????當(dāng)時對威爾遜非常有利的一點是，MBA教育正在呈現(xiàn)勢不可擋的飛速增長趨勢。約40年前，美國大學(xué)培養(yǎng)的律師和MBA人數(shù)大致相同。現(xiàn)在，MBA畢業(yè)生數(shù)量已經(jīng)遠(yuǎn)超法學(xué)博士畢業(yè)生，比例接近4比1。鑒于許多法學(xué)院依然難以完成招生指標(biāo)，這項比率很可能將進(jìn)一步向MBA傾斜。在美國之外，商學(xué)院和MBA學(xué)位也出現(xiàn)了爆炸式的增長。

????威爾遜執(zhí)掌GMAC的18年里，他一直是MBA學(xué)位最引人矚目的倡導(dǎo)者，直到他去年12月31日光榮退休。在他看來，“MBA學(xué)位為人們打造了一個馳騁職場的基礎(chǔ)。人們可以借助這項學(xué)位來改變或加快自己的職業(yè)生涯?！?/p>

????剛剛成為GMAC掌門人，威爾遜就立刻把他的會計技能應(yīng)用在了最大的成本中心ETS身上。別的不說，他注意到，ETS正在賣掉大約14萬套獲得GMAC出版許可，由3本書組成的考試指南?！拔揖拖氩幻靼?，你每年賣這么多書，怎么還賠錢呢，”威爾遜說。主要原因是，這套指南書中的兩本——一本是各大商學(xué)院簡介，另一本介紹財政資助申請政策——是賠錢的；那個年代沒有亞馬遜網(wǎng)站(Amazon)，ETS通過傳真確認(rèn)書籍預(yù)訂請求。威爾遜還采用招標(biāo)方式選擇合作伙伴幫助這個組織處理資金管理業(yè)務(wù)，最終把這項任務(wù)從ETS身上剝離了出來。

????此外，盡管GMAC當(dāng)時擁有的資源有限，但他依然全力推動這個組織取消筆試，轉(zhuǎn)而采用一種能夠根據(jù)每位考生的答案自動調(diào)整的計算機考試。這番努力耗費了GMAC大約1,000萬到1,200萬美元。功夫不負(fù)有心人，GMAC終于在1997年成功啟動了這項新測試，從而能夠隨時隨地提供相同的考試服務(wù)。

????對GMAC的成長貢獻(xiàn)最大的事件出現(xiàn)在2003年，也就是它正式與ETS分道揚鑣。大約12年后，威爾遜依然能夠生動地回憶起這起事件的細(xì)節(jié)。2001年11月11日，他接到這家考試服務(wù)中心的CEO打來的一通電話?！八f他們準(zhǔn)備關(guān)閉歐洲的6個考點，還說這樣做不會影響我們，”威爾遜說?！?2月7日，ETS的項目主管和首席財務(wù)官親自登門，跟我商量這件事。他們開門見山地說，ETS準(zhǔn)備關(guān)閉116個考點。他們來這里不是為了尋求我們的意見，而是來下達(dá)通知的?！?/p>

????ETS的決定破壞了威爾遜走向全球的雄心。但根據(jù)他與ETS簽訂的合同，如果他打算終止雙方之間的合作關(guān)系，他必須提前兩年通知對方。而現(xiàn)有合同的存續(xù)期只剩下短短3個星期。所以，他去了一趟位于新澤西州普林斯頓市的ETS總部，雙方最終簽署了一份延期兩年的合同。這樣，用他的話來說，GMAC就有時間“學(xué)習(xí)一大堆東西”。

????威爾遜組建了一個特別工作組，聘請博思艾倫咨詢公司(Booz Allen)監(jiān)督這個研究項目，還招募了11位MBA實習(xí)生詳細(xì)分解ETS管理考試、下發(fā)分?jǐn)?shù)等工作的各個層面。2002年年末，這項研究計劃進(jìn)行到一半時，他又創(chuàng)建了4個研究小組與ETS一起審視下一代考試技術(shù)、全球性覆蓋、考試安全和客戶服務(wù)等議題。“但下一代考試技術(shù)小組舉棋不定，遲遲沒有行動。他們不想改變，我們碰到了真正的問題。”

????讓威爾遜最為煩惱的是考試的安全性。威爾遜說：“毫無疑問，我們最重要的工作之一就是要向各大商學(xué)院保證，出現(xiàn)在校園的那位申請人與參加考試的申請人是同一個人。” 2003年，就在GMAC繼續(xù)研究ETS的工作流程時，GMAT考試爆發(fā)了有史以來最大的丑聞。一個居住在紐約、由5男1女組成的團伙因涉嫌代替其他考生參加數(shù)百次考試以換取金錢而遭到逮捕。聯(lián)邦和州調(diào)查人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，2001年1月至2003年7月間，他們共參加了590次由ETS管理的考試。一條線報把調(diào)查人員引向了這個團伙的頭目、華裔男子徐路（音譯）。馬里蘭州哥倫比亞市一個考點的攝像頭拍攝到了他的可疑行為，而這個地方距離位于弗吉尼亞州泰森斯角的GMAC總部并不算遠(yuǎn)。

????“他當(dāng)時假裝是在為自己考試，正在企圖用一個隱藏在桌子下面的攝像頭捕捉問題，”威爾遜回憶說?！拔覀兡玫搅怂挠脖P，隨即發(fā)現(xiàn)他和其他幾位槍手一直在東北部地區(qū)代替別人參加考試。他參加了160多次，有時候是戴著一頭拙劣的假發(fā)替某位女生考試，有時候是代替某位男生。他通常使用偽造的駕照或護(hù)照來掩蓋自己的身份?！?/p>

????但在如何處理這個問題上，威爾遜和ETS官員很快就產(chǎn)生了沖突。“ETS打算向相關(guān)院校遞送一份中立性的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)考試成績?nèi)∠?，”威爾遜說?！俺煽儽蝗∠赡艹鲇诟鞣N各樣的原因，考試期間停電，技術(shù)故障，考生不小心把百事可樂(Pepsi)灑在了鍵盤上，或者考試中途生病，都有可能導(dǎo)致考試成績作廢。但他們就是不愿意聽從我們的建議，覺得沒必要解釋取消這些申請人成績的具體原因?！?/p>

????震怒之下的威爾遜親自致電所有收到成績單的商學(xué)院，逐一向每位院長說明真相。他詳細(xì)解釋了徐路及其朋友被抓捕的過程，以及為什么說這160位申請人（這份名單源自徐路的計算機硬盤）的成績不真實。“一位院長說，‘還有這樣的奇事？我們正在進(jìn)行新生訓(xùn)練營活動，我們還在納悶為什么這個GMAT成績這么優(yōu)秀的學(xué)生竟然難以應(yīng)對如此簡單的任務(wù)?！€有一個家伙正在幫助一位負(fù)責(zé)學(xué)生行為準(zhǔn)則的院長從事暑期實習(xí)工作，” 威爾遜說。但由于缺乏證據(jù)，這些涉嫌作弊者最終并沒有受到懲處。

????GMAC隨后開始采用公開招標(biāo)的方式選擇業(yè)務(wù)合作伙伴。ETS與其他三家對手展開競爭，最終失去了它的合同。涌現(xiàn)出的贏家是培生VUE專業(yè)考試服務(wù)中心(Pearson VUE)，后者的母公司培生集團(Pearson Plc)是全球最大的商業(yè)考試服務(wù)公司和教育出版商。威爾遜與總部設(shè)在愛荷華州的美國大學(xué)入學(xué)測試中心(ACT)簽訂了測試開發(fā)合同，培生VUE則接手了考試管理和分銷業(yè)務(wù)。

????與ETS的決裂導(dǎo)致GMAC的員工人數(shù)大幅增加。如今，這個組織已經(jīng)具備了獨立進(jìn)行測試設(shè)計、研發(fā)、營銷和技術(shù)支持的能力?！拔覀儽仨氶_始管理我們自己的研究工作，以構(gòu)建我們自己的測試題，所以我們又增添了一個心理測驗小組，”威爾遜解釋說。“我們建立了一種更有效的算法來選擇問題。”

????威爾遜成功地抵擋住了ETS發(fā)起的市場份額搶奪戰(zhàn)——2011年，ETS開始推廣研究生入學(xué)考試(GRE)，希望它能夠代替GMAT考試。ETS最近承認(rèn)，只有2%的受訪者參加了這項以申請MBA項目為目標(biāo)的考試。威爾遜奮勇向前，于2012年推出了下一代GMAT考試，其中包含一塊名為“集成推理”( Integrated Reasoning)的全新內(nèi)容，旨在測試申請人的信息評估能力。為了讓這部分內(nèi)容融入考試，GMAC進(jìn)行了逾3年之久的研發(fā)工作，參考了幾十位商學(xué)院院長、招生官員、教師和公司招聘主管的意見，共花費了大約1,100萬美元。

????談到考生如何提高應(yīng)試能力，GMAC要比ETS坦率得多。當(dāng)筆者提到ETS曾經(jīng)對GMAT應(yīng)考者說他們其實不必全身心地投入備考時，威爾遜發(fā)出一陣大笑?！叭绻阏J(rèn)真準(zhǔn)備，你的成績自然會提高，這是毫無疑問的。這是件好事。這項考試跟任何體育項目或其他技能是一樣的道理。”GMAC自己的研究表明，認(rèn)真學(xué)習(xí)60到100小時有望促使考生的平均成績提高30分?！坝行┤说某煽冿j漲了100分，那是因為他們此前壓根就沒有做過任何準(zhǔn)備，”威爾遜補充說。今年1月1日，前惠普公司(HP)高管桑吉特?舒夫拉正式接任GMAC首席執(zhí)行官一職。

????業(yè)界一致認(rèn)為，威爾遜交出了一份特別出彩的答卷。在他的任職期內(nèi)，GMAC成長為一家高度專業(yè)化、擁有穩(wěn)健財務(wù)基礎(chǔ)的組織?！拔視o他打一個你能想象的最高分，”威爾遜的前任比爾?布勒扎姆勒說?！拔覀兡菚r候幾乎沒有員工，也沒有基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，合作伙伴只有ETS一家。我認(rèn)為它已經(jīng)走到盡頭。是大衛(wèi)把這家組織帶向了完全不同的方向，這個做法非常正確?！?/p>

????但他的繼任者卻面臨著很大的不確定性。GMAC能否找到一種測試考生創(chuàng)新精神和創(chuàng)造力的方式？在新興經(jīng)濟體不那么昂貴的替代考試方案咄咄逼人的攻勢下，GMAT能否繼續(xù)生存下去？免費的大規(guī)模在線開放課程(MOOC)是否將從根本上減少參加入學(xué)考試的必要性？不過，拜威爾遜所賜，舒夫拉繼承了一家擁有雄厚財力的強大組織，足以幫助他經(jīng)受住任何一場風(fēng)暴的考驗。

????當(dāng)我問威爾遜在擔(dān)任總裁兼CEO的18年里，他最為驕傲的成就是什么時，他立刻把這些成就歸功于這支由他一手打造的團隊。“我設(shè)法找到了全世界最好的150位精英，”他說?！罢窃谒麄兌嗄陙淼拇罅f(xié)助下，我才走到了今天?！?/p>

????但他還成功創(chuàng)造了一家規(guī)模大幅增長的非營利性組織。目前的GMAC員工數(shù)量是他履新時的30倍，其中包括好幾位薪酬極其豐厚的高管。有人最近讓一位杰出的商學(xué)院院長猜測威爾遜一年能掙多少錢，他說40萬美元左右吧。其實，這個數(shù)字還不到這位GMAC總裁兼首席執(zhí)行官2012年總薪酬的五分之一。（財富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：葉寒

????One powerful trend that Wilson had in his favor was the meteoric growth of the MBA degree. Some four decades ago, U.S. colleges graduated near equal numbers of lawyers and MBAs. Today, MBA grads outnumber J.D. grads by nearly four to one. And with many law schools struggling to fill classes, that ratio is likely to tip further in favor of the MBA. Outside the U.S., the growth in both business schools and the degree has exploded.

????For the past 18 years, until Dec. 31, when Wilson retired as GMAC's top official, he had been the most visible cheerleader for the MBA degree. As he puts it, "What the MBA allows people to do is to build a foundation. You can use the degree to change your career or to accelerate your career."

????Once in charge of GMAC, Wilson immediately applied his accounting skills to his biggest cost center, ETS. Among other things, he noticed that ETS was selling 140,000 copies of three guidebooks with the GMAC imprimatur. "I couldn't understand how you could sell that many copies each year and lose money," says Wilson. It was largely because two of the guidebooks -- on schools and financial aid -- were money losers, and in this pre-Amazon era, ETS was responding to fax requests to ship copies of the books. Wilson also put the organization's money management to bid and moved that task away from the testing contractor.

????Despite the group's limited resources at the time, he also pushed forward to eliminate the rather limiting paper-and-pencil test and move to a computer exam that would adapt to each test taker's answers. The effort cost GMAC between $10 million and $12 million, but once GMAC was able to launch its new test in 1997, the organization could deliver the same exam everywhere, every day.

????The single biggest contributor to the growth of the organization took place in 2003, when GMAC broke with ETS. Some 12 years later, Wilson vividly recalls the details of the rupture. On Nov. 11, 2001, he received a phone call from the CEO of the testing service. "He said they were closing six test sites in Europe and it wouldn't affect me," says Wilson. "On Dec. 7, the head of the program and the CFO would come and talk to me about it. When they came down, they said they were closing 116 sites. They weren't there to seek our input. They were there to advise us."

????ETS' decision undermined Wilson's global ambitions. But his contract with the firm required him to give ETS two years notice if he wanted to fire them. The existing contract would end in just three weeks. So he went to ETS' Princeton, N.J., headquarters to negotiate a two-year extension so GMAC could, in his words, "learn a whole lot more."

????Wilson put together a task force, hired Booz Allen to oversee the study project, and brought aboard 11 MBA interns to take apart every facet of what ETS actually did to administer the test and deliver the scores. Half way through the study, at the end of 2002, he created four study groups to examine together with ETS such issues as next-generation technology for the exam, global reach, test security, and customer service. "But the next generation group kicked it down the road like a tin can. They didn't want to change, and we had real issues."

????What troubled Wilson more than any other issue was the security of the test. "Without a doubt, one of the most important things we do is provide schools with the assurance that the candidate who shows up on campus is the same candidate who took the test," says Wilson. In 2003, as GMAC's study of ETS and its procedures continued, the biggest scandal in the history of the GMAT erupted. A New York-based ring of five men and one woman were arrested for taking the test hundreds of times on behalf of other test takers in exchange for money. Federal and state investigators found that between January 2001 and July 2003, they sat for a total of 590 exams administered by ETS. A tip led investigators to the ringleader, Chinese-born Lu Xu, who was filmed on camera at a test center in Columbia, Md., not far from GMAC's headquarters in Tysons Corner, Va.

????"He was testing as himself in this case, and he was trying to capture questions with a camera velcroed underneath the desk," recalls Wilson. "We got his hard drive and discovered that he and a cadre of proxy test takers would take the exam up and down the northeast," recalls Wilson. "He [Xu] took it 160-odd times, sometimes for a lady, when he wore a bad wig, and sometimes for a man. He took the test with a forged driver's license or a passport."

????Quickly, however, a conflict arose between Wilson and ETS officials over how to handle the problem. "ETS wanted to send a standard neutral test cancellation score letter to the schools," says Wilson. "Scores get cancelled for all kinds of reasons. You could have a brown out. You could have a tech failure. You could have somebody spill Pepsi on a keyboard, or you could have a candidate get sick partway through the test. But they would not change the letter for us to explain why these candidates had their scores cancelled."

????Furious, Wilson says he personally called the deans of every business school to which the scores were sent and told them the truth. He explained how Xu and his friends were caught and how the scores for the 160 applicants -- retrieved from Xu's computer hard drive -- were bogus. "One dean said, 'That is fascinating," says Wilson. "'We are just now in our boot camp and we can't figure why this one guy who scored well on the test is struggling so much on the easy stuff.' Another guy was doing a summer internship for the dean on ethics." The suspected cheaters weren't corralled, however, because of a lack of evidence.

????GMAC put the business up for grabs. ETS fought it out with three other rivals and lost its contract. The emerging winner was Pearson VUE, a part of Pearson Plc, the largest commercial testing company and education publisher in the world. Wilson contracted with ACT (American College Testing) based in Iowa for the development of the test, while Pearson took over the administration and distribution of the exam.

????The break with ETS led to a substantial increase in staff for GMAC. Today, the organization has in-house capability to do test design, research, marketing, and technology support. "We had to start managing our own research to build our own test questions so we added a psychometric group," explains Wilson. "We built a more efficient algorithm for choosing the questions."

????Wilson successfully fended off an aggressive effort by ETS to grab market share away when it began in 2011 to promote the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as an alternative to the GMAT. ETS conceded recently that only 2% of surveyed respondents sat for its exam with the objective of applying to an MBA program. Wilson plowed ahead, launching in 2012 a next-generation GMAT exam with a new section called Integrated Reasoning, which measures a candidate's ability to evaluate information. In an R&D effort lasting more than three years and involving dozens of business school deans, admissions officials, faculty, and corporate recruiters, GMAC spent $11 million to get the section into the test.

????All these changes occurred while GMAC became far more candid than ETS ever was about a test taker's ability to improve their performance on the test. Reminded that ETS used to tell prospective students that they couldn't really study for the exam, Wilson lets out a laugh. "There's no question that you can do better on the test if you study for it. That's a good thing. It's like any sport or any skill." GMAC's own research shows that 60 to 100 hours of study can improve a person's score by an average of 30 points. "There are some who jump by 100 points because they hadn't prepped at all," adds Wilson, who was succeeded as CEO on Jan. 1 by Sangeet Chowfla, a former executive at HP (HPQ).

????By all accounts, Wilson has done a spectacular job in making GMAC a highly professional organization with a secure financial footing. "I would give him the highest grade you could imagine," says Bill Broesamle, Wilson's predecessor at GMAC. "We had little staff, no infrastructure, and no reach beyond ETS. I think it had run its course. Dave was right to go in a much different direction."

????For his successor, there is much uncertainty at GMAC. Can the organization find a way to test for innovation and creativity in prospective students? Will the exam survive competition from less expensive alternatives in emerging economies? Will the inevitable unbundling of education through free MOOC courses and online programs lessen the need for an entry exam altogether? If anything, thanks to Wilson, Chowfla has inherited a stable and strong organization with the financial clout to weather a storm.

????Ask Wilson what his proudest accomplishment is over the 18 years he served as president and CEO and he will immediately give credit to the team he put together. "I managed to find 150 of the best people in the world," he says, "and they have pretty much carried me over the years."

????But he has also managed to create a significantly larger non-profit, with 30 times the number of employees he inherited, along with some very generously compensated employees. When a prominent business school dean was recently asked to guess what Wilson made in a year, he said about $400,000, which is not much more than one fifth of the reported compensation for GMAC's president and CEO in 2012.