America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 381 Let's follow the rules.

Who says scholars are all honest people?

If you step forward, I'd be doing a disservice to my multi-billion dollar status if I didn't kick you into the Atlantic Ocean to feed the fish today.

Ernst stood in the corridor of Bell Labs, the veins on his forehead throbbing so hard they looked like Morse code.

In just half an hour, thirty million US dollars seemed to have grown wings and disappeared all at once.

Didn't we say we were going in for a cup of coffee?

He didn't even get a cup of the other person's instant coffee, nor did he see a paper cup.

Carl Weller, standing beside him, was like a cat eyeing cheese, his eyes filled with vigilance.

He pushed up the thick glasses on his nose that could be used as bulletproof glass, and emphasized, word by word, "This thirty million US dollars is an agreement you personally reached with Schmidt, and it absolutely cannot be counted in the five hundred million research and development funding."

This was a research and development budget that Ernst promised to woo researchers at Carl and Bell Labs, amounting to no less than one billion dollars annually, excluding their salaries.

The year is already halfway over, so Ernst approved $500 million in R&D funding for this year.

Seeing Ernst turn his head to look over, thinking that the big boss was going to back out, Carl immediately started complaining, his tone as aggrieved as an old bachelor whose wife had been stolen: "You know, the lab gets hundreds of research applications every year, and I have to treat them all equally. If I really give the 30 million to Schmidt, the people in the other project teams will tear down my office door."

""

Ernst listened to Karl's dramatic display of poverty and couldn't help but curl his lip. "Don't worry, this is my personal funding."

Ernst is now a super-rich man with hundreds of billions of dollars, and arguing with the other party over thirty million dollars would be beneath him.

The wariness in Karl's eyes vanished instantly; his change of expression was as swift as that of a Washington politician.

The two continued walking down the corridor when Ernst suddenly stopped abruptly, as if a pause button had been pressed, and turned to walk back.

Carl, quick as a flash, grabbed him, his expression as if he could read minds, and said slowly, "Don't worry, Dr. Schmidt and I won't tell anyone."

"How did you know what I was thinking?" Ernst's eyes widened.

He suddenly realized a serious problem: if the other project teams knew that Schmidt had pocketed an extra 30 million from him, given the madness of the researchers he had seen today, he probably wouldn't be able to leave this room today.

This group doesn't care if you're a big boss or not; if they feel the funds are being allocated unfairly, it won't matter if you run away.

It doesn't matter if they can't find you. Just go to the door of any of his companies in Silicon Valley and sit there. Who can do anything about these guys?

When the media reports it, with headlines like "Ernst is stingy with R&D funding, researchers protest in the streets," that'll be quite a spectacle.

Carl didn't answer directly, but just smiled meaningfully and continued walking forward.

Ernst watched his retreating figure and suddenly understood.

No wonder this guy became the head of Bell Labs; how could he handle those difficult researchers without emotional intelligence?

The two continued their stroll, and when they reached the third floor, Carl stopped and pointed to a sign at the end of the corridor, explaining, "The entire third floor is a research area in the field of communications, covering multiple areas such as communication technology, network technology, and communication equipment. This is Bell Labs' specialty; from the invention of the telephone to fiber optic technology, everything originated from here."

As expected of a century-old establishment, its signature product is much larger than other projects.

But as he walked, he frowned. "Wait a minute, when the company split up, weren't a lot of communication technologies left to Shannon Laboratories and the Telephone and Telegraph Corporation?"

"They only transferred one-third of their researchers, and the patents for communication technology are all in Bell Labs' hands."

Ernst's eyes lit up instantly. "Telephone & Telegraph Corporation, just you wait."

Unlike the second floor, each office on the third floor is quite large, creating a bright and spacious atmosphere. The only problem is that it feels a bit empty; I didn't see many people around.

The documents on the table were piled up neatly, the computer screen was lit, and the whiteboard was covered with formulas. It looked messy but orderly. Where did everyone go?

Did you skip work?

Or was it a mass strike?

Carl smiled and asked, "Do you know how many researchers Bell Labs has? Nearly 20,000. About 40% of them, or over 8,000, are involved in communications. Do you think this floor of office space is enough for over 8,000 people?"

Ernst glanced back at the corridor he had come from. Although each floor was large and the corridor was long, it was still a bit of a stretch to accommodate more than 8,000 people working, not to mention so many support staff.

He shook his head, waiting for Karl's explanation.

"Because these people might not come here for more than ten days at a time, and I suspect some of them haven't even been here at all, they're just spending their time in the lab."

"These offices were used for their paperwork, finding and storing documents, and drawing. But apart from the older generation, no one wants to do these things in the office anymore."

He pointed to an empty office and continued, "Especially drawing. In the past, drawing a circuit board required several people working together, using pencils and rulers for several days. Now? With a computer and a few software programs, you can do it all yourself in the lab."

"Besides, the lab has the equipment, so we can test it right away after we finish drawing it. It's so convenient."

Ernst listened to Karl's words and couldn't help but give him a look that said, "Don't try to trick me."

Why are you explaining so much to me?

After all this, isn't the point to praise these researchers for their hard work, which is so great that they don't even have time for their offices?

Isn't this just a way of implying that I should give more funding?

"Why are you taking me to see the office area? Let's just go to the lab, okay?"

Karl stopped, turned around, and stared at Ernst for a long time, his eyes thoughtful, as if he were studying a complex physics problem.

Ernst felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze, and wondered to himself: "Do I have flowers growing on my face?"

Just as Ernst was about to ask, Karl suddenly said solemnly, "You don't meet the requirements."

.

"What do you mean?" Ernst was stunned for a moment, not understanding.

"Bell Labs has a rule that no one other than researchers can enter the lab on non-public days," Carl explained.

"I've been thinking about whether you qualify as a research scholar. Although everyone says you're an internet genius who has created so many successful companies, I haven't seen any outstanding technological achievements of yours."

Ernst almost couldn't help but curse.

So you were looking at me for so long just to see if I had the skills?

Is there even a need to consider this?

What skills could a playboy like me possibly have?

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger, and asked, "What if I want to go in and take a look?"

"There is a way," Karl nodded. "We have two open days every month, during which ordinary people can visit the lab. Of course, you have to apply first."

Ernst's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. I am the big boss of Bell Labs, the sugar daddy who pays for these people, and now I have to apply to visit my own lab and wait for those two open days every month.

If this gets out, won't other entrepreneurs laugh at us to death?

No wonder Telephone and Lucent wanted to sell Bell Labs before. Anyone would get high blood pressure from all those ridiculous rules.

"But you definitely don't need to apply; you can come and go freely on open days," Karl said, seeing Ernst's expression.

Seeing that Ernst's expression had not improved at all, Karl added, "This rule was set by Mr. Bell back then, and later Mr. Shannon improved it by adding an application and review process. Over the years, no one has dared to change it."

Well, our escape route is blocked too.

Who is Mr. Bell? He was the inventor of the telephone and the founder of Bell Labs.

Who is Mr. Shannon? He is the founder of information theory and a spiritual idol for countless researchers, not only at Bell Labs but all over the world.

With these two experts brought up, Ernst knew that if he dared to suggest changing the rules, these researchers would fight him to the death.

It's not that it can't be changed at all, but if changing the rules discourages researchers and causes the team to fall apart, then the loss would be huge.

Ernst could only sigh inwardly, but pretended to be indifferent on the surface.

As he walked, a question suddenly came to mind: Bell Labs has so many top-notch technologies, but many of them have failed to be transformed into products and instead benefited other companies. Is this because of these rules?

If your own company doesn't even know what technologies it's developing in the lab, it'll be difficult to commercialize them!

He paused for a moment, looked at Carl, and solemnly established a rule: "Once Bell Labs headquarters moves to California, all existing technologies, as well as those being developed by researchers, must be recorded in detail on the computer."

"You need to develop an internal management software program that clearly outlines the application scope, development progress, advantages compared to existing technologies, and potential for improvement for each technology. My requirement is that when I want to look it up, I should be able to immediately understand what these technologies can be used for and what benefits they can bring to the company."

Since you researchers prefer freedom and don't want to be controlled, then I'll put a shackle on you.

You all believe in rules, right? Then let's do things officially and follow the proper procedures. Nobody can be ambiguous.

Upon hearing this, Karl hesitated, clearly unwilling.

Ernst ignored him, his tone leaving no room for argument: "I know the researchers are sometimes busy and don't have time to keep these records. But are all the support staff and administrative personnel the lab spends so much money on every year just sitting around doing nothing? Don't tell me they can't even do something as simple as organizing technical data."

Carl opened his mouth but no sound came out, and in the end he could only nod in agreement.

Ernst felt a little better. "You little brat, I can't handle you."

If you have any objections, I'll fire you on the spot.