????本周一，谷歌令人驚訝地宣布它將更名為Alphabet。乍看上去，這更像是HBO情景喜劇《硅谷》中的情節，而不是真實事件。這個名字就像劇中那家大公司“Hooli”一樣二。不過Hooli最終讓我們相信，名字雖傻，但它的價值仍可以超過4000億美元。

????當然，谷歌兩位創始人的態度極為嚴肅。向美國證監會提交申請后，拉里·佩奇和謝爾蓋·布林輕松愉快地把他們讀研究生時的發明變成了一家財源滾滾的控股公司。谷歌名下保留了那些傳統業務，包括搜索、廣告、YouTube和安卓，將由桑德爾·皮查伊擔任負責人。我曾在今年5月底采訪過皮查伊，他給我的印象是有一種巧妙的平衡手腕，領導谷歌高瞻遠矚而不急于向市場要回報。Alphabet則囊括了那些看似荒誕不經的實驗，如自動駕駛汽車、Google X、和健康有關的科研，還有像Nest這樣不走尋常路的創新，以及兩家投資機構。包括經營情況穩定的谷歌在內，Alphabet將由兩位創始人和執行董事長、前CEO埃里克·施密特共同掌控。

????這番調整最明顯原因是要令公司結構變得一目了然。今年晚些時候，谷歌披露的業績將分成兩塊，一塊是核心業務，另一塊是非核心業務；投資者將更好地體會到前者令人贊嘆的實力，以及后者如流水般的支出（周一，《財富》雜志撰稿人艾琳·格里菲斯敏銳地指出，盡管有著眾多異想天開的項目，谷歌本質上仍是一家廣告公司）。倘若今后Alphabet想要放棄、剝離任何非核心業務或者為其創立新的資本結構，那么這次分家會讓以后的事情變得簡單。

????另外還有三個因素可能也發揮了作用。

????首先，拉里·佩奇可以重新扮演施密特執掌谷歌時他所喜歡的那個角色，也就是一個手握大權的天才，守著他（拿著高薪）的“成年監護人”。佩奇不想管那么多事，只想把全部精力用在自己的夢想上，而且他在這個領域顯然出類拔萃。對此，誰又能責怪他呢？只是這次的情況有所不同。現在，佩奇也是一名成年人，而且他監管的那些成年人里還包括皮查伊。佩奇撰文解釋了本次更名行動，并且機智地把自己放在了資產分配者的位置上。在這方面，許多人視沃倫·巴菲為楷模。不過，每位CEO都有配置資產的職責（在谷歌，布林從未充當過要求嚴格的管理者，他的定位實際上沒有變化）。

????其次，通過提拔皮查伊這位既有能力又有可能備受支持的高管，佩奇在人才層面制造了一次積極的多米諾效應。具有商業頭腦的早期成員奧米德·柯德斯塔尼多年前曾風光退休，回歸沒多久又再次成為Alphabet和谷歌的顧問。同時，佩奇還發出了一個強烈信號，以前只有技術高管可以夢想成為谷歌掌舵人。但隨著這位負責產品的高管被擢升，而負責經營的高管被撤掉后，這讓所有的奮斗者都有了升遷機會，而谷歌也從不缺乏這些努力奮斗的人。

????最大的贏家也許是谷歌資歷最淺的高管之一、首席財務官露絲?波拉特，她還成了Alphabet的CFO（佩奇、布林、施密特和負責企業發展的大衛?德拉蒙德都只在Alphabet任職）。谷歌是投資者眼中的金童，但有時會讓他們感到失望，他們則極為迫切地期望谷歌提高透明度；剛剛從華爾街跳槽而來的波拉特也許是向谷歌的老經營團隊說明這一切的最佳人選。波拉特的大多數職業生涯都在金融行業度過，在那里她一直唱紅臉；對于Alphabet今后的投資，波拉特則可能需要大唱白臉。（財富中文網）

????譯者：Charlie

????校對：詹妮

????Google’s startling announcement Monday that it will change its name to Alphabet initially seemed more plot turn from the HBO comedy series “Silicon Valley” than real life. Having finally convinced us that a company with a silly name can be worth more than $400-billion, Hooli up and decides it wants an equally meaningless moniker.

????Google’s co-founders are dead serious, of course. With a wave of their collective hand, and a securities filing for proof, Larry Page and Sergey Brin converted their lucrative grad-school invention into a holding company. Google lives as the company’s legacy business, which includes search, advertising, YouTube, and Android. Its boss will be the earnest Sundar Pichai, whom I interviewed in late May as he showed a knack for balancing Google’s ability to aim high without quickly asking for the sale. Alphabet will house the company’s goofier experiments, including its self-driving car, Google X, and health-related investigations as well as more offbeat creations like Nest and two investment arms. Alphabet, which includes Google itself in its stable of businesses, will be run by the co-founders plus executive chairman and former CEO Eric Schmidt.

????The most obvious reason for the shift is clarity. When Google later this year starts reporting two financial segments—core and non-core—investors will have a better sense of the amazing strength of the former and the profligate spending of the latter. (Fortune’s Erin Griffith astutely pointed out Monday that for all its “moonshots,” Google fundamentally remains an advertising company.) Should the future Alphabet decide it wants to ditch, separate, or create new capital structures for any of its non-core businesses, the new division will facilitate matters.

????Three other factors likely are at play.

????First, Larry Page gets to return to the role he enjoyed while Schmidt helmed Google, that of controlling genius watching over his (extremely well compensated) adult supervisor. Who can blame Page for wanting to throttle back on responsibility and devote himself to dreaming, something at which he appears to excel? This time, though, there’s a difference. Page now is the adult overseeing his fellow adults, including Pichai. In an essay explaining the move, Page adroitly has cast himself in the role of asset allocator. Many tip their hat to Warren Buffett as the model here, but allocating assets is the job of every CEO. (Brin never stepped up to a demanding executive role at Google; his status is effectively unchanged.)

????Second, Page sets in motion a positive domino effect of talent moves by promoting Pichai, a capable and potentially woo-able executive. Early business-minded employee Omid Kordestani, who had retired rich years ago, ends his short-lived return by becoming an Alphabet and Google advisor. Page also has sent a powerful internal message that only technical executives need ever dream of running Google. But with the elevation of the top product executive and the removal of the top business executive all sorts of strivers now have an opportunity to ascend, strivers not being in short supply at Google.

????Perhaps the biggest winner here is one of Google newest executives, Ruth Porat, who remains chief financial officer at Google and takes on the same role at Alphabet. (Page, Brin, Schmidt, and corporate development chief David Drummond will toil only for Alphabet.) Newly arrived from Wall Street, Porat would have been in the best position to explain to Google’s long-serving executive team how badly investors want transparency from its sometimes frustrating golden child. Porat may well need to play “bad cop” in the future regarding Alphabet’s investments, yet already she has played “good cop” to the financial industry, where she spent the bulk of her career.