Boeing's whining makes it look weak
Harry Stonecipher was in London last week. Boeing's hard-nosed chairman had come to complain about Airbus, its main competitor in civil aerospace. His gripe was that the European company has been getting billions of euros in launch aid from the British, German and French governments for new aircraft development.
That is only one of Boeing's criticisms of Airbus. It constantly insists to anybody who will listen that there is not a large enough market for the A380, the “super-jumbo” which Airbus intends to launch. Boeing is developing the smaller 7E7 instead, which it says fits the emerging needs of airlines better. “I think the A380 is the dumbest thing anyone has ever done,” said Mr Stonecipher.
Boeing is not alone in criticising, and lobbying against, a competitor. Many companies invest plenty of time and effort in trying to undermine their rivals. But the way Boeing has gone about the task is counter-productive. Instead of damaging Airbus, it makes itself look like a sore loser: a once-powerful company that cannot cope with being overtaken by a rival it used to dominate.
Complaining can pay dividends, if done adeptly. At best, it can provoke action against a competitor from regulators or governments that tips the market in your favour. Many antitrust actions and cartel inquiries are sparked by complaints from rival companies. Even short of that, well-targeted briefings against a competitor's product may provoke uncertainty among its customers and suppliers.
A tussle with a rival can also be a useful marketing device. The media thrive on arguments and disagreements, so you are almost bound to get some column inches if you complain loudly enough. Indeed, the airline industry is notable for entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, who are skilled at drawing attention to their ventures by kicking up a fuss about rivals.
Boeing's complaints about Airbus have some merit. The arrangement under which European governments lent Airbus $3.7bn to underwrite the development of the A380 made its life easier. The company would have been unable to develop a range of aircraft as rapidly without backing from governments that wanted to create a European rival to Boeing.
It is also onto something in its critique of the A380. Airbus may well be over-estimating the potential market for very large aircraft. Airlines will like the idea of getting more from scarce take-off and landing slots, but passengers think differently. Most would probably prefer to fly direct routes on smaller aircraft such as the 7E7, given the choice.
Yet Boeing's griping leaves a bad impression because it breaks the principles of complaining. The first is that young, growing companies will do better from grousing than old, well-established ones. Regulators and consumers listen more to a growing company that complains of being edged out unfairly than one that is trying to shore up the status quo.
Sir Richard is a master of this technique, particularly in his attacks on British Airways for trying to crush Virgin Atlantic. He has gained such good results that he has been mimicked by Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of EasyJet, the UK-based low-cost airline, who constantly bad mouths companies in markets he is trying to enter. Stelios, as he likes to be known, cheerfully admits to doing this to gain free publicity.
Stelios obeys a second principle: complain in a way that makes people sympathise, and preferably smile. He and his staff often dress jokily in orange overalls (his corporate colours) and mount good-humoured demonstrations. Even when he disrupted the inaugural flight of Go, BA's former low-cost airline, Barbara Cassani, Go's then chief executive, said he behaved charmingly.
Boeing lacks the Stelios touch. It tries to avoid being too rude: Mr Stonecipher qualified his description of the A380 as “dumb” by adding: “It's not because they are dumb people.” But its criticism provokes shrugs, not smiles. It appears to be making excuses for its own weakness, rather than fighting to get customers a better deal.
The third principle is that you should beware of looking hypocritical. If your rival can respond by pointing to similar flaws in your own behaviour or products, your credibility will be damaged. Boeing is in difficulty here because, although it is not eligible for direct launch aid in the same way as Airbus, it receives indirect subsidies from government-backed suppliers and other public incentives.
It is hard to get too exercised about Airbus being pampered when Boeing has gained $3.2bn in tax incentives, as well as other financial perks, from the state of Washington in return for guaranteeing to build 7E7s in the state. Meanwhile, the wings are to be built in Japan by a group of suppliers that have received public subsidies. Boeing insists that this is wholly different, but you could have fooled me.
All this undermines Boeing's case, making it less likely that it will inflict a blow on its rival. Meanwhile, its insistence that there will be little demand for the A380 is losing relevance. There is no evidence that the noise from Chicago is putting off Airbus customers. Airbus is receiving orders for the A380 and has started to build a prototype. Time will decide which company is right.
The result is that Boeing ends up looking both weak and grumpy about a European rival making aircraft that customers like. This grousing is less than one expects from a US company with a history of independent thought and risk-taking. It is unconfident. It is unattractive. It is, well, un-American
波音徒劳的“口水战”
贺师统(HARRy Stonecipher)这位波音(Boeing)公司精明的董事长上周来到伦敦，目的是为了发泄对空客(Airbus)的不满。他抱怨说，空客这家欧洲公司从英国、德国和法国政府那里得到了数十亿欧元的启动援助，用来研制新机型。空客是波音在民用航空领域的主要竞争对手。
这只是波音对空客众多责难中的一条。对于任何愿意在那里听它抱怨的人，波音都一贯坚持认为，没有足够大的市场来容纳空客打算推出的“超级巨型机”A380。而波音正在开发稍小一点的7E7，波音称，7E7能更好地满足航空公司的新需求。贺师统表示：“我认为A380是人们做过的最愚蠢的事。”
并不是只有波音一家公司在批评竞争对手，并针对竞争对手进行游说。许多公司投入了大量时间和精力，来削弱竞争对手。但波音所采用的方法却在起反作用，非但没能杀伤空客，反而使自己看上去像个苦涩的失败者：面对过去毫不起眼的竞争对手的赶超，一家曾经那么强大的公司竟束手无策。
如果处理得当的话，抱怨可以带来好处。最好的结果是导致监管部门或政府采取不利于竞争对手的行动，使市场倒向对你有利的一边。许多反垄断诉讼和对垄断组织的调查就是竞争对手的抱怨引发的。即使没能达到那样的效果，对竞争者的产品有的放矢地发布一些简要的负面报告，也可能使其客户和供应商犹豫不定。
与竞争对手之间的口水战也能成为一个有用的营销工具。争论和分歧导致了媒体的繁荣，所以只要你抱怨的声音足够大，肯定能在媒体的专栏中占据一席之地。事实上，航空业因李察?布兰信(Richard Branson)这样的企业家而出名，这些企业家擅长通过发动与竞争对手的口水战来引起人们对自己企业的关注。
波音对空客的抱怨是有一些道理的。欧洲各国政府给空客提供37亿美元的贷款，用来支付A380的开发费用，这种安排令空客的日子更好过。没有政府的支持，空客就无法如此快速地开发一系列飞机。这些政府希望打造一家能与波音相竞争的欧洲公司。
波音对A380批评也是有些根据的。空客可能过高估计了大型客机的潜在市场。航空公司会喜欢从较少的起飞-降落次数上取得更多收入这一想法，但旅客们不这样想。在有选择的情况下，大多数旅客可能更愿意乘坐由7e7这样稍小的客机飞的直线航班。
然而波音的抱怨给人留下了糟糕的印象，因为它不符合抱怨的原则。首先，正在成长的年轻公司从抱怨中得到的好处，比老牌公司所得到的要多。监管部门和消费者更多地听取成长公司称被不公平地排挤出市场的抱怨，而对于试图维持自己地位的公司，则较少听它们的抱怨。
李察爵士是玩这项技巧的大师，这一点在他抨击英国航空(British Airways)试图挤垮维珍航空(Virgin Atlantic)时尤其表现得淋漓尽致。他取得了如此好的效果，以至受到斯泰利奥斯?哈吉-约安努(Stelios Haji-Ioannou)的效仿。哈吉-约安努是总部位于英国的廉价航空公司易航(EasyJet)的创始人，他不断说一些公司的坏话，因为这些公司所处的市场是他试图打入的。正如他想要人们知道的那样，斯泰利奥斯欣然承认，他这么做是为了获得免费宣传。
斯泰利奥斯遵循了第二条原则：用能引起人们同情，并且最好是微笑的方式去抱怨。他和手下的员工经常穿着橙黄色(他公司的颜色)的工装裤，打扮得很好笑的样子，高高兴兴地游行。甚至当他干扰了英航旗下前廉价航空公司Go的处女航时，时任Go首席执行官的芭芭拉?卡萨尼(Barbara Cassani)也说，他的举止很有魅力。
波音缺少斯泰利奥斯这样的风格。它试图避免表现过于粗俗：贺师统先生对他用“愚蠢”这个词来描述空客A380的说法做了些补充，在后面加上了一句：“这并非因为他们是愚蠢的人。”但人们对这样的评论没有感到幽默好笑，反而厌恶地耸耸肩膀。波音看上去就像在为自己的虚弱找借口，而不是为客户争取更划算的交易。
第三条原则，是应避免让人觉得你伪善。如果对手能够在回应你的批评时指出你自己行为或产品中类似的缺点，你的信誉就会受损。波音在这一点上遇到了麻烦，因为虽然它没有像空客那样成为直接启动援助的对象，但它得到了来自政府支持的供应商和其它公共部门优惠措施的间接补贴。
如果波音保证在华盛顿州生产7E7飞机，该州将给予它32亿美元的税收优惠和其它财政补贴作为回报。在波音获得这些支持后，它就很难在空客得到政府庇护这件事上大做文章了。同时，将在日本制造机翼的一群供应商也得到了公共部门的补贴。波音强调，这完全是两码事，但人们可能觉得被你愚弄了。
所有这些削弱了波音抱怨的效果，因而不太可能给对手造成有效的打击。同时，波音称A380几乎没有市场需求，这一说法也正在失去根据。没有证据可以表明，来自芝加哥的干扰正在吓退空客的客户。空客正不断接到A380订单，并已开始建造一架原型机。时间将证明哪家公司是正确的。
结果是，看到欧洲对手制造的飞机深受客户欢迎，波音显得软弱无力而又气急败坏。这样的抱怨不是人们希望在波音身上看到的，因为它是一家有着独立思考和勇担风险传统的美国公司。这样做显得不够自信，没有吸引力，也不是美国公司的作风。
