????美國(guó)運(yùn)通公司CEO肯?切諾特最初便是公司SPG團(tuán)隊(duì)的一員。他說：“我親眼見證了策略規(guī)劃團(tuán)隊(duì)的許多老同事被提拔到了不同的崗位，對(duì)公司的成功產(chǎn)生了不可估量的影響。公司取得的很多重大勝利背后都有策略規(guī)劃人員的功勞?！?/p>

????拉布金加入美國(guó)運(yùn)通的策略規(guī)劃團(tuán)隊(duì)之前曾在一家咨詢公司任職。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，一些大公司的員工在成為某個(gè)業(yè)務(wù)部門的負(fù)責(zé)人之前，有機(jī)會(huì)先選取幾項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)來嘗試，這種理念引起了他的興趣。

????他說：“已經(jīng)掌握的技能只是進(jìn)入公司的敲門磚，但要想在美國(guó)運(yùn)通這樣的環(huán)境中取得成功，就必須掌握新技能?！?/p>

????美國(guó)運(yùn)通于1977年成立SPG。拉布金的經(jīng)歷極具代表性。他在團(tuán)隊(duì)中工作了兩年，逐漸在他希望參與的項(xiàng)目中掌握了一定的發(fā)言權(quán)。每個(gè)項(xiàng)目大約會(huì)持續(xù)三到六個(gè)月。

????在美國(guó)運(yùn)通，員工加入策略規(guī)劃團(tuán)隊(duì)的18個(gè)月內(nèi)，大部分員工都會(huì)開始考慮自己屬意的崗位。拉布金稱，到18個(gè)月左右的時(shí)候，SPG的員工基本都有過與多個(gè)部門合作的機(jī)會(huì)，而且晉升的時(shí)機(jī)已經(jīng)成熟。

????前往達(dá)美航空聯(lián)合品牌部門是拉布金的最佳選擇。達(dá)美航空與西北航空合并時(shí)，他借助了SPG的力量，來幫助公司應(yīng)對(duì)各種可能出現(xiàn)的情況。

????為了避免內(nèi)部顧問團(tuán)隊(duì)經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)的問題，美國(guó)運(yùn)通SPG團(tuán)隊(duì)有一個(gè)穩(wěn)定的老同事網(wǎng)絡(luò)。拉布金稱，SPG團(tuán)隊(duì)與不同部門合作某個(gè)項(xiàng)目時(shí)，他們將被視為團(tuán)隊(duì)的一部分，而不是高高在上的太平洋警察，專管挑錯(cuò)。公司鼓勵(lì)SPG員工一開始就要仔細(xì)考慮他們將來希望加入的部門。因此，前來找他們咨詢的人員最終通常都會(huì)成為他們未來的同事。

????此外，美國(guó)運(yùn)通還為SPG聘請(qǐng)了多位前管理顧問，以豐富團(tuán)隊(duì)的行業(yè)經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

????切諾特表示：“這些管理顧問具有獨(dú)特的視角。他們可以從宏觀和微觀的角度看待公司，也曾與公司多個(gè)業(yè)務(wù)部門有過合作，并且可以客觀地審視我們的優(yōu)勢(shì)和劣勢(shì)，還曾經(jīng)與全球的資深經(jīng)理人有過合作。他們即是旁觀者，又是當(dāng)事人；既是思考者，也是實(shí)踐者?！?/p>

????譯者：阿龍/汪皓

????"I've watched many alumni of the strategic planning group move throughout the organization and have enormous impact on our success," says Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express, who started his career at the company in SPG. "Behind many of our most impressive triumphs, you find people from strategic planning."

????Rabkin came to SPG after working at a consulting firm. He was lured by the idea of sampling several businesses in a major company before settling in as a leader of one of those businesses.

????"You're welcomed in for a set of skills you already had, but you develop new skills you need to succeed in this corporate environment," he says.

????Rabkin's experience in SPG is fairly typical of the group, which American Express created in 1977. He spent two years in the group, getting some say in which projects he wanted to work on. Each project lasted about three to six months.

????About 18 months into their time in strategic planning at American Express, most employees start thinking about where they want to go within the company. By that time, Rabkin says, SPG staffers typically have had a chance to work with several departments and are ready for a promotion.

????Moving to the Delta co-brand was a natural fit for Rabkin, and when the Delta-Northwest merger happened, he brought in SPG to help work through different scenarios.

????To avoid some of the pitfalls common among internal consulting groups, American Express's SPG group has a strong alumni network. And when SPG teams up with another division to work on a project, they are seen as part of the team and not cops telling other employees they are doing things wrong, Rabkin says. SPG staffers are encouraged from the start to think about where they want to land, so the people they are consulting for often end up being the people they work with in the future.

????American Express also hires many former management consultants to work at SPG, giving the group industry experience.

????"They are people who have benefited from an unusual vista," Chenault says. "They have seen the organization both from a distance and under a microscope, worked with a number of our business units, looked at our strengths and weaknesses with an objective eye, and worked with senior managers from around the world. They simultaneously wear the hats of insider and outsider, and thinker and doer."