家得宝

伯尼说：“不行，不行，我做不到。”

Bernie says, "Nope, nope, I can't do it."

有意思的是，我读到这儿的时候在想：“这算内幕交易吗？”

And interestingly, when I read this, I was thinking, "Is this insider trading?"

我觉得在当时应该不算，因为肯是外人，只是告诉伯尼他要买股票。

I don't think it would have been at the time, since Ken is an outsider just telling Bernie that he's going to buy the stock.

所以这个信息其实是市场信息，不是来自公司内部的内幕信息。

So the information is actually market information, not inside information originating from the company itself.

而且伯尼的律师当然就坐在那儿听着，确保没问题。

And Bernie's lawyer is, of course, sitting there listening to make sure.

对。

Yep.

于是肯说：“好吧，好吧。”

So, Ken says, "All right, all right.

我跟你说过了。”

I told you."

他飞回了纽约。

He flies back to New York.

他完全按照自己说的去做了。

He does exactly what he said he was going to do.

他买下了Handy Dan所有公开交易的股票，只留了一小部分没买。

He buys every single publicly traded share of Handy Dan, except for one block.

好的。

All right.

所以，大卫，我在《Built from Scratch》这本书里查过这个。

So I looked this up, David, in the book "Built from Scratch"-

这本书很棒，是伯尼和阿瑟写的，算是家得宝的经典故事。

... which is the awesome book that is kind of the canonical Home Depot story written by Bernie and Arthur.

事情是这样的。

And so here's how it goes.

有一小部分5万股，大约占公司2%的股份，是由布鲁克林区的至圣救赎主会持有的。

There was this little block of 50,000 shares, which was about 2% of the company, owned by the Brooklyn-based Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.

所以肯像给其他股东打电话一样，给那些神父打了电话。当肯问教堂的财务主管——也是一位神父——‘嘿，你愿意把股票卖给我吗？’

So Ken calls the priests like he called up every other shareholder, and when Ken asks the church's financial officer, who is also a priest, "Hey, will you sell your shares to me?"

神父停顿了一下，说：‘朗格尼？’

The priest pauses and he says, "Langone?"

这是个意大利名字吗？

Is that an Italian name?

他说：‘是的。’

And he goes, "Yes."

他又问：‘那你是天主教徒吗？’

And he goes, "And are you Catholic?"

肯说：‘是的，我是。’

And Ken goes, "Yes, I am."

神父说：‘那看在上帝的份上，告诉我该怎么办。’

And the priest says, "Then under the pain of hell, tell me what I should do."

肯笑着回答说：‘嗯，按这个条件，你应该留着。’

And Ken smiles and laughs and says, "Well, on these terms, you should keep it.

别卖。

Don't sell."

你应该继续持有你的股份。

You should hang on to your shares.

所以肯从每股3美元开始买入，到完成时，他买下了公司将近20%的股份。

So Ken started buying at $3 a share, and by the time he was done, he bought almost 20% of the company.

他最后买的几股价格在9美元左右，那时市场上已经没有流通股，也没有交易了。

The last few shares that he bought were at around $9 with no float and no trading left.

所以价格基本上就锁定了。

So it's essentially locked at that price.

这家公司除了教会，还有两个股东。

There's two plus a church shareholders of this business.

而且不可思议的是，肯去买这些股票，结果导致伯尼和亚瑟被解雇，然后他们创立了家得宝。

And improbably, Ken going out and buying these shares leads to Bernie and Arthur getting fired and then founding The Home Depot.

这绝不是肯的错，但想想这一系列事件中，这竟然是第一块倒下的多米诺骨牌，真是疯狂。

Which is in no way Ken's fault, but it is crazy that this is the first domino to tip over in that series of events.

对。

Right.

肯·兰根就是这样成为家得宝联合创始人的——他无意中让自己的好兄弟伯尼和亚瑟被解雇了。

This is how Ken Langone becomes a co-founder of The Home Depot, is he gets his buddies Bernie and Arthur fired accidentally.

无意中。

Accidentally.

但在讲那个故事之前，现在是感谢我们赞助伙伴的好时机，这家公司我们非常喜欢，就是Sierra。

But before we tell that story, now is a great time to thank our presenting partner, a company that we are big fans of, Sierra.

是的。

Yes.

在Acquired节目里，我们研究历史上最伟大公司的领导者。

So on Acquired, we study the leaders of the greatest companies in history.

而今天，所有这些人都基本在纠结同一个问题：当每个人都能获得同样的智能时，我的竞争优势是什么？

And today, all of those folks are wrestling with basically the same question: What is my competitive advantage when everyone has access to the same intelligence?

以及如何正确地将AI转化为我们公司的收入？

And what is the right way to turn AI into revenue for our company?

对。

Yep.

这就是Sierra发挥作用的地方。

And that's where Sierra comes in.

首先，你的客户关系就是你的竞争优势。

First, your customer relationships are your competitive advantage.

当你部署Sierra的AI代理时，每一次客户互动都会加深这些关系，并产生随时间累积的洞察。

When you deploy Sierra's AI agents, those relationships get deeper with every customer interaction, generating insights that compound over time.

其次，你应该为结果付费，而不是为令牌付费，比如理赔成功、销售成交或客户留存。

Second, you should pay for outcomes, not tokens, like an insurance claim paid, or a sale closed, or a customer retained.

Sierra已经是客户服务代理领域的领先平台，涵盖从账户注册到故障排除和订阅管理的所有环节。

Sierra is already the leading platform for customer service agents, everything from account sign-up to troubleshooting and subscription management.

他们与财富50强中的40%合作，全球领先银行中有三分之一，以及十大医疗保健公司中的五家。

They work with 40% of the Fortune 50, one in three of the world's leading banks, five out of the 10 largest healthcare companies.

现在，他们的代理还能处理复杂的工作流程，同样能创造收入。

And now, their agents can handle complex workflows that generate revenue as well.

这些事情可能需要几周甚至几个月的时间，而且涉及语音、聊天、电子邮件、WhatsApp等多个渠道。

These are things that can take weeks or months, and they span across voice, chat, email, WhatsApp.

真正复杂的事情，比如医疗领域的预约挂号或事先授权，或者金融服务中的贷款再融资。

Really complex things like appointment booking or prior authorizations in healthcare, or refinancing a loan in financial services.

是的。

Yep.

而且他们刚刚推出了一款超酷的新产品，叫Personas。

And they just launched a super cool new product, Personas.

这样一来，每个AI代理的声音就不再千篇一律，不再是那种礼貌但有点机械的感觉。你可以给代理一个独特的声音和个性，根据你的品牌调整它的语气、幽默感，甚至说话的节奏。

So instead of every AI agent sounding the same, polite but kind of robotic, you can give your agent a distinct voice and personality, tailoring its tone, humor, even the rhythm of how it speaks to your brand.

优秀的品牌都有自己鲜明的个性。

Great brands have a recognizable character to them.

比如说，一家收购公司跟一家医院的沟通语气就大不相同。

Acquired, for example, has a very different communication tone than, say, a hospital.

是的。

Yep.

而奢侈品牌又会有完全不同的风格，你们公司的智能体也应该如此。

And a luxury brand would have yet a completely different one, and the agents at your company should, too.

智能体说话的方式会影响客户的信任。

How an agent speaks impacts customer trust.

Sierra告诉我们，他们的一个客户，全球最大的电信公司之一，刚刚为他们的智能体引入了新的声音和人格。

Sierra told us that a customer of theirs, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, just introduced a new voice and persona for their agent.

这太不可思议了。

And this is wild.

它解决客户问题的成功率提升了将近50%。

The rate it solved customers' problems increased by almost 50%.

因为有了人格？

Because it had a persona?

是的。

Yes.

太神奇了。

Wild.

所以，想知道如何用AI打造出色的客户体验来推动业务增长，就去访问sierra.ai/acquired，告诉他们本和大卫推荐你来的。

So to find out how you can build standout customer experiences that grow your business with AI, visit sierra.ai/acquired, and just tell them that Ben and David sent you.

好的，大卫，那么肯把所有的股份都收走，尽管他和伯尼、亚瑟成了哥们儿，这怎么导致他们被赶出Handy Dan的呢？

Okay, David, so how does Ken hoovering up all the shares, even though he's sort of become buddies with Bernie and Arthur, how does that lead to their ousting from Handy Dan?

对。

Yes.

所以肯现在实际上是Handy Dan的董事会成员，他非常喜欢那两个人所做的一切。

So Ken is essentially de facto board member now of Handy Dan, and he just loves everything that the guys are doing.

他特别鼓励他们。

He's super encouraging.

他开始飞到西海岸，然后随着伯尼和亚瑟开新的Handy Dan门店，又飞到全国各地。

He starts flying out to the West Coast and then around the country as Bernie and Arthur open new Handy Dan stores.

肯基本上成了团队的一员，这和Dalen新任CEO管理伯尼和Handy Dan的方式截然不同。

Ken basically becomes part of the crew, which is very different than the new Dalen CEO's approach to managing Bernie and Handy Dan.

而且挺烦人的。

And quite bothersome.

这个少数股东反而比你还跟你的管理团队更亲近。

This guy who's the minority shareholder is sort of closer with your management team than you are.

对，就是你觉得只是你公司的一个部门——

Right, that you consider one of your divisions-

是的

Yes

——在你公司里。

... in your company.

对。

Right.

有一次肯去洛杉矶出差，伯尼跟他说：“嘿，你该去见见我们在达伦的实际CEO，一个叫桑迪·西加洛夫的人，跟他搞好关系。”

So on one of Ken's trips out to LA, Bernie says, "Hey, you should probably go see our actual CEO at Dalen, a guy named Sandy Sigaloff, and build a relationship with him."

这个西加洛夫，我们之前说过，是被请来帮公司走出破产困境的，他可不是好惹的。

Now, Sigaloff, as we said, was brought in to turn around the company out of bankruptcy, and he's a bad dude.

可以说，他就是那种典型的破产价值回收专家，你懂的。

He's exactly who you would imagine is the bankruptcy value recovery artist here, shall we say.

他是不是给自己起了个绰号？

Didn't he give himself a nickname?

是不是叫‘冷酷的明’？

Was it Ming the Merciless?

是的，取自《飞侠哥顿》漫画系列里的反派。

Yes, after the villain in the Flash Gordon comic series.

他这么叫自己，是因为他对那些被他大刀阔斧裁员、搞垮的公司的员工们非常冷酷无情。

And he called himself that because of how merciless he was to all the employees of these companies that he would slash and burn and get rid of.

所以肯立刻意识到这个西加洛夫不是善茬，但他持有汉迪丹近19%的股份。

So Ken realizes right away that this Sigaloff guy is bad news, but he's got this close to 19% equity position in Handy Dan.

他想：‘这家伙不能在我头上作威作福。’

He's like, "This guy can't walk all over me."

本，正如你所预料的，这一切导致了这两个人之间相当多的冲突。

All this leads to, Ben, as you predicted, quite a lot of conflict between the two of these characters.

最后，西加洛夫说：‘好吧。

And finally, Sigaloff says, "All right.

肯，我要你离开这里。

Ken, I want you out of here.

我要你走人。

I want you gone.

我得怎么做才能把你那19%的股份买回来？

What do I have to do to just buy back this 19% stake that you have?"

而肯就喜欢这种博弈。

And Ken loves a good game here.

好，所以肯根本没打算卖。

Okay, so Ken has no intention of selling here.

我们先这么说。

Let's just first say that.

他现在和伯尼、亚瑟是一伙的。

He is now in it with Bernie and Arthur.

他觉得这生意很棒。

He thinks it's a great business.

而且忠诚是他的行事准则。

And loyalty is his whole MO.

他从不卖股份。

He never sells.

对。

Yes.

所以西加洛夫派他的副手杰弗里·查宁去试着谈判。

So Sigaloff sends his lieutenant, Jeffrey Chainen, to try to negotiate something.

这是出自《白手起家》这本书。

So this is from the book, "Built from Scratch."

查宁说：“现在股价大概每股8美元。

Chanin says, "The stock is selling for about $8 a share.

我们付你10美元怎么样？”

How about if we pay you 10?"

兰格尼说：“没门。”

"No way," Langone says.

“价格是12。”

"The price is 12."

查宁震惊了。

Chanin was shocked.

“算了。”

"Forget it."

朗格尼离开去了洗手间。

Langone left and went to the men's room.

不到两分钟，查宁就跟了进去。

Barely two minutes later, Chanin followed him in.

“好吧，”他说，“12。”

"Okay," he said, "12."

“杰夫，你不明白。

"Jeff, you don't understand.

你出价10想买，我说不行。我开价12卖给你，你说不行。现在你又回来想用12买？”

You offered to buy it for 10, I said no. I offered to sell it to you for 12, you said no. Now you are back wanting to buy it for 12?

那个报价已经不算数了。

That offer's off the table.

已经没了。

That is gone.

我们有过一个报价，但被拒绝了。

We had an offer and a denial.

没谈成。

No deal."

查宁说：“什么？”

Chanin goes, "What?"

肯说：“我在办公室提议过12美元的价格，对吧？”

Ken goes, "I suggested a price of $12 in my office, right?"

查宁点了点头。

Chanin nodded.

“而你拒绝了。”

"And you declined.

好吧，那就这样吧。

Well, that's it.

我现在不想卖了。

I don't want to sell now."

我们现在在男厕所里。

We're in the men's room now.

价格就不一样了。

Price is different.

查宁说：“你总得有个价吧。”

Chanin says, "You must have some price."

“好吧，”肯说，“14美元。”

"Okay," Ken says, "$14."

查宁气得火冒三丈，离开时差点一头撞在门上。

Chanin left in such a blind rage that he almost banged his head on the door.

大约一周后，西格尔奥夫给朗格尼打了电话。

About a week later, Siegeloff called Langone.

他说：“咱们别绕弯子了。”

"Let's not mess around," he said.

“我们愿意出14块。”

"We will pay you 14."

肯说：“桑迪，你们没搞明白。”

Ken goes, "Sandy, you guys don't get it.

“我之前出14块，查宁拒绝了。那个报价已经作废了。”

I offered it to you for $14, Chanin said no. That offer's off the table."

西格尔夫说：“我不明白。”

"I don't understand," Siegeloff said.

肯说：“就这么简单。”

Ken goes, "It's this simple.

“你们有机会，但你们放弃了，我现在重新考虑了。”

You had a chance, you turned it down, I've reconsidered my position.

“我不想卖了。”

I don't want to sell."

西格尔夫挂断电话，气得要命。

Siegeloff hung up the phone madder than hell.

这就像《帝国反击战》里的情节吗？

It's like, is it in Empire Strikes Back?

就是那个——

Of the-

“我在改变协议。”

"I am altering the deal.

“祈祷我别再改了吧，”这是达斯·维达的台词。

Pray I don't alter it any further," is the Darth Vader line.

所以这事持续了一阵子，然后有一天，伯尼打电话给肯，或者肯尼，他现在这么叫他。

So this continues for a while, and then one day, Bernie calls Ken, or Kenny, as he's taken to calling him.

是的。

Yes.

他说：“肯尼，帮我个忙。”

He says, "Kenny, just do me a favor.

就卖了吧。

Just sell.

就卖给西格尔奥夫吧。

Just sell to Siegeloff.

他一直在逼我。

He's breathing down my neck.

这情况越来越糟了。

This situation's getting bad.

搞得我日子很难过。

It's making my life difficult.

就卖了吧。

Just sell.

没事的。

It's fine."

生意其实做得很好，所以这反倒是我最大的头疼事。

The business is doing great, so this is actually my biggest headache.

对，然后肯说：“伯尼，你在说什么呢？

Yep, and Ken says, "Bernie, what are you talking about?

你难道不明白吗？

Don't you understand?

我是唯一能保护你免受西格尔夫伤害的人。

I am the only thing that is protecting you from Siegeloff.

如果我卖了，他会反过来解雇你。

If I sell, he's going to turn around and fire your ass.

他受不了看到你在达兰取得成功，并且功劳不是他的。”

He can't stand to see you being successful and getting credit for any success at Dalan that's not him."

不过，伯尼在这类事情上出奇地信任别人。

Bernie, though, again, he's surprisingly trusting about this stuff.

他说：“不。

He says, "No.

桑迪需要我。”

Sandy needs me.

我是唯一支撑公司的人。

I'm the only thing propping up the company.

我是大人了。

I'm a big boy.

我能应付他。

I can handle him.

请你卖了吧。

Please just sell.

让我日子好过点。

Make my life easier."

这挺有意思的。

And it's funny.

我觉得正是伯尼这种信任别人的性格，尽管他外表看起来有点粗犷，让他成为一个伟大的领导者，后来在家得宝也激发了这样的忠诚。

I think it's actually this trusting nature of Bernie, even though he's got sort of a rough exterior, that makes him a great leader, and then later on in Home Depot inspires such loyalty.

他非常信任别人，虽然有时会让他走错路，但也让其他人完全信任他。

He puts so much trust in other people, which steers him wrong sometimes, but it makes other people wholly trust him.

对。

Yep.

所以肯说：“好吧，伯尼，我来做。

So Ken says, "All right, Bernie, I'll do it.

但你要知道，我签的可是你自己的死刑令。”

But just know it's your own death warrant that I'm signing."

1978年初，肯把公司卖给了西格尔奥夫。

And in early 1978, Ken sells to Siegeloff.

我觉得这基本上是他唯一一次从自己投资的公司里退出——

And this, I think, is basically the one time that he sells out of a company that he's-

是的，但是——

Yeah, but-

……投资过的公司。

... invested in.

但是大卫，他卖了多少钱？

But David, how much does he sell for?

不过，就算他要卖，肯也不是好对付的。

Well, even though he's going to sell, Ken is no pushover here.

他以每股25.5美元的价格卖出。

He sells for $25.50 a share.

而他开始买入时股价才3美元。

That he started buying at three.

你知道这大概持续了多长时间吗？

Do you know over what period of time?

我觉得整个事情大概也就两年左右。

I think it was only about two years, this whole saga.

从3美元……他的平均买入价可能，我也不确定，大概5、6美元吧。

From $3... His average entry price was probably, I don't know, $5, $6.

对，5、6美元，差不多。

Yeah, five, six, whatever.

最后涨到25.5美元才卖。

Up to $25.50 to sell.

故事很精彩，西格尔夫终于打来电话说："好吧，咱们就在电话里谈吧。"

And the story's great, where Siegeloff finally calls and says, "All right, let's just do this on the phone.

"你开个价。"

You name your price.

"我就按这个价格买。"

I will buy it at that price."

肯回答说："25.50美元。"

And Ken goes, "$25.50."

他就问，"为啥用奇数呢？"

And he goes, "Why the odd number?"

Ken说，"这样显得我们刚才谈得特别艰难。"

And Ken goes, "I want us to look like we had some real hard bargaining here."

太妙了。

So good.

所以到了1978年1月，Siegeloff买下了Ken手里的股份，现在几乎拥有了公司100%的股权，除了布鲁克林的天主教会还留着一点。

So, January 1978, Siegeloff buys Ken's shares and now owns just about 100% of the company, except for the Catholic Church in Brooklyn.

对，然后，正如所料——

Yep, and then, just as predicted-

对，正如所料，三个月后，西格尔奥夫解雇了伯尼、亚瑟，还有汉迪丹的审计经理，一个叫罗恩·布里尔的家伙。

Yep, just as predicted, three months later, Siegeloff fires Bernie and Arthur and the audit manager at Handy Dan, a guy named Ron Brill.

罗恩也被解雇的原因是，西格尔奥夫捏造的借口是，他们三个人在与工会谈判时违反了国家劳资关系规定。

The reason that Ron gets fired too is the pretense that Siegeloff trumps up is an accusation that the three of them had violated national labor relations rules in negotiating with unions.

西格尔奥夫对自己公司发起劳资关系调查，就是为了制造借口解雇他们。

Siegeloff starts a labor relations investigation against his own company to trump up the excuse to fire them.

这家伙就是这么坏。

That is how bad a dude this guy was.

是啊，我觉得这里真正发生的是，西格尔奥夫在有外部大股东反对这个决定的时候，没法这么做。

Yeah, and really what was happening here is Siegeloff, I think, couldn't do this while there was still a large outside shareholder who would have disagreed with that decision.

但现在他基本上拥有了整个公司，他就想，"太好了，我要巩固权力。"

But now that he owns basically the whole company, he's like, "Great, I want to consolidate power."

你们几个滚蛋吧。

You guys are out of here.

“我需要成为这里的掌权者。”

"I need to be the guy here."

对。

Yep.

所以，家得宝的传说里很有名的一幕是，解雇后的第二天，伯尼飞到纽约去见肯。

So famously in Home Depot lore, the next day after the firing, Bernie flies out to New York to come see Ken.

肯尼。

Kenny.

他们一起在华尔道夫酒店的孔雀巷吃早餐。

They sit down to breakfast together at Peacock Alley in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

那是1978年4月。

This is April 1978.

对，伯尼当时简直要崩溃了。

Yep, and Bernie is just losing it.

他完全慌了。

He's freaking out.

他说：“肯尼，这太糟糕了。

He's like, "Kenny, this is terrible.

我都48岁了。

I'm 48 years old.

我一点积蓄都没有。

I don't have any savings.

我也没有股权。

I didn't have any equity.

我养不起家人。

I can't support my family.

桑迪还拿那个劳资关系的案子来告我。

Sandy's coming after me with this labor relations case.

我不知道，我可能会坐牢。

I don't know, I might go to jail.

我该怎么办？”

What am I going to do?"

然后肯说："伯尼，放松点。"

And Ken says, "Bernie, relax.

"你刚被一个金马蹄铁踢了一脚。"

You just got kicked in the ass with a golden horseshoe."

顺便说一句，这是原话。

That's a verbatim quote, by the way.

"因为现在我们就要去创办你跟我提过的那家公司了。"

"Because now we're going to go start that company that you told me about."

所以听众们，我们还没透露，在这段风风火火的时期，几个月前，他们有过一次对话，当时肯飞来飞去，参加各种门店开业，而伯尼在休斯顿，我记得是德克萨斯州的休斯顿，开了一家Handy Dan？

So listeners, we haven't revealed yet that in this fast and furious period, a few months before, they had had a conversation when Ken was flying around, going to all these store openings, when Bernie is opening a Handy Dan in, I think it was Houston, Texas?

休斯顿。

Houston.

对，德克萨斯州的休斯顿。

Yep, Houston, Texas.

伯尼本该为此兴奋不已的。

Bernie should have been all excited about this.

这是这个故事目前最好的版本，他看着肯，肯的反应是：“你现在为什么这么忧郁？”

This is the best version of the story yet, and he's looking at Ken, and Ken's like: "Why are you melancholy right now?"

伯尼说：“因为有人会把我们挤出市场。”

And Bernie says: "Because someone's going to put us out of business.

我脑子里有一个完美的家装店的想法，但这家店不是。”

I have in my head the idea of the perfect home improvement store, and this isn't it.

而且迟早会有人做到这一点，这会毁掉这家店，因为那在结构上就是更好的商业模式、更好的想法、对顾客更好的东西。”

And it's just a matter of time till someone does it, and it's going to destroy this store, because it's just a structurally better business model, better idea, better thing for customers.

所以，这家店还行，但是……”

So, this is fine, but..."

肯就说：“那你说说看。”

And Ken's like: "Well, tell me."

伯尼也开始学聪明了一点。

And Bernie has started to learn a little bit.

他说：“如果我告诉你了，那你就知道了，而现在只有我知道，所以我先不说。”

He's like: "Well, if I tell you, then you know, and right now only I know, so I'm going to hold onto it."

然后肯说：“不。

And Ken's like: "No.

别这样，老兄。

Come on, dude.

告诉我吧。”

Tell me."

所以现在肯也知道了这个想法。

And so now Ken knows the idea, too.

伯尼之所以这么心烦意乱，是因为他刚去圣地亚哥拜访了一个朋友，也是做零售的，叫索尔·普莱斯。

The reason that Bernie's so bent out of shape about this is he'd just been down to visit one of his buddies, another retail guy down in San Diego, goes by the name of Sol Price.

就是那个索尔·普莱斯。

That Sol Price.

普莱斯俱乐部，后来发展成了好市多。

Of Price Club, and then what would eventually become Costco.

对。

Yep.

伯尼就把这个秘密告诉了肯，他说：“我去看了索尔，他在圣地亚哥那边要开一个全新的商店模式。

And Bernie spills the beans to Ken, and he says: "Well, I went to see Sol, and he's got this new store concept that he's launching down there in San Diego.

我跟你说，老兄，这玩意儿会彻底改变整个零售业。

And I'm telling you, man, it's going to revolutionize the whole retail industry.

迟早会有人把索尔的想法用到五金行业，把我们挤出市场，还会用到其他各种行业。

It's just a matter of time before somebody brings Sol's concept to hardware, puts us out of business, to all sorts of other categories.

我们都会像恐龙一样灭绝。

We're all going the way of the dinosaur.

他管这个叫价格俱乐部，想法就是仓库。

He's calling this thing Price Club, and the idea is warehouses.

仓库就是商店。”

The warehouse is the store."

“顾客进来直接在仓库里购物，所以没有后台仓库。”

"Customers come in and shop the warehouse, so there's no back room."

我们租的每一平方英尺都是可以购物的面积。

All the square footage that we're paying money on our lease is shoppable square footage.

对。

Yep.

而且还不止这些，连分销商、批发商什么的都没有。

And even more than that, there's no distributors or wholesalers or anything.

Price Club 本身就是批发商。

Price Club is the wholesaler.

他们直接从制造商那里以批发价进货，然后稍微加一点价，卖给消费者。

They're buying the goods directly from the manufacturers at wholesale pricing and then marketing it up just a little bit, selling it to consumers.

这简直把圣地亚哥的其他人都甩得远远的。

This is blowing everybody else in San Diego out of the water.

他们甚至不用雇人到处走动贴标签。

They're not even paying people to walk around and put the labels out.

其实就是人们直接走进仓库，从托盘上拿东西买走。

It's literally just people coming into the warehouse and buying stuff right off the pallet.

这门生意几乎没什么成本。

There's no cost in this business.

对。

Yep.

而且没有理由说这在五金行业行不通。总有一天，有人会看到Price Club的模式，然后把它用到五金上，那我们就要关门大吉了。

And there's no reason why it shouldn't work just as well in hardware, and someday soon, somebody's going to see Price Club, they're going to do this for hardware, and we're going to be out of business.

所以，几个月后，镜头切到纽约华尔道夫酒店的早餐。

So, cut back a couple of months later here to breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

肯说：“伯尼，你被炒鱿鱼对我们俩来说可是千载难逢的机会。

Ken's like: "Bernie, you getting fired is the opportunity of a lifetime for both of us.

你，我，还有亚瑟。

You, me, Arthur.

把罗恩也叫上。

Let's bring Ron along, too.

我们要去开一家那样的公司。

We're going to go start that company.

我们手里可是握着金饭碗呢。”

We got the golden horseshoe here."

对。

Yep.

所以伯尼很兴奋，但他说：“嗯，有个问题。”

So Bernie's excited, but he says, "Well, there's one problem.

“钱怎么办？”

What about the money?"

“我和亚瑟都没钱，而且这可不是Handy Dan那种概念。”

"Arthur and I don't have any, and this isn't a Handy Dan concept here.

“我们说的是一个仓库，但里面还得放很多东西。”

We're talking about a warehouse, but also a lot of stuff that we got to put in it."

“这不是Price Club。”

"This isn't Price Club.

“我们不是卖卫生纸和瓶装水的。”

We're not selling toilet paper and water bottles.

“我们卖的是电动工具和木材这类贵东西。”

We're selling expensive stuff like power tools and lumber.

我们需要大量资金投入这个项目。

We need a lot of capital to put into this thing."

伯尼和阿瑟离开后，做了一些功课，粗略估算了一下经济账，他们发现即使是表现最好的Handy Dan，年收入也只有大约300万美元。

Bernie and Arthur had gone away, done a little work, sketched out what the economics could be, and they realized even the best Handy Dan did about $3 million in annual revenue.

我觉得这些店能做到700万、800万、900万美元的收入，而且我们不只是备8000种商品。

I think these stores can do $7, $8, $9 million in revenue, and we're not just going to stock 8,000 items.

我们要备25000种商品。

We're going to stock 25,000 items.

这不是像Lowe's或Handy Dan那样1万平方英尺的店。

It's not a 10,000-foot store like Lowe's or Handy Dan.

这将是大约6万平方英尺的店。

This is going to be like a 60,000-foot store.

我们需要资金来实现这一切。

We need capital to make this happen.

是的。

Yep.

所以肯说：“别担心钱的事。”

So Ken says, "Don't worry about the money.

那是我的事。

That's my job.

我来搞定。”

I got it covered."

这个待会儿再说。

More on that in a sec.

所以伯尼就加入了。

So Bernie's in.

他说：“哦，好吧。”

He says, "Oh, okay.

但我得先去找个人谈谈。

But there's someone I need to go talk to first.

我得回圣地亚哥去见索尔。”

I need to go back down to San Diego and see Sol."

对。

Yep.

伯尼回到了圣地亚哥。

Bernie goes back down to San Diego.

他坐下来，和索尔一起吃了晚饭。

He sits down, he has dinner with Sol.

他把整个情况都说了，包括被汉迪丹解雇，西格尔夫的劳工关系诉讼，等等。

He explains the whole situation, the firing from Handy Dan, the labor relations suit from Siegeloff, et cetera.

索尔听完后说：“伯尼，你觉得你有才华吗？”

Sol listens to all of it, and he says, "Bernie, do you think you're talented?"

伯尼说：“是的，我觉得我有才华。

Bernie says, "Yes, I think I'm talented.

我在汉迪丹干得很出色。”

I did a great job at Handy Dan."

索尔说：“你觉得你有能力自己建点什么，创造点什么，独立做这件事吗？”

Sol says, "Do you think you have the ability to build something, to create something, to do this on your own?"

伯尼说：“是的，我觉得这真的能成功。”

Bernie says, "Yeah, I think this could be really successful."

索尔说：“那就让西格尔奥夫滚蛋，直接干这件事吧。”

Sol says: "Then tell Siegeloff to go F himself and just do this thing."

就这样，在索尔的祝福下，伯尼决定加入。

And so with Sol's blessing, Bernie's in.

让索尔·普莱斯知情确实很重要，因为伯尼在试探，你是不是也要在你的概念里认真加入家装这一块？

And it is kind of important to keep Sol Price in the loop because Bernie is trying to ascertain, are you also going to meaningfully add home improvement to your concept here?

是的。

Yes.

这真是惊人地相似。

It's an eerily similar thing.

他们后来会分道扬镳，我们会讨论所有的不同点，但卖点是顾客会喜欢，因为我们的价格最低。

They would diverge over time, and we'll talk about all the differences, but the pitch is customers are going to love it because we're going to have the lowest prices.

我们只打算赚30%的毛利，而不是当时五金零售业的行业标准45%。

We're only going to make a 30% gross margin instead of what's industry standard in hardware retail at that time, 45%.

这会和Price Club有点不同，因为他们真的觉得自己会有最好的选择。

It's going to be a little bit different than Price Club in that they actually think they're going to have the best selection.

我们会有非常非常多的SKU。

We're going to have tons and tons of SKUs.

我们会有很多SKU，而Price Club——

We're going to have tons of SKUs versus Price Club-

……以及Costco著名的低SKU数量。

... and Costco's famous low SKU count.

我们会有最好的选择。

We're going to have the best selection.

伯尼认为这对这个模式的成功至关重要，因为它必须是一个一站式商店——

Bernie thinks that is essential to making this model work because it has to be a one-stop shop-

对

Yes

……让你想做的任何活儿都能在这里搞定。

... for any job that you want to get done.

你不想跑到户外草坪和花园用品店，再去木材场，还要去工具店。

You don't want to go to the outdoor lawn and garden store, and over to the lumberyard, and to the tool store.

还有水管店，等等。

And the plumbing store, et cetera.

对。

Right.

仓库模式的好处在于——第一次把所有这些东西都放在同一个屋檐下。

Being a warehouse unlocks- Putting all this stuff together under one roof for the first time.

但这和Price Club那种只有4000种商品的模式不同。

But it is different than the Price Club model of only having 4,000 items.

他们得在这些仓库里备上25000种商品，还要和大量的供应商合作，才能兑现承诺：无论你在做什么，这里都能一站式搞定。

They're going to have to have 25,000 SKUs in these warehouses and work with tons and tons of suppliers to make good on the promise that if you're doing something, it is the all-in-one place to shop for the job that you're getting done.

还有一个很大的不同。

And there is one other big difference, too.

人们知道怎么买卫生纸，也知道怎么用卫生纸。

People know how to buy toilet paper and how to use toilet paper.

他们知道怎么买一大罐坚果，也知道怎么吃掉一大罐坚果。

They know how to buy a big jar of nuts and eat a big jar of nuts.

但他们不知道怎么建一个露台。

They don't know how to build a deck.

对。

Yep.

他们不知道怎么装百叶窗。

They don't know how to install blinds.

他们不知道怎么铺地板。

They don't know how to put in a floor.

这需要店里真正有专业的人才能做到。

You need real expertise on the floor to make that happen.

对。

Yep.

所以我们已经能看到两个巨大的不同，我觉得伯尼就是想确认一下，说：“你不是这么做的，对吧？”

So we already can kind of see there's two giant differences that I think Bernie is just trying to check on and say, "You're not doing this, right?"

因为Price Club其实并没有准备好拥有一支专业团队，也没有那么多库存种类。

Because Price Club actually isn't set up to have an army of people with expertise and carry tons and tons of SKUs.

我觉得伯尼确实需要索尔给他打打气，同时他也想确认一下……

I think Bernie both really did need the pep talk from Sol, and he also wanted to make sure-

……索尔不会也搞这一套。

... Sol wasn't going to do this, too.

好了，回到钱的问题上。

All right, so back to the money.

那么，肯尼认识谁既有钱又有流动资金，而且疯狂到愿意在七十年代，在通货膨胀和20%利率的情况下，支持一个新的零售概念呢？

So who does Kenny know who has a lot of money and a lot of liquidity and is also just crazy enough to back a new retail concept here in the '70s with all this inflation and interest rates at 20%?

听众朋友们，这一集我们要讲的是罗斯·佩罗差点成为家得宝大股东的故事。

And listeners, this is the part of the episode where we tell the story of how Ross Perot almost owned the majority of Home Depot.

对，家得宝的70%。

Yeah, 70% of Home Depot.

因为肯尼把所有人都带到了达拉斯，他们和罗斯见了面，敲定了一项协议，让佩罗出资，为后来的家得宝提供资金。

Because Ken flies everybody to Dallas, they meet with Ross, and they hammer out a deal for Perot to put up the money for what would become Home Depot.

两百万美元。

$2 million.

两百万美元，换取公司70%的股份。

$2 million in return for 70% of the company.

但就在最后一刻，伯尼把交易搞砸了。

Except, at the last minute, Bernie blows up the deal.

他和罗斯在管理风格和管理理念上大吵了一架，最后谈崩的点——你绝对想不到，这在《白手起家》里都有写——就是伯尼开的那辆车。

He and Ross get into this big fight over management style and management philosophy, and ultimately, the sticking point, you can't make this up, it's all in Built from Scratch, is the car that Bernie drives.

他开着一辆老凯迪拉克。

He drives an old Cadillac.

那其实是他之前在Handy Dan的公司配车，离职的时候不知怎么的居然让他留下了，但确实很旧。

Which was actually his Cadillac from Handy Dan that was his company car there, that somehow in the separation he managed to keep, but old.

这可不是——

This is not a-

对。

Yes

……昂贵的车。

... expensive car.

不是那种新的豪华凯迪拉克。

Not a new fancy Cadillac.

对。

Yes.

这是一辆旧的豪华凯迪拉克。

This is an old fancy Cadillac.

佩罗说：“嘿，这对我来说很重要。

And Perot says, "Hey, well, this is important to me.

我在EDS的兄弟们，他们不开凯迪拉克。

My guys here at EDS, they don't drive Cadillacs.

他们只开雪佛兰。

They only drive Chevrolets.

我们这里对成本非常严格。”

We're scrupulous here about our costs."

伯尼就说：“成本？”

Bernie's like, "Costs?

你在说什么呢？

What are you talking about?

这可是辆旧凯迪拉克。”

This is an old Cadillac."

对。

Right.

实际上，从务实的角度来看，这完全符合你的理念。

Practically, pragmatically, this is actually exactly in line with your ethos.

是的，罗斯就说：“不，不，这是原则问题。”

Yep, and Ross is like, "No, no, it's the principle of the thing."

而且这是两个问题的关键点。

And it's a sticking point of two things.

第一，伯尼说：“不，我们应该务实一点。”

One, Bernie's like, "No, we should be pragmatists.

我们不应该遵循什么愚蠢的——

We shouldn't follow some dumb-

对

Yes

……道德作秀那一套。

... virtue signaling thing."

但第二点，你把这当成你公司的一个部门，不是吗？

But two, you're treating this like this is a division of your company, isn't it?

没错。

Exactly.

这是——

This is-

你又把我当员工对待了。

You're treating me like an employee again.

这是我们的公司。

This is our company.

你是出资人。

You're the financier.

这感觉不对劲。

This doesn't feel right.

对。

Yep.

所以他把这笔交易搞砸了。

So he blows up the deal.

这可能是商业史上最昂贵的一次分歧。

And this might be the most expensive disagreement in all of business history.

我们来看看。

Let's see.

我就在节目里现场算一下。

I'll do the math here live on air.

所以，3500亿市值的70%。

So 70% of a market cap of 350 billion.

对。

Yep.

他们一路上进行了大量的稀释，但之后又通过大量的回购来抵消了。

They did a ton of dilution along the way, but then counteracted it with a ton of buybacks after that.

最终结果是，家得宝最初的种子投资者，如果一直持有到今天，他们原本持有的公司股份比例大约还能保留91%。

It ends up being that the original seed investors in Home Depot today, if they held all the way through, would've had about 91% of their original percentage of the company.

对。

Yep.

所以罗斯·佩罗坚持要一辆凯迪拉克，结果让他损失了2230亿美元。

So Ross Perot insisting on a Cadillac cost him $223 billion.

假设他一直持有。

Assuming he held.

假设他当时一直持有的话。

Assuming he would've held.

没错。

Right.

顺便说一句，肯确实这么做了。

Which Ken did, by the way.

他至今还持有他所有的股份。

Still holds all of his shares.

是的，本，你没听错。

Yeah, you didn't mishear, Ben, there.

2300亿美元，是B开头的那个B，美元。

230 billion, that's with a B, dollars.

天哪。

Oh, man.

所以他们完蛋了，对吧？

So they're screwed, right?

能找到资金的地方不多了。

There's not a lot of places to find the capital.

这件事需要大量资金才能启动。

This thing requires a ton of money to get off the ground.

对，对普通人来说是这样，但他们有肯·兰贡，史上最伟大的投资银行家。

Yeah, for ordinary people, but they got Ken Langone here, the greatest investment banker of all time.

所以他说：“没什么大不了的。

So he says, "No big deal.

我明白。

I get it.

罗斯那招确实挺狠的。

That was pretty heavy-handed of Ross.

我干脆去找一堆其他投资者，咱们组个财团。

I'll just go round up a bunch of other investors instead, and we'll put a syndicate together.

行，那咱们重新谈这笔交易的条款。

And all right, let's rewrite the deal for this.

与其让投资者拿70%，这次给他们50%吧。”

Rather than the investors getting 70%, let's give them 50% this time."

亚瑟看着他，一脸惊讶地说：“等等，你的意思是，我们离开罗斯·佩罗反而能拿到更好的条件？”

And Arthur looks at him, and he's like, "Wait, you mean we're going to get a better deal by walking away from Ross Perot?"

肯回答说：“亚瑟，在零售业，卖不出去的东西就降价。

To which Ken replies, "Arthur, in the retail business, when you can't sell something, you mark it down.

在我的行业里，卖不出去的东西反而要涨价。”

In my business, when we can't sell something, we mark it up."

太棒了。

So great.

哦。

Oh.

这有点开玩笑的意思。

Which is a little facetious.

在我看来，这里发生的情况是，当你和一个提供全部资金的对手方谈判时——

In my mind, what happened here is when you're negotiating with one counterparty that's coming in for all the capital-

他们有筹码，对。

They have leverage, yeah

……他们有筹码。

... they have leverage.

但是肯出去找了40个不同的人。

But Ken goes out, and he finds 40 individual people.

对，每人投5万美元。

Yep, to put in $50,000 chunks.

是的，所以肯基本上写好了条款清单，然后就去跟这些人说：“好，你们愿意按这些条款加入吗？”

Yeah, and so Ken basically writes the term sheet, and then is just going around to all these people and saying, "All right, do you want to be in on these terms?"

这有点像，如果你是风险投资人或者创业者，区别就在于你自己写SAFE的条款，填上估值数字，然后让别人按那个数字投进来，还是由领投方来做一个定价轮。

It's kind of the if you're a venture investor or you're a startup, it's the difference between you writing your own terms for the SAFE, and writing in the number of the valuation, and then just having people pile in on that number, versus the lead investor coming in with a priced round.

他们可以决定那个数字，而且那个数字通常——

They get to dictate the number, and that number's usually-

更低。

Lower

……对你不太友好，对，不像你自己在SAFE上写的那个数字。

... not as friendly to you, yeah, as the number that you write on your own SAFE.

对。

Yep.

不过这句话还是很棒的。

It's still a great line, though.

确实很棒。

It's a great line.

完全概括了肯尼这个人。

Totally sums up Kenny.

好，肯拿到钱了，他们都在洛杉矶重新聚齐，开始干活。

All right, so Ken gets the money They all get back together in LA, and they get to work.

现在股权结构是这样的：投资人占50%，肯因为撮合这笔交易、找到资金，还自己投了大概10万，拿到5%。

And the way the cap table breaks down now is the investors own 50%, Ken gets 5% in exchange for putting this deal together, finding the capital, and I think he put in something like 100K of his own.

对，他投了10万。

Yep, he put in 100K.

然后亚瑟、伯尼，还有管理团队的其他成员，一共拿45%。

And then Arthur, Bernie, the rest of the management team would get 45%.

到这个时候，家得宝的创始团队就定下来了。

And at this point, the founders of the Home Depot are set.

就是伯尼、亚瑟和肯。

It's Bernie, Arthur, and Ken.

暂时是这样。

For the moment.

对。

Yes.

但他们还缺一个零售复仇者团队里必备的超能力。

They are missing one superpower that you need in a Avengers of retail team.

没错。

Yes.

好，那我们就来说说这个。

Well, let's get to that.

所以伯尼和亚瑟回到洛杉矶，开始干活。

So Bernie and Arthur go back to LA, and they get to work.

第一个问题就是，好吧，第一家店、第一个仓库要开在哪里？

And the first question is, all right, where are we going to put the first store, the first warehouse?

就像我们之前说的，仓库成本很高。

And as we talked about, warehouses are expensive.

洛杉矶不太合适，因为那里的房地产特别贵。

LA isn't great because real estate is super expensive.

而且空置的仓库也不多。

There are not a lot of empty warehouses lying around.

另外，Handy Dan还在那里。

And also Handy Dan is still there.

Handy Dan仍然是这个行业里最厉害的运营商。

Handy Dan is still the best operator in the industry.

如果我们从之前的大本营开始，可能不太理想。

Maybe not great if we start in our previous backyard here.

我们应该去国内其他地方看看。

We should go somewhere else in the country.

于是他们开始四处考察，寻找其他城市。

So they start scouting around, looking for other cities to go to.

不过，在他们还没定下地点之前，还在洛杉矶的时候，他们听说有人已经抢先一步，去了圣地亚哥，看了Price Club，然后回来开了个五金建材版的Price Club，而且就在洛杉矶。

Before they can decide on a location, though, while they're still in LA, they get wind that someone else has beat them to the punch, has been down to San Diego, seen Price Club, and has gone out and started Price Club for hardware, for home improvement, and it's right there in LA.

这家店叫HomeCo，是一个叫Pat Farrah的疯狂人物开的。

It's a store called HomeCo, and it's run by this wild man named Pat Farrah.

于是Bernie和Arthur去看了那家店，走进去，然后——

So Bernie and Arthur, they go to see the store, they walk in, and-

这正是Bernie脑海中的那个构想。

It's the exact vision that Bernie had.

对。

Yep.

那是个13万平方英尺的仓库。

It's 130,000 square foot warehouse.

那要大得多。

Which is way bigger.

那会儿还不是Home Depot，现在才是Home Depot。

It's not even Home Depot then, it's Home Depot today.

对。

Right.

这比早期那些只有六万、六万五千平方英尺的家得宝门店要大得多。

It's way bigger than those early Home Depots that would open that were like 60,000, 65,000 feet.

是的。

Yep.

里面堆满了你能想到的各种五金和家装用品，一直堆到天花板，而且价格比消费者以前见过的都便宜。

It's got every hardware and home improvement item that you can imagine piled up high to the ceilings and priced cheaper than consumers had ever seen it before.

用零售业的行话来说，这种策略就是“堆得高，卖得快”。

In retail parlance, the strategy here is known as stack them high, watch them fly.

我的意思是，这简直是座宝库。

I mean, and it's a bonanza.

消费者一走进去，就会惊叹：“哇，什么？

The consumers walk in, and they're like, "Ho, what?

这也太疯狂了。”

This is crazy."

对。

Yep.

“这太有意思了。”

"This is fun."

就像我们讲沃尔玛那期一样，他们在停车场搞各种疯狂的花样来吸引人。

It's like our Walmart episode where they were doing crazy stunts in the parking lot to attract people.

这就像个派对。

It's a party.

是的。

Yes.

简直是抢购狂潮。

The feeding frenzy.

是的。

Yes.

于是伯尼和阿瑟打电话给肯。

So Bernie and Arthur call up Ken.

他们说：“嘿，我知道这不是原计划，但我们已经在洛杉矶找到了一个现成的东西，完全成熟了。”

They say, "Hey, I know this isn't the plan, but we already found this thing fully baked right here in LA.

飞过来吧，我们三个一起去见这个叫帕特的家伙，看看能不能直接从他手里买下来，买下这家店，买下HomeCo。”

Fly out, let's the three of us go talk to this guy, Pat, and see if we can just buy it from him, buy the store, buy HomeCo."

于是肯飞了过来，我接下来就念一下伯尼对之后发生的事的描述。

So Ken flies in, and I'm just going to read Bernie's description of what happens next here.

HomeCo的老板兼经营者帕特，到自己店里竟然迟到了一个小时。

Pat, the HomeCo owner, operator here, was an hour late getting to his own store.

他最后出现的时候，这个留着巨大爆炸头的狂人穿着一件粉蓝色的天鹅绒休闲西装，还小了一号。

When he finally showed up, the wild man with the huge afro haircut was wearing a powder blue velvet leisure suit that was one size too small for him.

他的屁股都露在裤子外面了。

His ass stuck out the back of his pants.

衬衫扣子解开到胸口，挂着一堆金链子，还有一块大金表。

His shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest, and he displayed a variety of gold chains and a big old gold watch.

肯尼看了亚瑟一眼，那眼神好像在说：“你觉得这好笑吗？”

Kenny shot Arthur a look that said, "Is this your idea of a joke?

但帕特·法拉是我们见过的最有创造力的人之一。

But Pat Farrah is one of the most creative people any of us had ever met."

帕特之于零售业，就像米开朗基罗之于艺术。

Pat is to retailing what Michelangelo was to art.

至少会议结束时肯是这么说的。

At least that's what Ken said by the time the meeting ended.

或者我听肯描述的方式是，帕特比臭虫还疯，但他是个天才。

Or the way I've heard Ken describe this is, Pat was crazier than a bedbug, but he was a genius.

我是说，疯是疯，但这就是拼图缺失的那一块。

I mean, crazy, yes, but this is the missing piece of the puzzle.

对。

Yes.

你有伯尼，零售商，亚瑟，财务和运营，肯找钱，算是团队的精神粘合剂，但他们还没有那个天才的采购专家——

You've got Bernie, the retailer, Arthur, finance and operations, Ken finds the money and is sort of the spiritual glue holding this team together, but they don't yet have the genius merchandiser-

是的。

Yep.