KURTSWOGGERATDOWCHEMICALWhenKurtSwoggeragreedtobecometheglobaldirectorofDowChemical’sailingpolyolefinandelastomers(PO&E)business,hiscolleaguesthoughthewascrazy.Eventheconsultanthiredtovaluethebusinessforpossiblesaletriedtotalkhimoutofit,arguingthatthelow-margincommoditybusinesswasnotsalvageable.ThewaySwoggersawit,though,hehadlittletolose:WhydidIdoit?Becauseeverybodysaidyoucouldn’tdoit,anditlookedlikeaprettyinterestingchallenge.Andwhatwasmyriskoffailing?Ifyou’reinabigcorporationandyoutakeoversomethingthat’srunningwell,whatdirectiondoesithavetogo?Youcankeepitgoingup,oritcangodown,right?Takesomepieceofcrapandtherearealwaysopportunitiesthere.You’vejustgottolookatitintherightway.Wehadassetsthatweresittingtherealready,soifyoujustmakesomestuff,andtheassetisalreadysittingthere,what’syourrisk?Thesecretis,ifyouwanttohaveabigimpact,takesomethingthatlookslikeapileofmanureandstartgrowingrosesoutofit.陶氏化学公司KurtSwogger先生当KurtSwogger先生同意担任陶氏化学公司全球总监，负责聚烯烃弹性材料业务时，他的同事为之惊讶，甚至觉得是疯狂的举动。受雇于该公司的价值与销售高级顾问也曾试图劝说KurtSwogger，认为这样的低利润商品业务是没有挽救和发展空间的。但Swogger先生的看法却不同，面对可能的失去，他为什么做下这样的决定呢？他认为：“当周遭一切都觉得你不可能成功做到时，我却认为这是有趣的挑战。我会面临哪些失败风险呢？当你在一家大公司，接手一项成熟、规范化运作的业务版块时，它的结果必然会怎样呢？在你的带领下，业务可能取得日益的增长，或许一路下滑，最终失败。但我需要正确的看待问题，大公司里已有的各种资源是成功的良好保障，我只需要让员工和可利用的资源做好重分准备，那我还有什么所谓的风险呢？我的秘诀是：如果想成就非凡，带来巨大的影响，不妨从看似如粪土的事务开始，并使之培育出鲜艳的花朵。”Duringthenextdecade,SwoggergrewalotofrosesatPO&E,transformingitintoahighmargin,high-growthpowerhouse.Ratherthanacandidatefordivestiture,PO&EhadbecomethestandardforinnovationatDow.接下来的10年，Swogger在全球聚烯烃弹性材料业务上，培育出了许多‘胜利的玫瑰’，成功地将其转型为高毛利、快速增长的业务引擎。与其作为被淘汰的备选，PO&E全球业务被发展为了陶氏化学公司业务创新的新标杆。Achemicalengineerbytraining,SwoggergraduatedfromtheCaseInstituteofTechnologyin1972,havingpaidhiswaythroughschoolasaunionworkeratthelocalsteelmill.HethenwentstraighttoworkatDow.HisfirstmanagertheretoldhimthathedoubtedthatthenewrecruitwouldmakeitintheDowculture:“You’renotaggressiveenough.”Nineteenyearslater,bythetimehetookovertheleadershipofPO&E,Swoggerhadgainedexperienceacrossawidevarietyoffu