高民環與布瑞爾兩位先生創立了Garmin,並且在衛星定位與導航儀的市場長久以來都是佔有領先地位，真是一項了不起的成就。幾年前聽說全球最大GPS製造商Garmin的創辦人是台灣人，就曾上網找過資料，我也對這位高先生十分好奇。
John轉寄這篇上個月商周的報導給我，文中高先生提及永續經營的三件事，報導也把這三件事當成了整篇的重心。但不知是撰文者的粗心，或能力不足，在陳述這個題旨時先說－－高民環悟出三個經營公司的重要原則：「第一，對現金要節省，」「第二，對設備和人才，要積極投資，」「第三，公司必須發展面對變局的彈性。」－－但是逐一論述時，「第二，對設備和人才，要積極投資，」卻變成了「第二：產品技術夠分散？」
「第二：產品技術夠分散？」從文中可以發現Garmin的技術是系統整合，所以在船舶與飛行器上的導航系統Garmin應仍可保有其競爭優勢。但對於大宗的消費市場呢？手持式的產品要何去何從呢？
GPS發展之初可以說是一種利基產品，不像是電腦或電腦周邊產品。但隨著半導體技術的進步與整合，就和許多電腦周邊產品一般，GPS的未來似乎也是無可避免的被整合到行動電話中。當然專用機在戶外活動中所扮演的角色不易被手機取代，但也相對的不需系統整合。2007年Garmin出價33億美元預收購Tele Atlas未果，而GPS的技術又在晶片設計廠商(SiRF, 聯發科, ST...等)手中，因此Garmin似乎無可避免的喪失其手持式產品的市場地位。
本來指望在該報導對「第三，公司必須發展面對變局的彈性」的論述中會談到如何因應此一趨勢。由其是像iPhone這種本身有GPS,然後利用3G/3.5G的上網功能，使用Google Map的圖資與Google Map雲端運算的導航。（就在上個月底10/28 Google宣布了免費的行動電話導航系統，詳見以下所引用的紐約時報分析報導"Hurting Rivals, Google Unveils Free Phone GPS"）
"Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 hitting AT&T on October 4, $299.99 on a 2-yr contract" 而這篇商周的報導是刊出時間是十月五日，從時間上與報導內容的一致性與連貫性鬆散來看，這應該是整個商品上市的行銷活動之一。可惜Nuvifone的評價大都不好(見以下所引用的紐約時報分析報導"Hurting Rivals, Google Unveils Free Phone GPS")，或許就同這篇商周報導給人的感覺吧！
商業周刊 第1141期 2009-10-05 
GPS全球霸主高民環牢記二十年的兩句話
高民環：先為雨天做好準備 撰文者：林宏達
高民環，二○○八年《富比世》榜上有名的富豪，去年身價高達新台幣近六百億元的他，每做一個決定，都會想到創業夥伴時刻提醒他的兩句忠告。
高民環時時刻刻提醒自己，沒有任何事是永恆的，必須為可能的失敗，做好充分準備。（攝影者．翁挺耀）
即使已事隔二十年，台灣國際航電（Garmin）董事長高民環還是忘不了當年創業夥伴蓋瑞（Gary Burrell）給他的兩句忠告，也是這兩句話，一次次幫助他做出關鍵決定，改變了他的命運。
在台灣，高民環並不是大眾熟悉的名字，但在全球GPS（衛星導航）產業，他是「喊水會結凍」的霸主，他領導的台灣國際航電 GPS品牌，今年第二季全球市占率近四成，是全球GPS霸主。
一九八九年，他白手起家創立台灣國際航電，十九年後，他搖身一變，成為二○○八年《富比世》美國富豪排行榜（The 400 richest Americans）上，排名第二百六十二名的富豪，他的身價約為新台幣五百八十三億元，足以買下一整棟台北一○一大樓。
時間回到一九八九年，當時高民環遇到一個問題：他看好GPS的未來發展，認為這項技術正要起飛，但公司卻駁回他的意見，要大幅刪減研發預算。
有一次，他和好朋友、公司副總裁蓋瑞吃飯，才發現灰心的不只有他，蓋瑞告訴他，他想辭去工作，專心在教會傳道，「為什麼不創業呢？」高民環問，蓋瑞笑了笑說，「除非找到像你這樣的夥伴，我才會創業，」兩個人一拍即合，開始創業。
但是，創業難，在美國創業更難。高民環當時已經四十歲，不再是個年輕人，GPS當時也還是一個像冰箱一樣大的專用儀器，前景不明，該如何替公司決定方向？剛創業的前兩個月，他和蓋瑞兩個人，整天關在房間裡，裡頭只有一張桌子、兩張椅子，兩個人閉門苦思公司未來的營運計畫。
做決策前問自己兩個問題
當時高民環還沒有營運公司的經驗，蓋瑞卻比他大上十二歲，看過美國景氣的起起伏伏，每當高民環提出新公司營運的想法，蓋瑞一定會追問兩個問題：「如果這麼做，遇到不景氣，會怎麼樣？（What if we have a recession）」「如果這麼做，對手卻突然推出殺手級應用，我們會怎麼樣？（What if competitors come out with a killer product）」－－「這兩個問題，是我得過最重要的忠告。」高民環說。
當時，在美國科技產業，許多公司的目標都是「趕快賺大錢」，為了衝高獲利，不管是運用財務槓桿，還是砸大錢行銷，不少科技公司努力的方向，不是推出改變市場的產品，而是趕快衝高獲利。
在蓋瑞眼中，這些卻不是穩固經營公司的好策略，在他的工作生涯中，他看過其他競爭對手公司，一開始就借大錢，到亞洲興建規模龐大的廠房。景氣好的時候固然可以賺大錢，景氣不好的時候，公司卻馬上面臨倒閉危機，「蓋瑞工作生涯裡遇過好幾次不景氣，每次不景氣，公司就得裁員，員工就要受傷害。」高民環回憶。
有的時候，市場會突然出現想像不到的大變化，即使你手上握有強而有力的產品，公司仍有可能一夕間從非常賺錢，變成虧損，像曾紅極一時的試算表軟體Lotus 123，在微軟推出殺手級試算表軟體Excel後，公司就拱手讓出市場領導權，一失去領先地位，公司從此就一蹶不振。
為求永續經營再想三件事
蓋瑞當時快五十歲，這兩句忠告，其實是結合他一生工作經驗，對如何永續經營一家公司的觀察，反覆思考這兩個問題，高民環悟出三個經營公司的重要原則：「第一，對現金要節省，」「第二，對設備和人才，要積極投資，」「第三，公司必須發展面對變局的彈性。」
第一：現金存量夠安全？
因為蓋瑞的堅持，台灣國際航電創業開始時，和一般美國公司高財務槓桿的經營風格很不一樣；一開始，他們選擇在新店一間四十坪的小公寓裡開始創業，蓋瑞每天坐在生產線旁邊，指導生產，「工程師英文不好，蓋瑞就一個字、一個字慢慢講，直到員工聽懂為止。」高民環說，第一條小生產線賺錢之後，他們再把賺來的錢重新投入，用來擴建廠房。
在蓋瑞的影響下，高民環對現金存量十分重視，台灣國際航電不只很少借錢，帳上也長期保持有大筆現金，「很多分析師經常問我，為什麼要保留這麼多現金？」高民環笑著說，在美國分析師眼中，公司應該把這些錢投資出去，才能賺更多錢，高民環卻堅持，帳上一定要保持十億美元（約合新台幣三百二十億元），甚至十五億美元的現金，公司才算是安全。擁有大量的現金，以台灣國際航電的支出計算，即使超過半年，公司不再賺一塊錢，台灣國際航電還是能照常運作。
第二：產品技術夠分散？
為了避開風險，除了財務保守，從創業開始，台灣國際航電就開始分散市場。每次他都會和蓋瑞反覆討論，「如果對手也推出更好的產品，我們該怎麼辦？」因為雖然他們在GPS技術領先，卻難保不會有一天，出現難以打倒的對手，讓公司陷入危機。
「所以我們從第一天，就認定不能只做美國市場，要做國際化的公司，」高民環說，他們不斷分散產品線和市場，降低風險。
一開始，他們從航海和航空GPS產品起家，其他對手只在這個領域競爭，他們卻再跨入運動用、車用GPS，甚至手機製造，連原有的航空市場，台灣國際航電也不斷整合其他飛機的導航產品。
他們從原先只負責生產儀表板上的GPS，最後卻把整個飛機儀表板上的導航設備都和GPS整合，台灣國際航電在小飛機市場的市占率，甚至衝破九成，「從技術上來說，我們的核心能力，早就不只是GPS，而是整合能力。」高民環說。
但即使從創業時就小心翼翼的規避風險，還是難免遇到令人捏把冷汗的危機。
有一年，美國小飛機保費大幅提高，一年新增的飛機數量，竟從一萬七千台降到一千四百台，台灣國際航電最賺錢的飛機導航市場規模突然剩不到十分之一。
另一次挑戰是，九一一恐怖攻擊時，美國政府一度要求所有小飛機停飛，台灣國際航電最重要的美國飛機導航市場規模馬上蒸發一半，「那個時候，我們早已跨足海外，歐、亞市場的成長，填補了美國飛機導航市場的空缺。」
第三 ：變局因應夠彈性？
去年達到頂峰的金融海嘯則是另一個例子，「這次，是所有人都受影響，」高民環說，在這波危機中，他的主要客戶－－全美第二大通路公司電路城（Circuit City）倒閉、美國最大的造船公司裁員四○％、小的造船公司關閉、主要的競爭對手麥哲倫（Magellan）也被迫出售，台灣國際航電的股價更曾一度跌到只剩十五美元（二○○七年股價曾達一百一十九美元高峰）。但台灣國際航電卻靠著事前保留足夠的現金，低價購併歐洲重要的通路商，當景氣一回復，台灣國際航電的股價馬上強彈一倍，衝上三十五美元。
忠告要受用，最難在落實
直到現在，每次要做決定之前，他腦中還是隨時會想起創業時，蓋瑞問他的兩個問題，要讓忠告發揮力量，最難的其實是落實。
像景氣好的時候，公司裡的員工都急著要資源、擴張版圖，「有的時候，一擴編，就是增加一、兩百人。」但一想到這兩句忠告，高民環會先問，錢究竟要花在哪裡？再仔細分析，不花這筆錢，對公司分散風險，或是競爭力究竟有什麼影響？
「不是光靠這兩句話，就能帶來戲劇性的影響，」高民環說，是靠每天不斷討論、實踐，才造就今天的結果。
但是，對高民環來說，這兩句話就像指南針，替他指出了經營公司的核心價值。
「人永遠要為雨天準備（Ready for rainy days），」高民環說，「沒有任何事是永恆的。」這兩則忠告，他會一直放在心裡提醒自己，在想贏、想賺大錢之前，必須為可能的失敗做好充分準備。
http://www.businessweekly.com.tw/webarticle.php?id=37946
Min H. Kao
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Garmin Limited
Gardenia CourtC.Bay , CY
Sector: TECHNOLOGY / Scientific & Technical Instruments
Officer since ?? 2000
60 Years Old
Min H. Kao, age 60, has served as Chairman of the Company since August 2004 and was previously Co-Chairman of the Company from August 2000 to August 2004. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of the Company since August 2002 and previously served as Co-Chief Executive Officer from August 2000 to August 2002. Dr. Kao has served as a director and officer of various subsidiaries of the Company since August 1990. Dr. Kao holds Ph.D. and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University.
Forbes Rankings
196th on the Forbes 400 Richest in America in 2009
358th on the Forbes World's Richest People in 2008
262nd on the Forbes 400 Richest in America in 2008
369th on the Forbes World's Richest People in 2007
64th on the Forbes 400 Richest in America in 2007
Compensation for 2008
Salary $500,011.00
Bonus $203.00
Other Annual Compensation $0.00
Long term incentive plan payouts $0.00
Restricted stock awards $0.00
Security underlying options $0.00
All other compensation $80,001.00
Option awards $ $0.00
Non-equity incentive plan compensation $0.00
Change in pension value and nonqualified
deferred compensation earnings $0.00
Total Compensation $580,215.00http://people.forbes.com/profile/min-h-kao/35814Distinguished Alumnus and Donor Min H. KaoMin H. KaoIn the early 1970s, it was a "natural path" for Min Kao to apply for a teaching assistantship to continue his graduate studies in engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
However, the path Dr. Min H. Kao traveled over the next three decades led to a gift of extraordinary generosity to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, College of Engineering–one that will insure that Kao's name will be known by future engineering students for generations to come.
Kao, a native of Taiwan, received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the National Taiwan University in Taipei. After graduation, he applied to universities in the United States for his postgraduate studies. When he was offered a teaching assistantship at the University of Tennessee, which helped to pay for his tuition and expenses, he decided to accept; his brother was also a student at Vanderbilt University, so the proximity of Knoxville to Nashville made UTK an obvious choice.
As a graduate student, Kao worked on research projects under the guidance of now-retired ECE professors Dr. James Hung and Dr. Robert Bodenheimer.
"I found the University of Tennessee's engineering program to be very practical, and a logical next step to the theory I studied at National Taiwan University," Kao said. "Looking back, I can see how well this training has served me throughout my career. Of course, some of the things I enjoyed most about my days at UT were the various research projects that I undertook under the supervision of Dr. Hung and Dr. Bodenheimer."
After receiving his master's and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from UT in 1975 and 1977, respectively, Kao accepted a position at Teledyne, where he was involved in the development of various navigation systems. He was employed for stints at Magnavox and King Radio (which later was sold to AlliedSignal, and eventually to Honeywell), but eventually Kao decided to join forces with a former King Radio colleague, Gary Burrell, to start their own company. Both had extensive experience in navigation systems; Kao had led the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) team that developed the first GPS receiver certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
"We worked hard, learned a lot along the way, and surrounded ourselves with talented people. Looking back, I can say with all honesty that starting a new company with absolutely no business, manufacturing or marketing training was never part of my life's plan," Kao added.
The company was initially named ProNav and then later re-named
Garmin -- a play on the first names of the founders. Garmin introduced its flagship GPS product for the domestic marine market and then expanded to international marine and aviation applications. Burrell and Kao established their first office in Lenexa, Kansas, in 1989, and started to build up their U.S. campus at their current Kansas City suburb location in 1996.
Garmin Ltd. is currently a world leader in aviation, marine, recreational, fitness and automotive GPS markets, and has reported significant growth over the past 15 years. The company has nearly 3,000 employees worldwide located at facilities in Kansas, Oregon, Arizona, Taiwan and England. To date, Garmin has shipped more than 10 million GPS navigation, communication and information devices.
"We focus on insourcing and creating jobs. We implement a vertical integration concept for which we design, develop and market every product under the Garmin name," Kao commented.
Kao had stayed in touch with Hung over the years, and initially contacted the retired engineering professor with the proposal of providing a gift of lasting value to a university–potentially, his alma mater, the University of Tennessee. Hung suggested that Kao consider donating funding toward a much-needed new engineering building.
Kao's transformational donation of $17.5 million to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering -- $12.5 million designated for a new building and $5 million in matching funds to generate an endowment of $10 million -- is
the largest single-donor private gift in the history of UT-Knoxville. Both the new facility and the ECE department will be named after Kao in honor of his generosity.Prior to the announcement of the gift, Kao modestly stayed in the background, remaining anonymous while details were being worked out and only revealing his name after the arrangements were final in order to keep the focus on the building and fundraising initiatives. However, he is excited about the new facility, and hopes to visit Knoxville for the dedication ceremony.
"I'm not much help around a construction site, so don't expect to see me in a hard hat. However, I hope to provide some input at the design stage, and I will certainly be on hand for the excitement of the building's dedication," Kao said.
Kao will continue to lead Garmin, where he has plans for future growth. He also hopes to make time for travel and family activities with his wife, Fan, and their two adult children.
http://www.engr.utk.edu/giving/kao.html Hurting Rivals, Google Unveils Free Phone GPSBy JENNA WORTHAM and MIGUEL HELFTPublished: October 28, 2009MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — GPS navigation devices were the latest must-have tech toys just two years ago, and shares of device makers like Garmin and TomTom were soaring.That didn’t last long. In a turnabout that has been remarkably swifteven for the fast-moving technology business, those companies have suffered as competition has pulled down prices — and as more peoplehave turned to their cellphones for directions.In the latest blow to the business, Google announced a free navigation service for mobile phones on Wednesday that will offer turn-by-turn directions, live traffic updates and the ability to recognize voice commands. The service will initially be available on only one phone,the new Motorola Droid, but will be expanded to more phones soon.In a briefing on Tuesday in advance of its announcement, Google saidthat the service might be supported by advertisements in the future.That would make driving directions the latest form of information toshift from being a paid service to one that is ad-supported.“This is consistent with a certain pattern of Google, where they areable to build volume and usage of a product and then subsidize it with advertising,” said Greg Sterling, principal of Sterling Market Intelligent, a research firm. The losers, he said, were companies like TomTom and Garmin, along with the cellphone carriers, which offer navigation services by subscription.Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said that he didn’t view thenew service as hurting an industry. Instead, he said, it is a boon toconsumers, made possible by the increasing power of smartphones and thegrowing ubiquity of Internet access.“Obviously we like the price of free, because consumers like that as well,” he said.But analysts say that if successful, Google’s service could chip away at sales of stand-alone GPS devices and the subscription servicesoffered by cellphone carriers.Sales growth for those devices is already slowing. In 2007, globalshipments of stand-alone navigation devices grew a hefty 131 percentfrom the year before, according to data from the research firm In-Stat.But the firm predicts that shipments will grow just 19 percent this year from 2008, and a price war has hurt the industry’s profits.“With a free alternative that is just as good, I don’t see muchpositive growth for the likes of TomTom, Navigon or Garmin,” said Dominique Bonte, director of navigation research at ABI Research. “Ifit’s free and a good service, why would you pay for something you canget for free?”Google’s announcement also reflects a broader shift toward consolidation in the gadget world.The smartphone is already the Swiss Army knife of the digital age, ableto transform into a camera, music player or game machine at the swipeof a finger. Now it is increasingly a navigation device too.Many people still prefer dedicated GPS devices, which tend to displaymaps faster since the data is typically stored in the device ratherthan downloaded over a wireless network. But the list of smart phone shortcomings is shrinking. Smartphone users can download application sthat offer spoken directions and live traffic updates. And at $100 to$300 apiece, smartphones are competitively priced with GPS units, which average about $177, according to the research firm NPD Group.By 2013, phone-based navigation systems, which are already more popular among younger smartphone owners, will dominate the market, according toa recent report from Forrester.The makers of navigation devices have not ignored the spread of smart phones. But Google’s move could make it harder for them to adapt.TomTom, based in Amsterdam, introduced a $100 navigation application for the iPhone in August. The company said the program had been downloaded close to 80,000 times. Garmin recently released the Nuvifone, a hybrid of a navigational device and a cellphone that has generally received poor reviews.“Turn-by-turn navigation on a handset is what we’re been doing with theNuvifone,” said Ted Gartner, a spokesman for Garmin, which declined to release sales figures for the phone. “Google’s announcement reaffirms that consumers want their smartphones to double as a navigation device.”Julien Blin, principal analyst at JBB Research, called Garmin’s phone a“desperate move,” adding: “The Nuvifone is around $300, and you can getan iPhone for a comparable amount that can now do the same thing.”Shares of both TomTom and Garmin plummeted Wednesday after Google’s announcement. Garmin’s shares fell 16 percent to $31.45 on Nasdaq, while TomTom’s shares closed around 21 percent lower on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.Google’s navigation service, which for now works only in the United States, is part of a new version of Google Maps for Mobile, software that will work on the growing number of phones that run Google’s Android operating system. Google executives said they eventually hoped to offer the service on Apple’s iPhone and other mobile devices. Butthey said this would be up to those device makers. Apple and Google have clashed over Apple’s reluctance to approve an application that works with the Google Voice calling service.As mobile services that involve location have become increasingly important, the underlying mapping data has become a valuable strategic asset. Google recently began creating its own digital maps in the United States, ending a contract with the map data provider Tele Atlas,which is owned by TomTom.A year earlier, Google had chosen Tele Atlas to replace Navteq, a mapdata provider that Nokia acquired for $8.1 billion in 2007. Google andNokia are rivals in mobile phone operating systems.This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:Correction: October 30, 2009An article on Thursday about a new GPS navigation service from Google misstated part of the name of the firm of Julien Blin, an analyst whocommented on the GPS device industry. It is JBB Research, not JBBIndustry.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/technology/companies/29gps.htmlGarmin Tops a Bid for a MapmakerBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPublished: November 1, 2007AMSTERDAM, Oct. 31 (AP) — Garmin, the maker of personal navigation devices, announced Wednesday that it had made an unsolicited $3.3 billion offer for the Dutch digital mapmaker Tele Atlas, topping an offer by rival TomTom by 15 percent.Garmin’s chief executive, Min H. Kao, said the company felt forced to bid for Tele Atlas for competitive reasons.TomTom is Europe’s largest maker of navigation devices, but Garmin, based in the Cayman Islands, is larger in the United States and over all.Tele Atlas had endorsed the TomTom bid but said it was reviewing its options.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/business/worldbusiness/01map.html
以上文章分別摘錄自商業周刊（第1141期 2009-10-05），Forbes, University of Tennessee, The New York Times 的網站，其版權為其原版權主所有。
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