Exposure: Inside the Olympus Scandal: How I Went from CEO to Whistleblower (2012) by Michael Woodford (Author)

告密者：Olympus前執行長捨命揭露20年假帳的故事

 It's a corrupt giant Japanese company. That's why Japan had a lost 20 years. Plutocrcy is the answer of all the enigma about Japan . As Van Wolferen, 
Karel said in "The Enigma of Japanese Power " : 
「Japanese power is described as being held by a loose group of unaccountable elites who operate behind the scenes. Because this power is loosely held, those who wield it escape responsibility for the consequences when things go wrong as there is no one who can be held accountable.」en.wikipedia
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 amazon.com
博客來 告密者：Olympus前執行長捨命揭露20年假帳的故事

“It was no comfort to know that I was making history, for the forced removal of a company president is almost unheard of in Japan. I rose quietly, left the room, and holding my head high, walked back to my office. My main goal was to escape as quickly as pos­sible. The board had seemed scared—why else would they have acted the way they did. But just what were they scared of?”

When Michael Woodford was made president of Olympus—the company to which he had dedi­cated thirty years of his career—he became the first Westerner ever to climb the ranks of one of Japan’s corporate giants. Some wondered at the appointment—how could a gaijin who didn’t even speak Japanese understand how to run a Japanese company? But within months Wood­ford had gained the confidence of most of his colleagues and shareholders. Unfortunately, soon after, his dream job turned into a nightmare.

The trouble began when Woodford learned about a series of bizarre mergers and aquisi­tions deals totaling  $1.7 billion—ascandal that threatened to bring down the entire company if exposed. He turned to his fellow executives— including the chairman who had promoted him Tsuyoshi Kikukawa—for answers. But instead of being heralded as a hero for trying to save the company, Woodford was met with vague responses and hostility—a clear sign of a cover up. Undeterred, he demanded to be made CEO so he could have more leverage with his board and continue to search for the truth. Then, just weeks after being granted the top title, he was fired in a boardroom coup that shocked Japan and the business world at large. Worried his for­mer bosses might try to silence him, Woodford immediately fled the country in fear of his life and went straight to the press—making him the first CEO of a global multinational to blow the whistle on his own company.

Following his dismissal, Woodford faced months of agonizing pressure that at times threatened his health and his family life. But instead of suc­cumbing he persisted, and eventually the men who had ousted him were held to account. Now, Woodford recounts his almost unbelievable true story—from the e-mail that first alerted him to the scandal, to the terrifying rumors of involve­ment with the Japanese mafia, to the stream of fruitless denials that continued to emanate from Olympus in an effort to cover up the scandal. He also paints a devastating portrait of corporate Japan—an insular, hierarchy-driven culture that prefers maintaining the status quo to exposing ugly truths.

The result is a deeply personal memoir that reads like a thriller narrative. As Woodford puts it, “I thought I was going to run a health-care and consumer electronics company, but found I had walked into a John Grisham novel.”

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麥可．伍德福特是第一位從業務員做起，
花30年爬上日本大企業CEO的西方專業經理人。
卻在上任兩週後，因為質疑一筆17億美元的奇怪款項，
被一手拔擢他的貴人背叛、抹黑、解聘！
他以為他將治理一家大公司，
卻發現自己走進驚悚小說家約翰．葛里遜的《黑色豪門企業》……

主角被《時代》、《金融時報》等全球四大報業
首次同步選為年度企業家

「這令人感到不安。我正在締造歷史，日本的公司總裁被踢出門幾乎是前所未聞的事……我安靜起身，離開會議室，刻意把頭抬高，走回自己的辦公室……腦子裡唯一的念頭是趕快逃離這個地方……董事會似乎疑懼不安，但他們在怕什麼？」

在麥可．伍德福特（Michael Woodford）被任命為奧林巴斯總裁兼執行長那一刻，他成了有史以來第一位在日本知名企業循序漸進爬上頂峰的西方人。
　　不少人對這個任命感到詫異──一個不懂日語的「外人」（日語發音gaijin，指外國人），怎麼會懂如何經營一家日本企業？然而幾個月後，伍德福特就贏得同事與股東的信任。
　　沒想到，他的夢幻工作卻成了一場噩夢。
　　他得知公司一連串總金額達十七億美元的詭異購併案。這樁醜聞一旦曝光，整家公司可能危在旦夕。他向其他高層尋求答案，包括當初提拔他的董事長。然而不但沒有人因為他試圖挽救奧林巴斯而視他為英雄，反倒是敵意排山倒海而來，試圖掩蓋真相。
　　不過幾個禮拜，他在一場董事會政變中被踢出門，此事震驚國際企業界。由於傳聞日本黑道也涉入其中，伍德福特不得不搭機逃離日本。他直接訴諸媒體，成為第一位向外界告密的跨國企業執行長。
　　離開日本後，他面對數個月壓力煎熬，自己健康與家人安危都受到威脅。但他堅持下去，沒有屈服，最後驅逐他的人被繩之以法。
　　故事敘述麥可．伍德福特沒有選擇保住自己數百萬美元高薪，而選擇揭露真相──他一生所奉獻公司的黑心醜聞。此外，他讓人看到日本企業令人震驚的一面──這個國家的企業文化與世隔絕、高度重視階層，偏好維持現狀，不願揭露醜陋事實。
　　這是一本相當私人的回憶錄，讀起來有如驚悚小說。如同伍德福特本人所言：「我以為自己將經營一家健康照護暨消費電子產品公司，但卻發現自己走進驚悚小說家約翰．葛里遜（John Grisham）的作品。」
本書特色

　　1.轟動全球！世紀醜聞案第一手告白
　　奧林巴斯，曾經的光學醫療視鏡霸主、相機巨人，一夕涉入併購舞弊案。總裁伍德福特不畏威脅、不計名利，藉助國際媒體力量曝光這件驚天醜聞，震驚全球。
　　主角伍德福特回憶錄首次問世，眾所矚目案件的幕後真相就此揭開……
　　2.精彩刺激更勝小說的真人實事，已售出電影改編權
　　素來排外的日本企業突然升任外國人伍德福特為總裁，僅數週就因揭弊而被董事會罷黜，還因為牽涉日本黑幫，生命受威脅而逃出日本，至紐約接受 FBI調查……緊湊跌宕的劇情，猶如約翰．葛里遜的驚悚小說《黑色豪門企業》。改編版權已由電影製片Simon Cornwell（小說家約翰．勒卡雷之子）簽下！醉心小說與電影的讀者，必定拍案叫絕。
　　3.一探國際大企業內幕，MBA的活教材
　　主角身為國際大企業首腦，對戰董事會、迎擊各巨頭，全方位揭露大企業運作的內幕。引領讀者身歷其境，一窺大企業暗藏於財報、新聞、發言人身後的真貌。
　　4.本書迫使讀者回答一個問題: 如果是我，會怎麼做？
　　看到伍德福特向天借膽，一步步投身這場賭上名利，甚至可能賠上身家性命的正義之戰，令人不由得反思: 「他為什麼要這樣做？」、「如何是我，敢不敢？」在伍德福特的邀請下，讀者將不停思索！
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　　★電影改編版權搶手賣出！
作者簡介
麥可．伍德福特（Michael Woodford）
　　長於英國利物浦，後加入奧林巴斯（Olympus）成為醫療設備推銷員，一路往上升，最後掌管公司英國、中東、非洲與歐洲事業。2011年4月 被任命為奧林巴斯總裁暨營運長──他是第一個一路爬上日本大型企業階梯的西方專業經理人。同年十月，他成為CEO，但兩週後就被解聘，因為他質疑一筆17 億美元的奇怪款項。
　　事件揭發後，他被《星期日泰晤士報》、《獨立報》、《太陽報》選為「年度商業人士」，贏得《金融時報》安賽樂米塔爾獎 （ArcelorMittal Award）「年度最勇敢企業人士」（Boldest Business Person of the Year）。他與妻子和兩個青少年孩子定居於倫敦。
譯者簡介
許恬寧
　　台大外文系、師大翻譯所畢。專職譯者，譯有《蘋果內幕》《為什麼我們這樣工作，那樣生活？》等書。