“I was too hasty.”
Billy Kates advised his friend and successor CEO Smith Balmer that evening.
“Was I?”
“Of course, developing an operating system for PDAs is not a bad choice since PDAs will grow much more in the future, but we are not prepared at all right now.”
“But we have Windows, don’t we?”
“That’s not enough. By the time we complete developing Windows for PDAs, they will already have a more advanced operating system.”
“No, I believe in your abilities. You will probably have it all developed before then.”
Is it because he focuses more on business than development?
Smith Balmer brushed it off lightly like this.
Billy Kates couldn’t help but frown.
It felt like watching a child who grew up without knowing hardship.
‘This guy… he isn’t desperate because he has the reliable crutch of the PC operating system and office software.’
Even bitter words can only go so far. It’s not like there are alternatives to Smith Balmer.
‘There was no other choice.’
If he abandoned a friend who has been loyal to Macro Soft in unseen places for 20 years, would the other executives recognize the new CEO?
The answer was ‘No.’
Moreover, if his friend Smith Balmer became CEO, he could exert more influence from behind.
In the end, he thought he had to supplement behind the scenes even if Smith Balmer made immature decisions occasionally.
“We will develop it, but I can’t guarantee we will make a better operating system.”
“That’s not like you to talk weak…”
“It’s not weak talk. As you know, I don’t even start a fight I can’t win.”
“Is it that serious? Jumping into the PDA operating system?”
“I’ll say it again. It’s a good decision to jump into the PDA operating system. But impulsively competing because of a word from Hyun-woo Lee this morning will do more harm than good. Think about it a little. Do we really need to partner with Guseong Electronics?”
“Indeed… We could have cooperated with another manufacturer.”
“It would have been much better. Rather, we could have demanded various things from a dominant position. But Guseong Electronics is different. This seems to mean they are dominant, and we are subordinate.”
“I didn’t think that far.”
“The funnier part is that Jungle is using Guseong Electronics to secure a dominant position. We are just playing a supporting role.”
“Ah…”
“Still, considering your face, I didn’t actively stop it, but next time, think more carefully.”
“How about subtly backing out instead?”
“Subtly backing out?”
“Yes. We haven’t signed a contract anyway, so as you said, we can choose a new manufacturer and make the PDA to our liking.”
“That won’t do.”
“Why not? This isn’t against business ethics to this extent.”
“That won’t do either.”
Smith Balmer furrowed his brows and tilted his head.
What’s the big deal? Being moderately shameless is Billy Kates’ strength, but why isn’t it showing at this moment?
“But it would be like avoiding the fight they started.”
“No, we could gain greater benefits, so why can’t we just avoid it for the sake of pride?”
“It’s not pride.”
“What? Then…”
“We already made a verbal promise. Even if we didn’t sign a contract, if we break our promise and avoid it in another way, Hyun-woo Lee will spread rumors. The world is already criticizing us for forcibly bundling the web browser; if we break even a verbal promise, what will happen? This will give Macro Soft another fatal blow to its credibility.”
He had pretended to step back from the front lines early to cover that up.
So now, it is better to quietly participate in the competition first.
“Let’s see how things go later. Anyway, legal battles will continue, and as time goes by, public opinion might turn more favorable towards us. Shareholders will come back, and they will stand by our side with the mindset of not wanting to incur losses. Then, we will have other choices.”
“Ah…”
Smith Balmer exclaimed in admiration. Billy Kates indeed sees a few steps ahead. Isn’t he fixing the trouble caused like this even now?
“I was foolish. I really have a lot to learn.”
“Yes, in a few more years, you will make much wiser decisions than I do. Until then, I hope you make more careful decisions.”
Smith Balmer nodded.
He wasn’t someone who would put up unnecessary pride in front of Billy Kates.
He believed that for business, one must endure with reason, not emotions.
Therefore, it was first to clean up the mess, and since Billy Kates gave such advice, he just decided to follow it unconditionally.
Seeing him, Billy Kates brought up the task for the next day.
“Of all things, we are meeting with Guseong Electronics tomorrow.”
“Could it be he already told?”
“Haven’t you seen him over time? He is a man of quick action when he decides.”
“Right…”
“Moreover, besides Hyun-woo Lee, there is also Sung-moo Kim in Guseong. His business acumen is also remarkable.”
“Hmm…”
“You have to be well-prepared. To deal with Sung-moo Kim tomorrow. He will probably try to entangle us firmly with today’s words.”
Frankly, Billy Kates could only predict up to here.
In other words, since he didn’t know what card Sung-moo Kim would bring the next day, it was difficult to prepare.
‘This is the problem with stepping down from the CEO.’
On the surface, the final decision was to be made by Smith Balmer.
The moment he went against this system, the world would know that Billy Kates was pulling the strings from behind.
Even now, many people vaguely predicted it.
So, it was Billy Kates’ task not to give the impression of openly controlling things.
‘Sigh…’
He sighed internally. He couldn’t resent the U.S. Department of Justice for indicting him on antitrust laws more.
As expected, the next day, Sung-moo Kim started talking about various business matters and subtly brought up PDAs at the end.
“I hear that I am on friendly terms with the CEO of Jungle. He told me yesterday that our company had some good news. When I asked what it was, he said we might be able to install the Windows operating system on the PDA we are developing. I asked if that was possible, and he gave me very detailed information. He said if I asked Mr. Balmer at this meeting today, he would give an immediate answer. He said Mr. Balmer never goes back on his word. Hahaha.”
“Hahaha…”
Smith Balmer laughed awkwardly, sweating profusely.
‘It’s finally starting.’
Even after hearing Billy Kates’ warning the day before, directly facing it made it hard to count how many sly tricks Sung-moo Kim had up his sleeve.
In short, what he said meant to keep the promise.
As Billy Kates mentioned, it was something they couldn’t avoid.
“That’s how it is. Recently, for the past year or two, we have known that Guseong Electronics has been releasing many innovative products. The PDA is one of them, but I have read reports saying the recognition hasn’t been raised yet, so the penetration rate is low. However, it was written that it has great potential. So, there’s no reason why our Windows shouldn’t be installed on the PDA.”
“Indeed… That’s right. Hyun-woo Lee was not wrong. Hahaha.”
“Hahaha…”
“As you know, making one PDA requires over hundreds of parts. Sometimes we have to make parts ourselves because they are not available, and each time, the research and development costs are enormous. Sometimes, when I ask the related departments and persons in charge whether we really need to make them, they answer that innovation that changes the world is more valuable than money. Even though Guseong Electronics is a much smaller company than Macro Soft, hearing such words makes it impossible not to invest.”
Smith Balmer almost nodded unknowingly. Then he saw Billy Kates’ sharp eyes sparkle beside him, so he held back and laughed awkwardly again.
Soon, the sly chairman’s voice was heard again.
“So, we took a risk and made the first PDA. The market response exceeded our expectations. We didn’t make a big profit, but we got greedy. We wanted to make it better. At such a time, the opportunity to install Windows came, so how happy do you think we are? Hahaha.”
“Hahaha…”
Having nothing to say, he could only keep laughing. And without stopping, Sung-moo Kim continued.
“Thank you, Mr. Balmer, for joining us in the innovation that changes the world.”
“No, it’s something we must do our best for. Moreover, the market wants it.”
“That’s right. The market wants it. Therefore, if we can mass-produce this, profits will naturally follow. I don’t know how much the marketing costs will be, but we will actively promote this PDA.”
“That’s great.”
Smith Balmer quickly accepted that Guseong Electronics would be responsible for the marketing costs.
But the following proposal was not easy to agree to.
“If we can also give trust to the market, it would be perfect, right? In that sense, how about we exchange stocks for the mutual success of our businesses?”
“……!”
Smith Balmer was surprised, and Billy Kates was at a loss for words at the unexpected proposal.
In fact, it was hard to refuse.
‘This could be a win-win situation.’
Although Guseong Electronics was smaller, it was one of the largest companies in Korea.
Considering its future growth potential, it was rated higher than many Japanese electronics companies.
So it was not easy to reject it.
“Stock exchange, you say?”
“Yes, that’s right. Oh, and if this is burdensome, we can include one more company.”
“One more company, you mean…”
“Of course, Jungle. It’s a three-party stock exchange deal. Personally, I don’t think it’s a bad idea. What do you think?”
In reality, it wasn’t a bad deal.
Since Billy Kates declared to hand over the CEO position, Macro Soft had been on a downward slope.
Watching the stock price plummet every day, Billy Kates and Smith Balmer saw their combined stake of about 40% drop in value.
But trading it for the gradually rising stock of Guseong Electronics and the most anticipated stock of Jungle?
Smith Balmer looked at Billy Kates.
Then his friend’s head slightly nodded.
Smiling, Smith Balmer said.
“We couldn’t be happier.”
