Leader on the route to success
Not many chief executives welcome failure, but for Michelle Peluso, chief executive of Travelocity, it is part of the equation that leads to success.
Ms Peluso, who became head of the second largest US online travel company last year, says that innovation requires risk and that risk sometimes leads to failure. But the next step, which she describes as “learning from and embracing failures”, is crucial to success.
“If an idea fails, there's a lot of finger-pointing and a lot to lose,” says Ms Peluso, speaking at her desk in Travelocity's offices in New York. “You have to break that cycle if you want to figure out how to innovate.”
Many chief executives are reluctant to talk about failure. But Ms Peluso, a youthful Oxford-educated 32-year-old, is ready to confront it. “As a leader, I'm willing to own up to things that weren't the best strategies.”
Ms Peluso no doubt finds the topic of failure easier to broach because Travelocity is currently enjoying some renewed business success.
Last quarter, it reached profitability after two years of losses and growing competition from its rivals: Expedia, which stole the company's former number one position by expanding its lucrative holiday package and merchant hotel businesses; and Orbitz, the third largest online agency, which went public last December.
Now, a combination of revenue momentum from new businesses, aggressive cost control and market share gains means that the company is expected to report $10m to $15m in adjusted operating profit this year, compared with a $28m loss in 2003, according to CIBC World Markets, an investment bank. This improved outlook was boosted last month when Travelocity paid $32.8m to acquire the remaining 50 per cent of the Travelocity Europe joint venture it did not already own - excluding German operations - from Otto Group, a Munich-based catalogue retailer.
In recovering the ground lost to her rivals, Ms Peluso has sought to steer an independent course. When, two years ago, she began to build Travelocity's merchant hotel business, she resisted following Expedia's lead, even though it enjoyed margins of 20 per cent to 30 per cent on hotel rooms. “We were clearly behind,” she says. “But being second to market also gave us a chance to say: ‘What's working? What can you improve?' ”
For example, after talking to hundreds of hoteliers, she found them frustrated that online agencies were manually faxing customer reservations to hotels - an inefficient process that meant reservations would sometimes get lost. Ms Peluso decided to invest in technology and training that allowed direct connection to hotel reservation systems. New technology also meant that hotels could be paid immediately instead of up to 60 days later, which was the norm with the old system.
Taking the time and money to invest in what she calls “seamless connectivity” was risky and prompted questions from investors. “They wanted to act quicker,” says Ms Peluso. “
They asked: ‘Are we sure this is the right approach?' Especially because it was clear that there was a [rival] model that was working.”
But Ms Peluso insisted on the strategy. “Business models have to be more than just about the bottom line,” she says. “They have to be about suppliers and the customer.”
Two years on, her strategy seems to be paying off. Last month, InterContinental Hotels (IHG), whose brands include Holiday Inn, certified Travelocity as an official third-party distributor because of its hotelier-friendly policies. On the same day, IHG announced that it would sever ties with Expedia and hotels.com, both owned by InterActiveCorporation. But, despite IHG's crackdown, some analysts do not think Expedia is at risk of losing its number one position. At the end of 2003, Expedia's market share was 39 per cent, Travelocity's 20 per cent and Orbitz's 18 per cent, according to PhoCusWright, a travel research company.
Ms Peluso is hopeful, however. And, at any rate, she explains that Travelocity's “supplier-friendly” business model is in line with the company's philosophy of doing things differently and having a long-term view.
In the hurried online world, this is no easy task. But it was her appetite for new thinking that catapulted her to the top of the company. Five years ago, she helped launch site59, a last-minute travel website and a pioneer in vacation packages. Travelocity, which was trying to beef up its holiday packages, bought site59 in 2002 for $43m.
Leading Travelocity's 2,500 employees in about a dozen sites across the US is a different task to heading site59, which had 80 staff in its New York office. But Ms Peluso still strives to give Travelocity a feeling of intimacy.
She holds regular informal lunches with employees to encourage feedback and discussion, she sends a regular e-mail to staff and she awards a weekly prize in which employees at all levels are nominated by colleagues for outstanding and innovative work. In a bid to erode old-fashioned hierarchies, she even bakes brownies for employees.
Ms Peluso says that she learned this style of management from her father, an entrepreneur who started an environmental engineering firm in New York. The company had hundreds of employees, but she says that “he knew all their names” and made a point of getting to know them.
But her big professional mentor was Sandy Moose, the first female consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, where Ms Peluso worked for three years after completing her degree at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Recognising the value of mentoring, Ms Peluso now mentors 25 “exceptional” Travelocity employees. “You have to devote time to make them passionate about their work,” she says.
“Being a leader is about giving different people what they need psychologically from you,” she adds. “Your style has to evolve.”
Ms Peluso's idiosyncratic approach to leadership was also shaped by her varied education. She studied philosophy, science and economics at Oxford, where she completed a master's degree, and she did a stint as a White House fellow, working for Alexis Herman, secretary of labour during Bill Clinton's presidency.
This political experience was useful for learning the art of the possible. “In government, knowing the right answer won't always get things done,” she says. “You have to understand how to use spheres of influence.”
It was also useful for developing interests beyond the narrow world of e-commerce. Unusually for a senior business chief, she still manages to read one or two books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry each week. “I always read before I go to bed,” she smiles. “Otherwise I would stay up thinking about Expedia.”
成功路上的女企业家
很少有首席执行官乐意接受失败的，但对于Travelocity首席执行官米歇尔?培鲁索（Michelle Peluso）而言，失败却是走向成功的一部分。
培鲁索女士从去年起执掌这家美国第二大在线旅游公司。她说，创新会带来风险，而风险有时会导致失败。她把失败之后的下一步形容为“接受失败，从失败中学习”，并认为，这一步对最终能否成功至关重要。
培鲁索女士在纽约Travelocity公司的办公桌前说道：“如果一个想法失败了，就要面对许多指责，还会有很多损失。要琢磨出如何才能创新，就得打破这种恶性循环。”
许多首席执行官都不太愿意谈论失败，但一脸稚气的培鲁索女士却愿意直面失败。这位今年32岁的培鲁索女士毕业于牛津大学，她说：“作为公司领导人，我愿意为策略失算负上责任。”
当然，培鲁索女士认为谈论失败是一个较为容易切入的话题，因为目前Travelocity正不断收到利好的消息。
经过两年的亏损之后，Travelocity终于在上季度实现盈利，但是来自竞争对手的压力也在不断增加：Expedia通过扩展利润丰厚的旅游套餐和酒店业务，抢走了Travelocity的业界龙头地位；而第三大在线旅行社Orbitz已于去年12月成功上市。
据加拿大帝国商业银行世界市场部（CIBC World Markets）的报告，由于新业务的拓展，Travelocity的收益节节攀升，而成本也得到严格控制，再加上市场份额增加，使今年调整后的营运利润有望达到1000万至1500万美元；而在2003年，该公司亏损了2800万美元。上个月，Travelocity斥资3280万美元从Otto 集团（Otto Group）收购了它尚未持有的Travelocity欧洲合资公司余下的50％股份，其中并不包括在德国运营的业务。Otto 集团是一家以慕尼黑为基地的目录零售商。此次收购成功无疑促进了Travelocity的美好前景。
为了夺回失地，培鲁索女士尝试走自己的路。两年前，当她着手发展酒店业务时，就拒绝照搬Expedia网站的模式，尽管这种模式在酒店房间上的利润率高达20％至30％。她说：“我们显然落后了，但处于第二位也给我们一次机会提出问题：‘究竟哪些地方做得好？哪些方面需要改进？’”
比如，和许多酒店经理谈话后，培鲁索女士发现，这些经理对于网上旅行社把客人预订房间的资料逐一传真给酒店的做法感到不以为然。这种低效率的方法有时候还会把订房资料弄丢。于是，培鲁索女士决定投资相关的技术和培训，让旅行社能和酒店预订系统直接相连。应用新技术也意味着酒店能立即收钱，而不是按照旧惯例，需要等多达60天。
在培鲁索女士称为“天衣无缝的连接”技术上花时间、投资金是有风险的，而投资者也提出了疑问。培鲁索女士说：“投资人希望行动能更快些。”
他们的疑问是：“我们有把握相信这条道路是正确的吗？尤其是竞争对手的经营模式已经清楚地表明是有效的。”
但是培鲁索女士坚持自己的策略，她说：“经营模式不仅仅是经济收益问题，它还应考虑到供应商和顾客。”
两年之后，这一策略似乎开始奏效了。上个月，Travelocity因其与酒店经理良性互动的政策被洲际酒店（InterContinental Hotels，简称IHG）正式批准为第三方经销商。IHG集团旗下包括假日酒店（Holiday Inn）等多个知名品牌。就在同一天，IHG宣布将会中止与Expedia和hotels.com的合作。这两家在线网站都属于InterActive公司。虽然IHG中止合作对Expedia是一打击，但一些分析人士认为Expedia不会因此而失去业界老大的宝座。据在线旅游调查公司PhoCusWright的数据， 2003年年底，Expedia的市场份额是39％，Travelocity占20％，而Orbitz则占18％。
尽管如此，培鲁索女士表现出十分乐观。她解释说，无论如何，Travelocity实施的“与供应商保持友好关系”经营模式与公司独树一帜的行事哲学，以及长线经营的观点都是相一致的。
但是，在这个一切追求速度的网络世界里，要做到这点并不容易。但也正是这种求新的思维方式推动她成为Travelocity的掌门人。5年之前，她帮助推出site59网站，该网站特别针对临时决定出门旅行人士的需要，也是推出度假套餐的先行者。Travelocity于2002年以4300万美元收购了site59网站，以增强自身的度假套餐业务。
领导这个雇有2500名员工、分布于全美十几处办公地点的Travelocity公司，与管理只有纽约办事处、共80名雇员的site59网站确实很不相同，但培鲁索女士仍然尝试在公司内部营造一种亲如一家的氛围。
她定期举办非正式的午餐会，鼓励员工们提出反馈意见，开展讨论；她定期给员工发Email；她每周都奖励那些工作出色以及有创新表现的员工，让各级员工积极参加，由同事们提名。为了打破陈旧的等级观念，她甚至亲手为员工烤制果仁巧克力方糕。
培鲁索女士说，这套管理模式是她从父亲那里学来的。她的父亲是位企业家，曾在纽约开办过一家环境工程公司，并雇有数百名员工，但她说，“他知道所有员工的名字，”而且非常重视了解他们。然而她最重要的专业导师是波士顿顾问公司（Boston Consulting Group）的首位女性顾问桑迪?穆斯（Sandy Moose）。培鲁索女士在宾夕法尼亚大学(University of Pennsylvania)沃顿商学院（Wharton School）完成学业后，曾在波士顿顾问公司工作过3年。
培鲁索女士认为，导师的作用是相当大的。现在，她自己就在为25名“杰出”的Travelocity雇员提供职业指导。她说：“你得投入一定时间，使他们对工作充满激情。”
培鲁索女士补充说：“作为一名领导者，还需要给不同的人以不同的心理指导。你的行事风格必须不断演进。”
培鲁索女士独特的领导方式也得益于她所接受的多门类教育。她在牛津学过哲学、自然科学和经济学，并获得硕士学位，还在克林顿（Bill Clinton）执政期间，为当时的劳工部长亚历克西斯?赫曼（Alexis Herman）做过白宫实习生（White House fellow）。
这段政治经历有助于培鲁索女士学习将不可能变为可能的技巧。她说：“在政府机构，知道正确答案未必能把事情办好。你得懂得如何利用影响力。”
除了电子商务外，培养其它兴趣也很有用。每周，培鲁索女士都要看一两本小说类、非小说类或诗歌等书籍，这对于一名高管人员来说并不寻常。培鲁索女士笑着说：“睡觉前我总会看点东西；不然，我会整夜想着Expedia睡不着觉。”
