Booktalk Summary: The Success of Chip Island: TSMC, Semiconductors and Chip Wars, a 30 year history.

I recently attended a great book talk with author 林宏文 Hung-wen Lin on the rise of TSMC at CAREhER, an executive leadership organization in APAC that empowers women through community connections, conscious content and curated experiences.

The title of the book can be roughly translated as: “The Success of Chip Island: TSMC, Semiconductors and Chip Wars, a 30 year history.” It narrates both a business and human drama, think other titles like Bad Blood, Glossy, the Men Who Would be King, and the Big Short. An English language publication of the book is in the works, but the tagline can be understood as From Made in Taiwan to Made by Taiwan.

Couple of call-outs from the book and the talk:

• TSMC’s successes are based on combining aspects of American and Taiwanese business culture: strong customer service orientation, continuous innovation including lowering costs passed to customers, staying firm on pricing to avoid commoditization, and a problem-solving first culture
• Overall, it’s an empathetic management culture combined with a militaristic devotion and discipline, the strong pursuit of talent, and talent retention in a way that isn’t seen often both in the United States and Taiwan
• Long-term strategic thinking in every aspect, even restraint to make sure the market environment stays in their favor, such as when filing IP lawsuits to not go overboard and create unfavorable market conditions, such as avoiding destructive power vacuums in the market if a competitor suffers too much despite the IP theft
• Insights on how Taiwanese businesses operate in a partnership model vs trying to be a kingmaker or crowder outer like today’s Korean chaebols, and the China of 2010s, and the Japan of the 1980s
• Calling out how the role of government is overblown in certain American narratives, such as Chris Miller’s Chip War
• Cooperation between Japan and the United State will bring continued opportunities

Highly recommend this book to business book enthusiasts and those trying to learn more about the chip industry. An English language version is on the way.

我最近參加了CAREhER舉辦的台積電及台灣的半導體產業的崛起的精彩書籍講座。這本書《 晶片島上的光芒 》的敘述融合了商業和人性的故事，和本書相似的其他書例如Bad Blood, Glossy, the Men Who Would be King, and The Big Short。目前雖然這本書的英文翻譯版正在製作中，但從這本書的英語標題就可以知道是從台灣製造到台灣創造。

從書和講座中作者有提出的一些有趣的觀點：

• 台積電能一直處於的領先地位來自於結合美國和台灣的商業模式特徵，例如：以客戶成功成為導向、持續進步、以及包括降低成本使客戶受益，同時保持固定價格以免商品化。
• 台積電擁有獨特的員工心理管理文化並且結合軍事管理和紀律, 積極追求海外人才，並以在美國和台灣都不常見的獨特方式留住人才。
• 在各方面都有思考的策略，甚至以行動上的限制，來確保市場自然地維持在對他們最理想的環境狀態。即使再提起知識產權訟訴時，也不會過度打壓對手，這是因為如果競爭對手遭受太多損失，可能會在市場中造成權力真空，就無法意外地製造不利的市場條件。
• 另外，這本書指出再有一些美國敘事，像是Chris Miller’s Chip把政府角色過度美化。而台灣的晶片產業成功更取決擁有一個重視效率和創業性的社會。
• 台灣代工企業是以一個合作夥伴模式運營，而不是像韓國的財閥、1980年代的日本和2010年代的中國那樣試圖成為商業界王者。做一個不具備做強國野心的小國家，台灣以代工結構的經濟專注於幫助其他夥伴取得成功，而不是試圖超越他們。
• 與日本和美國的合作將會為各方帶來機會。