BPO + AI = 驱动增长

今天，我们的嘉宾是GEAR公司的首席商务官亚当·奥康纳。

Today, our guest is Adam O'Connor, the chief commercial officer at GEAR Incorporated.

亚当是一位在扩展全球运营、推动收入增长以及跨越各大洲建立战略合作伙伴关系方面经验丰富的领导者。

Adam is a seasoned leader in scaling global operations, driving revenue growth and forging strategic partnerships across the continents.

亚当拥有十多年在业务拓展、离岸外包和国际销售方面的经验，其专业领域涵盖金融、医疗保健、社交媒体和制造业等多个行业。

With over a decade of experience in business development, offshoring, international sales, Adam's expertise spans industries like finance, health care, social media, and manufacturing.

欢迎你，亚当。

Welcome, Adam.

这个播客目前在哪里找到你？

And where does this podcast find you?

目前，我实际上在土耳其。

At the moment, I'm actually in Turkey.

我妻子再过两周就要分娩了。

My wife is due to give birth in about two weeks.

所以她是土耳其人。

So she's Turkish.

所以我们来这里是为了迎接我的孩子的出生。

So we've come here for the birth of my child.

非常感谢你。

So thank you so much.

我通常住在伦敦的圣奥尔本斯，但每年只能在那里待大约三个月，其余时间我都在这里、那里和各处旅行，听起来很棒，但有时候几乎都没怎么把行李收拾好。

Normally I'm based in St Albans, London, but I only really get to stay there for about three months of the year and the rest of the year I'm traveling here, there and everywhere, which sounds fantastic, but it's hardly been out of the suitcase sometimes.

太好了。

That's great.

这是你的第一个孩子吗？还是你已经有其他孩子了？

Is this your first child or you have others?

我有一个女儿，但这是我们的第一个儿子。

I have a daughter, but this is our first son.

太棒了。

Fantastic.

太好了，干得漂亮。

Way to All go, right.

嗯，那太好了。

Well, that's great.

欢迎。

So welcome.

我需要多了解你一点。

And I need to learn a little bit about you here.

是什么最初激励你投身全球销售行业？

What first inspired you to pursue a career in global sales?

嗯，我有点像其他人一样，偶然进入了这个行业。

Well, I kind of fell into it a bit like other people.

我曾在一家酒店工作了大约十年，负责前台，照顾客人，后来决定重返大学攻读工商管理学位。

I was I was working in a hotel for about ten years, working on the desk, looking after people, decided to go back to university to do a business management degree.

我在经济学上有点吃力。

I struggled a little bit with economics.

经济学能告诉你所有你应该知道的东西，但当我参加考试时，不知为何我真的很吃力，这对我来说是件新鲜事。

Can tell you economics, can give you all of what you're meant to know, but when it came to doing the exams I really struggled for some reason which was a new thing for me.

幸运的是，有一位住在酒店的女士是经济学博士。

And luckily enough there was a lady who was staying in the hotel who was a doctor of economics.

她对我说：‘我刚创办了一家公司。',

She said to me I've just started this new company.

如果你来帮我，我会付你报酬。

If you come and help me I'll pay you.

如果你来帮我经营这家公司，我就帮你通过经济学考试。

If you come and help me with this new company then I'll help you pass the economics.

这便是我首次涉足业务流程外包行业和销售领域。

And that was my first foray into the BPO industry and into sales.

两个月内，我就签下了一家大型信用卡支付公司，原本计划去菲律宾待三个月，结果我待了十二年。

Within two months, I'd signed quite a big player in the credit card payment space and had to travel over to The Philippines for it was meant to be originally for three months and I ended up staying there for twelve years.

于是我逐步发展了这家公司。

So I grew the company.

我是第35号员工。

Was employee number 35.

当我离开那家公司时，我们总共有8000名员工，覆盖全球。

When I left that company, we were 8,000 staff in total, covering all the globe.

是的，确实很不错。

Yeah, it was, yeah, really good.

对于不了解的人来说，BPO就是业务流程外包。

And for the uninitiated BPO is business process outsourcing.

所以你帮助企业在全球范围内找到合适的人才来满足他们的需求。

So you help businesses find the right talent to support their needs.

没错，就是这样。

Yeah, that's exactly it.

多年来，大型企业和集团一直利用低成本外包来寻找具备合适技能的人才，以合理成本实现扩张。

So for for years and years, the big corporations and big conglomerates have have used outsourcing the low cost estimations to find people with the right skill sets to help them scale at a reasonable cost.

当我进入这个领域时，我们做了一些略有不同的事情，开始瞄准中小型企业，帮助它们以合理成本利用全球劳动力。

When I moved into the space, we were doing something a little bit different, and we started targeting small to medium businesses and helping them leverage the global workforce at a reasonable cost.

随着我们的发展，加上新冠疫情的影响，每个人都不得不迅速学会远程工作。

Fast forward as we grew and the influence group to COVID and everybody had to learn quite quickly how to work remotely.

在那之后，下一步合乎逻辑的做法是：既然我们可以远程工作并且能够成功，那么如何让那些已经加入我们的人真正投入到能带来收入且他们想做的工作中去，而把重复性任务、数据录入这类工作交给别人？

The next logical step after that is, okay, if we can work remotely and we can make it work, how do we allow those people who are already with us to really get to the work that earns their money and that they want to do and the repetitive tasks, the data entry, that kind of stuff.

我们如何利用低成本地区，帮助他们也实现职业发展呢？

How do we leverage the low cost destinations to really help them progress in their career as well?

你能向观众解释一下，为什么做BPO如此合理吗？

And can you give the audience an understanding of why it makes so much sense to do BPO?

你能实现什么样的成本节约？

What kind of savings can you realize?

在平均薪资上，你可以节省30%到70%，但这还涉及管理方面。

You can save anywhere from 30% to 70% on an average salary, but it also the management.

当你与BPO合作时，有不同的合作模式。

So there's different kinds of engagement when you work with a BPO.

你可以完全参与管理，也可以完全不参与人员管理，随你选择。

You can be as fully or as out of the management of the people as you want.

他们应该是你团队的延伸。

They should be an extension of your team.

你可以获得一种托管服务，让BPO为你提供客户服务功能，比如组建一个由10人组成的呼叫中心，让他们成为你的客户服务团队。

You can get a managed service where you can ask a BPO to I want a customer service function, I want a call center of 10 people, I want them to be my customer service.

但BPO能做的远不止这些，它必须理解你的价值观、你的业务以及你希望如何运营。

But the BPO can do so much, but it has to understand your ethics, your business, how you want to run.

如果没有客户的参与，你就无法真正了解他们的业务和需求。

Without input from the customer, you can't know their business and know what they want.

你可以做出最好的猜测，但最好的方式是将双方整合在一起，确保你充分理解双方的需求。

You can you can make the best guess, but the best way is to integrate it together and make sure that you understand both sides of it.

这支团队将成为你团队在海外的延伸。

And and that team becomes an extension of your team in houses.

这正是你在做的。

And that's what you're doing.

你是连接全球各地员工与外包企业的桥梁。

You're that conduit between the worker wherever they are on the globe and the business that's outsourcing.

是的，没错。

Yeah, that's correct.

我们有一个顶层的管理团队。

We have a management layer over the top.

我们提供薪资和人力资源服务。

We provide the payroll and the HR.

我们确保关键绩效指标得到达成。

We make sure that the KPIs being met.

我们确保员工按时到岗并完成工作，确保合适的人在位。

We make sure that we're making sure the staff are turning up and doing the work, the right people are there.

你可以去Freelancer等平台雇佣自由职业者，但你没有这种管理监督。

You can go to places like Freelancer and some others where you can engage a freelancer, but you don't have that management oversight.

总会有一点疑虑：那个人会正确完成工作吗？

And there's always a little bit of, is that person gonna complete the job correctly?

他们会把所有事情都做完吗？

Are they gonna do everything?

当你与BPO合作时，你拥有一个内部的管理团队，确保人员履行其职责。

When you work with a BPO, you have that management layer in house, making sure that the people are doing what they're meant to.

是的。

Yeah.

我喜欢这种访谈和对话，因为我对这方面了解不多。

I love interviews like this in conversations because I don't know much about this.

那么这个环境有多竞争呢？

So how competitive is the environment?

市场上有多少像你们这样的企业？

How many businesses out there like you?

有成千上万家。

There's thousands.

有小公司，有中型公司，还有这个领域里的大型企业。

There's small players, there's medium players, and then there's really big players within the space.

那你们的竞争优势是什么？

And then what's your competitive advantage?

为什么你们更优秀？

Why are you better?

我们实际上覆盖了24个不同国家的75种语言。

We actually cover 75 different languages across 24 different countries.

所以，如果你来找我们，想要一个全球化的客服团队，我们能够提供大多数语言的服务。

So if you if you come to us and you want a global customer service team, we're able to provide that in most languages.

我们在亚洲和许多亚洲语言方面做了大量工作，但我们在欧洲、美国和南美洲也有呼叫中心。

We do a lot of work in Asia and a lot of the Asian languages, but we also have call centers within Europe, within The US, South America as well.

所以

So

你们在和GEAR合作吗？

And you're working with GEAR?

是的。

Yeah.

你们是从GEAR开始的吗？

Did you start with GEAR?

不是。

No.

我最初在一家叫Cloudstaff的公司工作。

I started with a company called Cloudstaff.

那就是我待在菲律宾时的公司。

That's who I was in The Philippines with.

我过去十八个月一直在GEAR工作，并且一直在拓展业务。

I've been with GEAR for the past eighteen months and drawing that out.

GEAR和Cloudstaff有些不同。

Gears a little bit different to cloud staff.

我加入时，他们已经有大约六千五百名员工，但没有销售团队，也没有相关职能。

When I came in, they already had about six and a half thousand staff, but they didn't have a sales team and they didn't have the function.

所以他们请我来建立销售职能、市场营销职能，并让一切顺利运转起来。

So they brought me in to really build out the sales function, the marketing function, and get and get everything running there.

你看起来是个非常友善、亲和的人，而且聪明、表达能力强。

You seem like a really pleasant guy, personable, and, you know, you're smart, you're articulate.

你已经在全球范围内应对过各种销售文化。

You've navigated sales cultures across the world.

你如何调整自己的个性和管理方式，以适应那些不同的文化习俗？

How do you adjust your personality and your management to cope with those different customs out there?

莱昂纳德，即使在美国，你也得面对大约八个不同的地区，每个地方你都得学会如何

Leonard, even in The States, you've got about eight different regions where you have to learn the how to

没错。

That's true.

工作，如何销售。

Work, how to sell.

但每一次具体的销售，你都得了解客户真正想要什么。

But each each individual sale that you do, you have to learn what the customer wants.

我一直坚持采用顾问式销售。

And I've always tried to do a consultative sale.

我了解所有的理论，比如Spin Selling、挑战者销售，所有你能想到的理论。

I understand all of the theories, the spin selling, the challenger sale, all of the theories you can put there.

但生活变了，销售方式也变了，甚至在我从事销售的这段时间里就已经变了。

But life has changed and sales has changed even in the time that I've been in sales.

现在客户来找你时，已经对你了如指掌。

Customers when they come to you now they already know everything about you.

他们已经在网上做过调研了。

They've done their research online.

你不再是那种硬推销二手车的销售员了。

You're not doing the hard secondhand car salesman kind of sale anymore.

你需要理解客户、倾听客户，并与客户合作，无论你在世界哪个地方，共同找到解决方案。

You're understanding the customer, you're listening to the customer and you're working with the customer to come up with a solution wherever you're working in the world.

但我仍然从我的团队中学到了很多。

But I still learned from my team.

我之前对在中国销售了解不多，于是我向团队中的一些人学习了如何做，如何建立关系，以及需要做些什么。

I hadn't been exposed that much to selling into China and I learned from some of my team how to do that and how you create the relationship and what you need to do.

在某些地方，周五晚上你被期望和上司一起出去，不管你自己感觉如何。

In some places on a Friday night you're expected to go out with your your boss and go out no matter what you're feeling.

在其他地方，你只需要回家陪家人，而你要努力弥合这些差异，确保每个人都能理解他们想要和需要什么，同时在工作环境中培养团队精神，而不是个人主义——这一点在销售中，你知道，有时会非常具有挑战性。

In other places it's just get home to your family and it's trying to bridge all of those making sure that everybody understands what they want and need and also within the working environment creating a team ethic rather than individuals which sometimes in sales as you know can be quite challenging.

但潮水涨起时，所有船只都会随之浮起，这也是我们销售所秉持的道德方式。

But a rising tide floats all boats and that's the ethical kind of way that we sell as well.

因此，我们努力互相帮助，定期举行站立会议，努力理解彼此。

So we try to help each other, we have regular stand ups, We try to understand each other.

如果任何人遇到问题，我们会在站立会议中提出来，让整个团队一起解决。

And if anybody's got a problem, we bring it up within one of our stand ups and have the whole group work through it together.

这样似乎效果很好。

So that seems to work well.

你已经与GEAR合作了十八个月，但你在这个行业已经工作了十五年多。

Well, you've been working with GEAR for eighteen months, but you've been in the business for over fifteen years.

那么，你有没有看到一些变化？

So has there been changes that you've seen?

人工智能的演进正在到来，我甚至可以说是一场革命。

The AI evolution is coming the revolution, shall I say.

你通常会发现，我得小心措辞。

What you tend to find I have to be careful how I word it.

每个人都想把人工智能融入自己的业务，但并非所有人都明白如何将人工智能融入自己的业务。

Everybody every everybody wants to put AI within to their in their business, but not everybody understands how to put AI within their business.

所以你发现人们过来 saying，我想用人工智能，却不理解人工智能只有在流程本身已经运作良好的前提下，才能帮助提升效率。

So you're finding people coming and saying, I want to put AI, but not understanding that AI helps to make your processes better as long as they're already working.

你不能把人工智能引入一个本身就不顺畅的流程，然后指望它成为救世主。

You cannot bring AI into a process that isn't working and expect it to be the miracle worker.

你仍然可以在全球不同国家、不同公司开展业务流程外包，即使它们在新加坡或韩国拥有人工智能人才。

You can still do the BPO with different nations across the world, different companies, even though they may have AI talent in Singapore or in South Korea.

因此，无论对话的是计算机还是人，你仍然在进行业务流程外包。

So you're still doing the BPO regardless if it's a computer talking or a person talking.

正确。

Correct.

如今在行业内，已有聊天机器人和基于语音的虚拟助手。

And within the industry now, have chatbots, you have virtual assistants that are actually voice based.

行业内正在发生许多变化，尤其是在过去两年里，你看到了明显的转变。

There's lots of things going on within the industry, especially within the last, I'd say two years where you're seeing a real swing.

我们在信任与安全方面做了大量工作，比如在线监管人们的平台、社交媒体等。

We do a lot of work on trust and safety, look online, looking after people's platforms, social media, those kind of things.

将AI引入这些场景非常棒，但你仍然需要在上面叠加人工元素。

And bringing AI into those scenarios is really great, but you still need a human element over the top of it.

AI可以识别一张图片并说这很可疑，但它可能只是父亲和儿子的合影，而不是更阴暗的内容。

So the AI can pick up a picture and say this is suspicious, but it may just be a father and a son and not something more sinister that

对。

Right.

正在被识别出来。

Is picking up.

所以目前，你仍然需要在上面叠加人工元素。

So so you still need at this moment, the human element on top of that.

我认为这在很多地方都适用。

And and I think that goes along a lot of places as well.

客户服务、聊天机器人，你仍然需要一个升级处理的渠道。

The customer service, the chatbots, you still need the escalation point.

所以我认为，行业中你会看到很多从事那些容易被AI替代的重复性工作的人，他们会转型而不是失业。

So I think what you'll see in the industry is a lot of people who are doing some of the repetitive tasks that are easy to fill with AI will shift rather than losing their jobs.

他们实际上会转变自己的工作内容，转而训练AI并不断拓展它的能力。

They will actually shift what their jobs are, and that will be to train AI and keep keep expanding what it can do.

是的。

Yeah.

我理解你的管理团队已经全面关注这个问题了。

I take it that your management team is all over this.

你已经在规划如何融入AI，而不是让AI取代你。

You're already projecting out of how you can incorporate AI and not have AI replace you.

当然。

Absolutely.

当然。

Absolutely.

我认为这在各个行业中都是普遍现象。

I think that's across the board in every industry.

就是此刻。

The moment.

是的，绝对如此。

Yeah, absolutely.

我们都会把它当作工具使用，关键是怎么正确地使用它？

We're all gonna use it as a tool, which is how do you use it the right way?

我猜你经常出国旅行。

So you've traveled extensively, I take it.

你经常在外奔波。

You've been on the road a lot.

你提到过你在菲律宾的岁月。

You talked about your years in The Philippines.

关于你的环球旅行，有没有什么有趣或值得分享的管理故事？

Do you have any stories, interesting management stories about your world travels?

在菲律宾，有一种文化。

So in The Philippines, there's a culture.

当你在亚洲许多地方工作，尤其是在菲律宾时，有一种文化，员工和人们总是想对你点头答应，因为他们想取悦你，不想让你失望。

When you work within a lot of Asia, particularly The Philippines, there's a culture where the staff and people want to say yes to you because they want to please you, they don't want to disappoint you.

所以当我刚到菲律宾的头两个月，甚至可能三个月，每周都有一群在IT部门工作的小伙子带我出去玩。

So when I first arrived in The Philippines for about two months, maybe even three months, every weekend, the group of guys who works within the IT department and stuff would take me out.

我们会去各种地方。

We'd go to different things.

我们会去火山。

We'd go to the volcano.

我们会去徒步旅行。

We'd go trekking.

我们会去任何可能的地方。

We'd go whatever it may be.

我非常喜欢这些活动，他们也特别棒。

And I loved it and they were fantastic.

但 Eventually，我意识到我需要一个周末彻底休息，重新充电。

But eventually, it was like, I need a weekend off just to recharge my batteries.

你自己的时间。

Your own time.

所以我对他们说：非常感谢你们为我做的一切。

So I said to them, thanks so much for doing all this for me.

这个周末你们介意我休息一下吗？

Do you mind if I give it a miss this weekend?

不，一点也不介意。

No, not at all.

我们的妻子会很高兴的。

Our wives would be really happy.

他们说：好吧，我们这么做只是为了让你开心。

Said, right, well, we've only been doing it to keep you happy.

其实我们更想回家陪陪家人。

You really we wanna go and spend some time with the family and stuff.

因此，弥合这种文化差异是一个很大的学习过程。

So bridging that kind of cultural difference and things was was a big learning curve.

我的意思是，在菲律宾生活了十一年、十二年，亲眼见证了当地经济、人民和基础设施的发展，这同样让我深感谦卑。

And I mean, spending eleven, twelve years living there, seeing the growth not only of the economy, of the people, of the infrastructure within The Philippines was was really humbling as well.

看到BPO公司带来的投资，为当地人提供体面的薪酬，这对我的居住地整体经济和基础设施产生的影响是巨大的，正如我所说，令人深感谦卑。

And seeing what the investment from the BPO companies and bringing these people on board and giving them a proper wage, the impact that had on the the general economy and the general infrastructure within within where I was staying was immense and and, as I say, humbling.

所以

So

本期播客由Luke Leaders 1248慈善机构赞助，该机构为美国退伍军人子女提供奖学金。

Today's pod is sponsored by Luke Leaders twelve forty eight, a charity that funds scholarships for children of US military veterans.

自2009年以来，Luke Leaders 1248已向展现出服务他人承诺的年轻领袖提供了超过13万美元的资助。

Since 2009, Luke Leaders twelve forty eight has contributed more than $130,000 to young leaders that have demonstrated a commitment to serving others.

这种对服务型领导力的专注，正是Luke Leaders 1248使命的核心。

This focus on servant leadership empowers mission of Luke Leaders twelve forty eight.

Luke Leaders 1248在美国各地资助了奖学金，从阿拉巴马州到科罗拉多州，从印第安纳州到马萨诸塞州。

Luke Leaders twelve forty eight has funded scholarships across The United States, from Alabama to Colorado, from Indiana to Massachusetts.

每位获奖者每年可获得2000美元，连续四年用于其选择的大学或职业院校的学习。

Dollars 2,000 is awarded per year for four years of study at a college or trade school chosen by the scholarship recipient.

独特的是

Unique

这项奖学金要求学生在毕业后，以毕业后的薪资的1%或时间的1%回馈给奖学金基金。

to

这项奖学金的独特之处在于，学生在毕业后需以毕业薪资的1%或时间的1%回馈给奖学金基金。

this scholarship is a student's commitment to pay it forward upon their graduation with 1% of their post graduation salary or 1% of their time paid back to the scholarship fund.

通过这种方式，卢克领袖们传递善意，倡导‘我们’高于‘我’的精神。

In this way, the Loop leader pays it forward and helps promote the importance of the we over the me.

了解更多关于这个注册的501(c)(3)非营利组织，请访问 www.lukeleaders1248.com。

Learn more about this registered five zero one(three) nonprofit at www.lukeleaders1248.com.

网址是 www.lukeleaders1248.com。

That's www.lukeleaders1248.com.

所有捐款将100%直接用于学生，且所有捐赠均可享受税收减免。

100% of donations are funneled directly to the students and all donations are tax deductible.

卢克领袖十二四八，给予越多，期望越多。

Luke Leaders twelve forty eight, To those who much is given, much is expected.

你来自英国，美国，考虑到它的现状以及我们如何挺起胸膛。

You're from Great Britain, United States, being what it is and how we have sort of stretched our chest out.

与美国企业合作是否有时比与国际企业合作更困难？

Is it sometimes more difficult to work with the American businesses than international businesses?

不。

No.

我不这么认为。

I I wouldn't say so.

但再次强调，正如我之前所说，即使在美国境内，也有大约八到十个不同的地区，人们在销售时需求各不相同。

But but again, it goes back to, as I said before, even within The States, there's like maybe eight or 10 different regions when you're selling people demand different things.

就中小企业采用外包和业务流程外包行业而言，澳大利亚可能是先驱，紧随其后的是美国。

And I'd say in terms of the small to medium businesses taking up outsourcing BPO industry, Australia was probably the trailblazers, followed closely by The USA.

而欧洲在采纳这一模式方面则稍显滞后。

And then Europe was a little bit behind in terms of taking it up.

你需要了解不同地区和不同企业之间的细微差别。

You go through some nuances, you have to understand the differences between different locations and different businesses.

但总的来说，美国对我来说非常棒，我希望这种状态能持续下去。

But on the whole, The US has been fantastic to me, and long may it continue, I hope so.

作为美国人，我想说，我们正在寻求与全球建立良好的关系。

Well, I just wanna say as an American that we are looking for good relationships across the globe.

在美国，有没有哪个地区在商业往来上比其他地区更容易处理？

Is there a region in The United States that's easier to deal with business wise than others?

一些首先想到的大城市有硅谷、加利福尼亚、纽约、德克萨斯和佛罗里达，这些主要枢纽。

Some of the big places that did come to mind, Silicon Valley, California, New York, Texas, Florida, the big hubs there.

但即使是一些较小的城市，我也有一些非常棒的客户，这些地方在美国国内相对没那么国际化。

But even some of the smaller I've had some great customers from some of the smaller, the less international, should we say, hubs within The States.

所以，我不会说哪里更容易打交道，或者类似的说法。

So I wouldn't say there's one place that's easier than others or anything.

而且说实话，我很享受，我去过美国的许多地方，所以我喜欢每一个地方。

I and and to be honest, I enjoy I've been to many places in The States, so I enjoy every place.

每个地方都略有不同，每个地方都有新的东西可以发现，这正是我非常享受的。

And every place is a little bit different, and every place is a little bit there's something new to discover all the time, which I, which I really enjoy.

好吧。

All right.

我知道你在这里想赶紧纠正我，但我可要较真一下了。

I know you're trying to be so quick correct here, but I'm gonna pin you down on this.

你吃过的最好的午餐是什么？

Best food that you've had lunch.

去年十一月，我在纳什维尔吃了最好的鸡肉。

I, last year in November, I was in Nashville I had the best chicken.

对。

Right.

非常好。

Very good.

那我们就定在

So we'll leave it at

纳什维尔。

that Nashville.

干得好。

Well done.

你们所合作的团队，无论是远程还是混合团队，我们都知道这可能具有挑战性，而且很容易变得分散。

These teams that you work with, remote and hybrid teams, we do know that that can be challenging and they can become easily fragmented.

你们会建立什么样的节奏，通过指标、会议或惯例来确保大家步调一致？

What kind of rhythm do you establish with your metrics or meetings or your rituals that help you to keep everybody on the same sheet of music?

我们确保每周至少进行一次视频会议。

Well, we make sure that we have a video conference at least once a week.

通常情况下，如果遇到困难或有人出差需要协助，一周可能会达到三次。

Norm sometimes it could be up to three times a week if if things are challenging or people are traveling and need to help.

我们确保登录并共同协作。

We make sure that we log in, we're working together.

我们确保使用Slack、Matamos和聊天频道，因为不仅文化不同，时区也不同，而时区并不总是适合每个人。

We make sure that we use Slack, Matamos, chat channels so that everybody because not only is it different cultures, but it's also different time zones and time zones don't tend to work for everybody.

因此要确保每个人都能参与进来，了解正在发生的事情。

So making sure that everybody's included and can see what's going on.

我们使用显示关键绩效指标的仪表板，让每个人都能看到各项工作的进展。

We use metrics that are showing the KPIs so everybody can see how things are pushing along there as well.

我们有一个所有人都能访问的仪表板，以便了解当前的情况。

We have a dashboard that everybody has access to, to be able to see what's going on.

我们确保每个人都能感受到自己是团队的一员，可以随时寻求帮助；无论时间、日期或你在世界上的哪个位置，总有人能为你提供支持。

And we just make sure that everybody feels that they're part of the family, that they can reach out to get help, that no matter what the time is, what the day is, where you are in the world, there's always somebody there that can help you out.

这正是它的本质所在。

And that's that's really what it is.

即使你是一家已经外包或正考虑使用BPO的企业，我也强烈建议至少每周举行一次站会，甚至每天一次，以强调屏幕上的名字不仅仅是个名称，而是一个正在工作、属于你企业的一员的人。

Even if you're a business look who's already outsourcing or looking to use a BPO, I would really encourage at least the weekly stand up, a a daily even if you want to, to reinforce the fact that it's not just the name on the screen, it's a it's a person who's doing the work, who's part of your business.

这就是我能给人们的唯一建议。

So that that would be my one piece of advice I could give people.

我相信到目前为止，你已经经历过成千上万次，甚至数以万计的谈判、商业交易和对话。

I'm sure by this time you've had thousands, if not tens of thousands of negotiations and business deals and conversations.

你能告诉我们一次因文化差异导致的失误——无论是你的还是企业主的——曾使交易受阻或几乎导致交易失败的经历吗？

Can you tell us a time when a misstep, either yours or the business owner, because of culture differences derailed a deal or it came close to stopping a deal?

如果我再回到总是说‘是’的文化，我可以讲一个更有趣的故事。

If I go back to, again, the culture of saying yes all of the time, actually I can give you a funnier story.

我当时在菲律宾，正要去和一位客户面谈，这位客户正打算招聘一名开发人员。

I was in The Philippines and we were going on to an interview with a customer who was looking to bring on a developer.

这位开发人员当时并不为我工作。

The developer didn't currently work for me.

我是带他去的。

I was bringing him in.

他的简历看起来非常出色。

Resume looked fantastic.

简直完美。

It was brilliant.

我们坐在那里交谈。

We were sitting there talking.

每当客户问起开发相关的问题时，你都能听到键盘敲击的声音，因为那个人实际上正在网上搜索问题的答案。

And as every time the customer asked a question about developing, you could hear the keyboard going and the person actually googling what was going on.

我立刻终止了面试。

I stopped the interview immediately.

我说：听着，我们不是这样做事的。

I said, listen, that's not how we do things.

我们不能这样，于是把他赶走了。

We can't do it and and ejected him.

幸运的是，我跟客户谈了。

Luckily enough, I spoke to the customer.

我说：真的很抱歉。

I said, I'm really sorry.

这种情况通常不会发生。

This doesn't normally happen.

确实不会。

And it doesn't.

这是我第一次遇到，也是唯一一次发生这样的事。

It was the first time I'd I'd touch with the only time that that has happened to me.

但我们后来为这位客户找到了合适的开发人员，并成功让项目重回正轨。

But we then went and found the right developer for the customer and and managed to bring it back on track.

而且我相信，直到现在他仍然在公司工作。

And and I believe he's still with the company at at this time as well.

所以，是的。

So yeah.

你

You

我猜你带领着一个团队，跨越多个时区，全天候工作。

lead a team, I take it, many different time zones and many hours of the day.

你如何保持精力充沛？

How do you keep yourself fresh?

因为领导疲劳是真实存在的。

Because leadership fatigue is real.

你如何管理自己的动力和状态？

How do you manage your own motivation and your freshness?

说实话，这个问题让我很困扰，如果我完全坦诚的话。

I struggle with that letter, to be honest, if I'm completely honest.

我想我之前在镜头外已经跟你说过了。

I think I've said it to you just off camera previously.

通常我一年中有多达九个月都在出差，所以经常在不同时区之间奔波，应对时差问题。

Normally I travel maybe up to nine months of the year, so I'm in different time zones dealing with a jet lag.

但我为自己感到自豪。

But I really pride myself.

我认为大多数晚上，我都会有四五个小时完全离线。

I think most nights there's four or five hours where I'm offline, like completely offline.

但我引以为豪的是，无论团队何时需要我，我都能随时待命。

But I pride myself in being available for the team whenever they need me.

同样，团队也会在我需要时支持我。

Likewise, the team is there for me.

我从不要求团队成员做任何我不会自己去做的事。

I would never ask a team member to do something that I wouldn't do.

如果我感到精疲力尽或需要休息，我的团队可以替我顶上，帮助我，反之亦然。

If I feel like I'm burning out or I need a break, my team can cover for me and help me and really do that and vice versa as well.

我认为这非常重要。

I think it's really important.

我认为太多领导者只关注结果，而忽视了事情中的人性层面。

I think too many leaders focus only on the results and not on the human aspects of things.

而且我认为，在带领团队时，第一，你绝不要要求团队成员做你自己不会做的事。

And and I think it's really important that when you're leading a team, a, you never ask them to do something that you wouldn't do yourself.

第二，你要认识到他们作为人的存在，支持他们，并努力以正确的方式引导他们。

And b, you recognize the human there and you're there for them and you try and guide them in a way.

我职业生涯中最大的成就，并不是我完成的那些数百万美元的大单，或类似的事情。

The biggest achievement of my career isn't the big multi million deals that I've done or anything like that.

而是看到那些曾经来找我、从未做过销售的人，如今已经创办了自己的公司，担任CEO、CRO、CCO等职位，因为他们有人花时间了解他们、激励他们、以正确的方式推动他们，帮助他们实现自己的目标。

It's seeing people who came to me and had never sold before are now running their own companies and and stepping into CEOs, CROs, CCO roles, and have worked up because somebody took the time to understand who they are, motivate them, push them in the right way, and get them to achieve what their goals were.

典型的工作日？有这样的东西吗？

A typical business day, is there such a thing?

你提到过每天有五小时的休息时间。

You talked about five hours of downtime.

你的一天是什么样的？

What's your day like?

通常我早上六点左右起床，查看夜间收到的邮件，检查所有关键绩效指标，了解最新情况。

So normally, I get up around 6AM, emails that have come in through the night, checking all the KPIs, checking what's going on.

当我人在伦敦时，通常亚洲那边是夜间。

I'm normally in Asia overnight, while I'm while I'm in London.

然后我会参加一个电话会议。

Then I'll hop on a call.

我们早上会开几次简短会议，与几个不同的团队确认一切是否顺利。

We have a couple of huddles early in the morning to make sure with a couple of different teams to make sure that everything's going well.

接着我们会跟进现有客户，通过客户管理职能了解那里的绩效指标完成情况。

We will then step into existing accounts with the account management function and understand the KPIs of being done there.

我会和我的市场团队碰面。

I'll catch up with my marketing team.

我还会与外联团队合作，确保一切顺利进行。

I'll work with the outreach team as well and make sure that all of that's going well.

我会参加播客或采访，与人们交流。

I'll jump on podcasts or interviews and and speak to people.

这是一天充实的工作，但当你看到你不仅为那些你提供员工的企业带来价值，也帮助了员工们取得成就时，这种成就感是真实的。

It's a full on day, but when you see that you're doing not just to the businesses that you're supplying the staff with, but also the staff members and what they're achieving as well, it's fulfilling them truly so.

你提到过市场上有成千上万的竞争对手。

You talked about the thousands of businesses that are out there, your competitors.

在这样一个拥挤的市场中，你的差异化至关重要。

So in a crowded market like that, your differentiation is really important.

你如何与其他人区分开来？

How do you differentiate yourself from others?

那么，GEAR公司是如何

So how has GEAR Inc.

利用这一商业策略脱颖而出的？

Leveraged this commercial strategy to stand out?

我们做了大量工作，正如我之前提到的。

We do a lot of work as as I touched upon before.

因此，我们非常努力地确保我们的员工在身体、心理和社会方面都得到良好的照顾。

So we work very hard on making sure that our staff are well looked after both physically, psychologically, and socially as well.

因此，我们所做的大量工作都集中在信任与安全领域。

So a lot of the work that we do is within the trust and safety space.

一些员工会接触到网络上一些可怕的内容。

Some of the staff are exposed to some horrible things that can go online.

这可能是网络欺凌。

That can be bullying.

也可能是图像内容。

It can be imagery.

也可能是视频内容。

It can be video.

我们为这些员工以及所有其他员工都开展了自身的健康关怀计划。

We run our own wellness program for those staff, as well as all of the other staff.

因此，我们为他们提供24小时全天候的心理学家服务。

So we have a 24 by seven psychologist available for them.

我们做了很多工作来确保员工身心健康，定期进行关怀检查，确保没有人被落下，没有人独自面对问题。

We have a lot of things that we do to make sure that the staff are well and check ins, and we make sure that nobody gets left behind as it were in terms of nobody is left to deal with anything just by themselves.

是的。

Yeah.

我想说，我们在这方面做得非常好。

So I would say that we do that really, really well.

我的意思是，我们这个项目还获得过奖项。

I mean, we've won awards for for that program as well.

我们在美国面临的关税政策一直不稳定，一会儿有关税，一会儿没有，税率一会儿是50%，一会儿是10%，还说‘我不是那个意思’。

The inconsistency that we've had here in The United States with tariffs, we're having a tariff, we're not having a tariff, it's 50%, it's 10%, it's I didn't mean it.

这对你业务造成了什么影响？

How has that affected your business?

目前，它并没有产生实质性影响。

At the moment, it hasn't it hasn't really impacted.

我们当然已经对此进行了研究、讨论，并根据可能发生的情况制定了计划。

We've obviously looked at it and and discussed it and and made plans depending on what happens.

我知道目前有一项法案正在推进，有人试图推动所有呼叫中心和BPO业务必须保留在美国境内。

I know there's a a bill in at the moment, or somebody's trying to put through the all call centers and BPOs should be kept within the states.

这项法案是否会通过，我不确定。

Whether that goes through or not, I don't know.

我的意思是，我们本身在美国境内就已经有分支机构了。

I mean, we have locations within the states anyway.

但如果你考虑成本节约，只要能将业务移出美国，节省的幅度就远大于留在美国；如果征收关税，这种优势就会消失。

It's just that the cost saving that you can get depending on what you're looking to do is far greater if you can go outside of The States than it is if you keep in and if they bring in the tariffs, that is gonna be taken away.

所以我在努力了解你们所支持的企业的具体情况。

So I'm trying to understand, get a feel for the businesses you support.

如果我们画一个饼图，50%是美国企业，25%是欧洲，25%是亚太地区，这个比例是怎样的？

If we had a pie chart and 50% was US businesses, 25% was Europe, 25% Asia Pacific, what's the breakdown?

你们所支持的企业，这个饼图的构成是怎样的？

What does that pie chart look like for the businesses you support?

我认为我能给你提供的最大细分领域是社交媒体、约会应用和游戏。

I think the largest segment I could give you would probably be social media, dating apps, and and gaming.

正如我所说，我们在这一领域做了大量信任与安全工作，确保所有内容、所有聊天记录都符合规范。

As I said, we do a lot of trust and safety work on that, making sure that all the content, all the the chats, everything going there is correct.

下一个细分领域可能是医疗保健领域的客户服务，其次是会计，然后是一些技术支持和产品支持，这些覆盖了所有不同行业。

The next segment is probably the customer service segment in the health care, followed by accounting, followed by probably some tech support and product support, and that goes across all different industries then.

所以

So

如果你正在给商学院毕业生、刚毕业的学生或职场人士提供建议，一个人该如何进入你的领域？

If you're advising somebody graduate from a business school, a student coming out of college or a business profession, how does somebody get into your field?

如果他们想进入这一行，BPO行业有成千上万个工作岗位，人们通常从客服代表或行政助理做起，有多种途径可以进入并逐步晋升。

If they're looking to get into so there are thousands and thousands jobs within the BPO industry, people start off as a customer service rep, they start off as a PA, there's lots of different ways to get in there and work their way up.

如果他们对加入销售团队、从事销售工作感兴趣，那就直接联系我们。

If they're interested in coming into the sales team and working within sales, then just reach out.

我们的人一直在寻找新的销售人员。

The guys are always looking for new salespeople.

我认为大多数公司都在不断寻找新的销售人员。

I think most companies are always looking for new salespeople.

如果你能很好地展示自己，理解客户需求并恰当定位自己，我相信你有很大机会进入这个行业并取得成功。

And if you could present yourself well and you can understand the customer and and position yourself, I think there's always a great chance to get in there and do some good.

你认为一个好的销售人员应该具备哪些品质？

And what do you look for in a good salesperson?

诚实。

Honesty.

很好的回答。

Good answer.

这是个很好的回答。

That's a good answer.

是的。

Yeah.

我真的很热衷于诚信销售。

It's I really am passionate about ethical selling.

如果一个人必须撒谎或强迫别人购买他们自己都不相信的产品，那他永远不可能成为优秀的销售人员。

And somebody who has to lie or has to force somebody to buy something then when they don't believe in it themselves is never going to be a good salesperson.

你必须相信你所销售的产品。

You've got to believe in what you sell.

你必须理解客户的需求。

You've got to understand the customer.

你必须与客户建立联系。

You have to make a connection.

从本质上讲，业务流程外包行业是一个低利润、高流量的行业。

And by nature the BPO industry is a low margin, high volume business.

因此，你无法像在其他行业中那样获得快速的成果。

So you don't get quick wins that you can get in some other industries.

所以，这一切都关乎关系，确保客户满意，这才是你赚钱的方式。

So it's all about relationships and making sure that the customer's happy and that's how you make your money.

找到具备合适技能的人才可能具有挑战性，但市场上也有很多这样的人。

Finding the right people with the right skill set is can be challenging, but there's lots of people out there as well.