Nicholas G Hayek Hayek'S No Regret Curtain Call

Swiss watch making industry started 500 years ago, and so far, there are still some people willing to pay a big price for a Swiss made watch, Nicholas G Hayek.

On Monday, June 28, 2010, Nicholas Hayek, who was called "time robber", fell to his desk at the age of 82.

Though hasty, it may be the most perfect curtain call for this watch magnate: simply leaving and saving the greeting of red tape is very much in line with the old man's philosophy of "not doing nothing".

Besides, where will there be a better farewell to this office of the group chairman?

Hayek once wrote a book. The first sentence of the book is: "I have never worked."

People's work is regarded as pleasure, "every minute I enjoy it."

Hayek always talks to people like this.

His office is located at Bill Swatch group headquarters in Switzerland. It has enough public swimming pool. Hayek, who never works, stays here for more than ten hours a day. He "finds himself 8 to 14 hours of fun every day."

"Entrepreneurs are not businessmen, not managers, not MBA of Harvard Business School," Hayek said. "Entrepreneurs are artists, even people who are still dreaming."

In his office, books such as Lamartine, de muse, Victor Hugo, and Donald's cartoons are always the source of his inspiration.

In the 2010 Forbes magazine fortune list, "artist" Hayek ranked 232, with assets of $3 billion 900 million.

Swatch group is the world's largest watch group, with 24000 employees, 19 brands, 37 branches in the country, more than 500 separate stores, sales in 2009 reached 5 billion Swiss francs - this is the assets left by the world when Hayek died.

"Mr. Swatch"

Hayek was born in Lebanon in 1928. He moved to Switzerland with his parents when he was 7 years old.

In 1979, he founded his own company, "Hayek project AG", a successful business consulting company. At that time, he did not know that his name would be linked to Swiss watches in the near future.

One day, a Swiss banker friend found him and asked if he could make an overview report for Japan's acquisition of SSIH and ASUAG, Switzerland's largest two watch group.

At that time, the Swiss mechanical watch industry was badly hit by the Japanese quartz watch. The Swiss also felt that their watch industry was hopeless, and the high manpower cost prevented them from competing with the Japanese.

Hayek was furious.

He knew that if Switzerland had lost the ETA and Nivarox-FAR factories that made watches and clocks and parts (SSIH and ASUAG's watch and clock parts factory), the infrastructure of the industry would fall into the hands of competitors. It also meant the end of the Centennial Swiss watch culture and pride.

"People buy Swiss watches and clocks, and they buy Swiss culture, which is what people hear about Switzerland: our mountain huts, our fields, our mountains."

Hayek launched a plan to merge ASUAG and SSIH and decided to produce parity quartz watches against Japan with his own way.

He was very persuasive. The bank appointed him to set up a steering committee to organize the merger.

Two ETA engineers have developed a quartz watch with only 51 parts (the Japanese quartz watch has 151 parts), which can be sold at 50 US dollars using the automated production line produced locally.

In 1982, the Swiss quartz watch with colorful, fashionable, light and thin plastic shells was a great success.

It was named "Swatch", originally meant to be a small sample of leather and cloth, and also an abbreviation for "Swiss Watch" (Swiss watch), which is very ingenious.

In 1983, Swatch sold 1 million 100 thousand, which increased to 12 million by 1986.

Franz X.Sprecher, Swatch's earliest marketing director, said: "Swatch has accomplished two things. One is to prove that Swiss watches can compete with Japan in the low-end market, and the other is to turn watches into fashion accessories."

BruceHannah, Professor of art and design at Pratt college in New York, said: "before Swatch, people looked at the time and the brand when they looked at their watches. For them, watches were timing tools and identity symbols.

After Swatch, people began to pay attention to the appearance of watches.

In 1985, Hayek obtained the group holding power with 150 million Swiss francs (equivalent to 610 million US dollars), and the company was also named SMH (Swiss microelectronics Watch Group).

The media began to call him "save the Swiss watch industry", and the manufacture of mechanical timepieces began to recover gradually, mainly because the ETA and Nivarox-FAR parts factories were gradually out of the shadows and began to produce some parts on a large scale.

Sentimental Swiss timepieces

Before the word "sustainable" was widely used, Hayek had carried out the spirit of sustainability in his life and career.

In 2002, Hayek announced a decision that shocked the industry. He wrote a letter to all ETA factory customers, claiming that by 2006, ETA will no longer provide the movement to companies outside the Swatch group.

The front page title of the biggest newspaper in Switzerland is Hayek: God or devil?

"Hayek has his explanation," those clocks and watches brands buy our movement, and then put money into advertisements, claiming that they are "the best", they are not making clocks, and what I have to do is to force everyone in this industry to really participate in watch making.

But will this not affect the sales volume of the group?

"Yes," Hayek said. "Three to four hundred million Swiss francs, seven percent to eight of total sales."

Hayek felt this loss was nothing.

After consultations, the deadline was postponed to the end of 2010, and now it is more than half. But the Swiss watch industry seems not to be on the verge of collapse. Many brands, like Hayek's expectation, began to research and develop their own machines, more people were hired, and the knowledge of clock manufacturing was recycled, and the network of the whole Swiss watch industry was stronger than before.

But the movement is not enough.

Hayek claimed that he was applying for permission so that Swatch group could not provide any clock parts to anyone.

He wants to improve the entry threshold of the watch industry. "I only do this for the Swiss watch industry. If this industry goes into some people who are not visionary, have no feelings, just want to make changes in their watches, then sooner or later they will all die together."

Under Hayek's efforts, brands including Rolex, Palma Jonny and Langer have begun to independently develop escapement mechanisms and springs.

The most trustworthy person

I wonder if Hayek had any chance to review his life before death. It really takes a long time, even if the clock related part is deleted, it is enough to make a long list.

He actively promoted the new Swiss banking law and regulated the banking industry.

He said, "they say that if Swiss banks are more standardized than anyone else, then they will not be able to live anymore. This is bullshit."

He wrote to all parties, explaining that without this law, banks would collapse every 5 to 10 years.

Eventually, the law passed, and Hayek returned to his office, oh, no, "studio".

In addition, he also recommended that the world bank support South Korea's industrial construction and help China build iron and steel plants and auto factories. He provided business advice to companies in Britain, Brazil, the United States, France and Germany to help these countries build many new industries.

In Europe alone, he has created 250 thousand jobs.

Hayek has never confined Swatch group's business to the clock industry.

Now Mercedes Benz's Smart car was originally invested and researched by Hayek.

Later, he and some investors set up Belenos clean energy company to develop solar energy, wind energy, hydrogen power and so on. Hollywood star George Clunie is also a shareholder of the company.

Clooney said, "I have never been to such a board of directors. CEO will spend most of his time studying how to put people first.

I feel very proud to have such a friend like Hayek.

Many people have tried the development and promotion of clean energy. Many people have failed, but when Hayek spoke, people were willing to follow him.

In a national survey, Hayek was chosen as the most trustworthy person in Switzerland.

Unfinished dream

Hayek's life is quite different from the rich celebrities that many people imagine.

He had only been married once, and his wife Marianne had been with him for sixty years. They lived at the lake of Meisterschwanden Valley, 19 miles away from Zurich, where Marianne built a 2.5 acre public playground.

"It's very quiet there. The only sound we can hear is the laughter of birds playing with children."

The distance between Hayek's residence and his work place is 97 kilometers, but he doesn't have a driver. He always drives to work by himself. He also asks the whole family to do so.

Because he thought the hired driver was a symbol of democracy.

He often denounced other Swiss entrepreneurs for not having an entrepreneurial spirit and not contributing to society.

In 2008, "artist" Hayek was 80 years old, and the media scrambled to report him.

He is a low-key man who hates these celebrations at the bottom of his heart.

The opening ceremony, the celebration meeting, the medal of honor...

He seldom attended.

"I have plenty of time," Hayek responded by asking him how to schedule his time.

"I don't go to cocktail parties, I use my driving time to make phone calls, so I always have time to do something good."

Hayek's dream is to build a solar powered vehicle that can run 500 to 700 kilometers at a time and build a clean energy automotive industry in Switzerland.

He said, "we have many advantages. First of all, we have strong assets.

Second, we have no oil companies to dictate to the government.

Third, if we don't have the auto industry, no one will jump out and say that we have invested so much money in research engine.

Besides, we have enough scientific and technological strength. "

Now that time is running out, I believe Hayek will not feel too sorry. He knows more about time than most people, and his dream is always inherited.

"Mr.Swatch" says, "schools, society and people lose our ability to believe in all kinds of illusory things.

You must encourage people around you to overcome this obstacle and convince them that they still have the ability to create. "

The only thing you can't overcome in life is death and taxes.

Every time someone tells me something is impossible, I make it possible.

"I want to tell young people, please don't sit in front of the computer, think you can make money by frying stocks, you have not created wealth, and have done nothing.

You should be an entrepreneur, create new ideas and products, new jobs and wealth.

That's the best thing you can do for the future, young man. "

"I don't take part in cocktail parties. Those in the cocktail party only know how to speak, but they don't understand."

"I refuse to go to the Davos forum because they have no discussion."

"In Switzerland, you will not easily criticize banks, but I have been doing this all the time.

I don't need them.

It was the first and last time I borrowed money from a bank or anyone in 1957.

I don't want to be manipulated by them. "

"I see the earth as a spaceship and regard myself as a passenger on this spaceship. If someone wants to poke a hole in the spaceship and want to destroy him, then I will jump out to stop it.

This is what I have done in my life.

When the problem settled, I went back to my seat and sat down. I didn't want to be a captain. "

"I am a very ordinary person, and my family is also an ordinary family.

Even though Forbes put me on their rich list, we didn't have any planes.

We have no drivers, no luxury buses, no Christmas shopping in Paris.

We are absolutely ordinary people.