists
have decided that they have a better chance of getting their music heard by launching
it with a new digital game than on the radio。 The more the flattening of the world
connects all the knowledge pools together； the more specializations and specialists
there will be out there； the more innovation will come from putting them together
in different combinations； and the more management will be about the ability to do
just that。
Perhaps the best way to illustrate this paradigm shift and how some companies have
adapted to it is by looking at a very traditional manu…
facturer： Rolls…Royce。 When you hear the word 〃Rolls…Royce；〃 what immediately comes
to mind is a shiny handmade car； with a uniformed chauffeur sitting in the driver's
seat and a perfectly tailored couple in the back on their way to Ascot or Wimbledon。
Rolls…Royce； the quintessential stodgy British company； right？ What if I told you；
though； that Rolls…Royce doesn't even make cars anymore （that business was sold in
1972 and the brand was licensed to BMW in 1998）； that 50 percent of its income comes
from services； and that in 1990 all of its employees were in Great Britain and today
40 percent are based outside of the United Kingdom； integrated into a global operation
that stretches from China to Singapore to India to Italy to Spain to Germany to Japan
and up to Scandinavia？
No； this is not your father's Rolls…Royce。
〃Quite a long time ago we said； 'We cannot be just a U。K。 company；'〃 Sir John Rose；
chief executive of Rolls…Royce PLC； told me in an interview while wewere both visiting
China。 〃The U。K。 is a tiny market。 In the late 1980s； 60 percent of our business was
defense ＇particularly jet engines＇ and our primary customer was Her Majesty's
government。 But we needed to become a world player； and if we were going to do that
we had to recognize that the biggest customer in everything we could do was the U。S。；
and we had to be successful in nondefense markets。 So we became a technology company
＇specializing in＇ power systems。〃 Today Rolls…Royce's core competency is making gas
turbines for civilian and military airplanes； for helicopters； for ships； and for
the oil and gas and power…generation industries。 Rolls…Royce has customers now in
120 countries and employs around thirty…five thousand people； but only twenty…one
thousand are located in the United Kingdom； with the rest part of a global network
of research； service； and manufacturing workers。 Half of Rolls…Royce's revenue is
now generated by businesses outside the United Kingdom。 〃In the U。K。 we are thought
of asa British company；〃 saidRose； 〃but in Germany weare a German company。 In America
we are an American company； in Singapore we are a Singaporean company…you have to
be in order to be close to the customer but also to the suppliers； employees； and
communities in which we operate。〃 Today Rolls…Royce employs people of about fifty
nationalities in fifty countries speaking
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about fifty languages。 It outsources and offshores about 75 percent of its components
to its global supply chain。 〃The 25 percent that we make are the differentiating
elements/' said Rose。 〃These are the hot end of the engine； the turbines； the
compressors and fans and the alloys； and the aerodynamics of how they are made。 A
turbine blade is grown from a single crystal in a vacuum furnace from a proprietary
alloy； with a very complex cooling system。 This very high…value…added manufacturing
is one of our core competencies。〃 In short； said Rose； 〃We still own the key
technologies； we own the ability to identify and define what product is required by
our customers； we own the ability to integrate the latest science into making these
products； we own the route to the market for these products； and we own the ability
to collect and understand the data generated by those customers using our products；
enabling us to support that product while in service and constantly add value。〃
But outside of these core areas； Rolls…Royce has adopted a much more horizontal
approach to outsourcing noncore components to suppliers anywhere in the world； and
to seeking out IQ far beyond the British Isles。 The sun may have set on the British
Empire； and it used to set on the old Rolls…Royce。 But it never sets on the new
Rolls…Royce。 To produce breakthroughs in the power…generation business today； the
company has to meld together the insights of many more specialists from around the
world； explained Rose。 And to be able to commercialize the next energy frontier…fuel
cell technology…will require that even more。
〃One of the core competencies of the business today is partnering；〃 said Rose。 〃We
partner on products and on service provisions； we partner with universities and with
other participants in our industry。 You have to be disciplined about what they can
provide and what we can sensibly undertake 。 。 。 There is a market in R & D and a
market in suppliers and a market in products； and you need to have a structure that
responds to all of them。〃
A decade ago； he added； 〃We did 98 percent of our research and technology in the U。K。
and now we do less than 40 percent in the U。K。 Now we do it as well in the U。S。； Germany；
India； Scandinavia； Japan； Singapore； Spain； and Italy。 We now recruit from a much
more interna…
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tional group of universities to anticipate the mix of skills and nationalities we
will want in ten or fifteen years。〃
When Rolls…Royce was a U。K。…centric company； he added； it was very vertically
organized。 〃But we had to flatten ourselves；〃 said Rose； as more and more markets
opened worldwide that Rolls…Royce could sell into and from which it could extract
knowledge。
And what does the future hold？
This approach to change that Rolls…Royce has perfected in response to the flattening
of the world is going to become the standard for more and more new start…up companies。
If you were to approach venture capital firms in Silicon Valley today and tell them
that you wanted to start a new company but refused to outsource or offshore anything；
they would show you the door immediately。 Venture capitalists today want to know from
day one that your start…up is going to take advantage of the triple convergence to
collaborate with the smartest； most efficient people you can find anywhere in the
world。 Which is why in the flat world； more and more companies are now being born
global。
〃In the old days；〃 said Vivek Paul； the Wipro president； 〃when you started a company；
you might say to yourself； 'Boy； in twenty years； I hope we will be a multinational
company。' Today； you say to yourself that on day two I will be a multinational。 Today；
there are thirty…person companies starting out with twenty employees in Silicon
Valley and ten in India 。 。 。 And if you are a multiproduct company； you are probably
going to have some manufacturing relationships in Malaysia and China； some design
in Taiwan； some customer support in India and the Philippines； and possibly some
engineering in Russia and the U。S。〃 These are the so…called micromultinationals； and
they are the wave of the future。
Today； your first management job out of business school could be melding the
specialties of a knowledge team that is one…third in India； one…third in China； and
a sixth each in Palo Alto and Boston。 That takes a very special kind of skill； and
it is going to be much in demand in the flat world。
Rule #5： In a flat world； the best companies stay healthy by getting regular chest
X…rays and then selling the results to their clients。
Because niche businesses can get turned into vanilla commodity businesses faster than
ever in a flat world； the best companies today really do get chest X…rays regularly…to
constantly identify and strengthen their niches and outsource the stuff that is not
very differentiating。 What do I mean by chest X…rays？ Let me introduce Laurie Tropiano；
IBM's vice president for business consulting services； who is what I would call a
corporate radiologist。 What Tropiano and her team at IBM do is basically X…ray your
company and break down every component of your business and then put it up on a
wall…size screen so you can study your corporate skeleton。 Every department； every
function； is broken out and put in a box and identified as to whether it is a cost
for the company or a source of income； or a little of both； and whether it is a unique
core competency of the company or some vanilla function that anyone else could do…
possibly cheaper and better。
〃A typical company has forty to fifty components；〃 Tropiano explained to me one day
at IBM； as she displayed a corporate skeleton up on her screen； 〃so what we do is
identify and isolate these forty to fifty components and then sit down and ask ＇the
company＇； 'How much mone