大学英语精读_双语5 (9)

Unit Nine
第九单元
In this world constant changes are a fact of life.
在这个世界里坚决地改变一个生活中的事实。
How to act in this changing world,then,presents a real challenge for executives of big businesses today.
然而在这个变化的世界中怎样去扮演，今天对于大企业的执行出现了一个真正的挑战。
The leader of a big company shoulders great responsibilities.
大公司的领导人肩负着巨大的责任。
Naturally,he wants to be absolutely sure he is doing the right thing.
实际上，他想去绝对地确定他正在做那正确的事情。
But does it follow that he should never take a chance,that he can afford to delay action until he obtains all the information be needs?
但是它是否跟随着他将从不会冒险，并将给予推迟行动，直到他得到所有需要的信息？
A good manager draws on the wisdom of committees.
一个好的经理将会引导智慧的委员会。
But can committees replace individuals?
但是委员会能代替个人吗？
In the selection, the author, a successfel businessman himself,
在这个选集中，那个作者，一个成功的企业家本人，
expounds his views on these questions,throwing light on mature management.
详细说明了在这些问题上的观点，说明了成熟的管理。
THE KEY TO MANAGEMENT
管理的秘诀
by Lee Iacocca
李·亚科卡
If I had to sum up in one word the qualities that make a good manager,I'd say that it all comes down to decisiveness.
如果要我用一个词来总结一下一个优秀的经理所应具备的品质，我会说优秀的经理所应具备的品质可归结为果断二字。
You can use the fanciest computers in the world and you can gather all the charts and numbers,
你可以使用世界上最最复杂的电脑，可以搜集所有的图表和数字，
but in the end you have to bring all your information together,set up a timetable,and act.
但最后你还是不得不集中所有的信息，制定一张时间表，并依此而行动。
And I don't mean act rashly.
但我的意思并不是说鲁莽行事。
In the press,I'm sometimes described as a flamboyant leader and a hip-shooter,a king of fly-by-the-seat-of -the-pants operator.
在报刊上，有时我被描写成一个爱卖弄的领导，一个做事莽撞的人，一个单凭直觉行事的投机商人。
I may occasionally give that impression,but if that image were really true,I could never have been successful in this business.
有时我或许会给人留下这种印象，但如果这种形象真的真实可信的话，我绝不可能在这个行业有所建树。
Actually,my management style has always been pretty conservative.
实际上，我的管理风格向来是相当保守的。
Whenever I've taken risks,it's been after satisfying myself that the research and the market studies supported my instincts.
每次冒险都是在我确信研究工作和市场调查证实了我的直觉

之后才付诸行动的。
I may act on my intuition-but only if my hunches are supported by the facts.
我可能会凭直觉行事——但只有当我的预感得到证实的情况下我才会这么做。
Too many managers let themselves get weighed down in their decision-making,especially those with too much education.
太多的经理在决策时使自己感到压力过重，尤其是那些接受过太多教育的经理。
I once said to Philip Caldwell,who became the top man at Ford after I left:“The trouble with you ,Phil,
我曾经对菲尔·考德威尔（我离开福特公司后，他当上了福特公司的总裁）说过：“菲尔，你的麻烦就在于
is that you went to Harvard,where they taught you not to take any action until you've got all the facts.
你读过哈佛，在那儿他们教你在没有得到所有事实之前不要采取任何行动。
You've got ninety-five percent of them,but it's going to take you another six months to get that last five percent.
你已经得到了百分之九十五的事实，但要得到剩下的百分之五你还要再花六个月的时间。
And by the time you do,your facts will be out of date because the market has already changed.That's what life is all about-timing.”
而当你得到了那最后剩下的百分之五的事实的时候，你所掌握的事实就会因过时而毫无用处，因为市场行情早已发生了变化。这就是生活的全部内涵——时机的掌握。
A good business leader can't operate that way.
一个好的企业领导不能那样做。
It's perfectly natural to want all the facts and to hold out for the research that guarantees a particular program will work.
想要得到所有的事实，并坚持等到研究工作确保某项特定的计划切实可行以后才采取行动，这是再自然不过的事情了。
After all,if you're about to spend $ 300 million on a new product ,you want to be absolutely sure you're on the right track.
如果你要花三亿美元之巨资去开发一种新产品，你毕竟还是希望绝对肯定你的所做所为是正确的。
That's fine in theory,but real life just doesn't work that way.
这在理论上是对的，但在现实生活中却行不通。
Obviously,you're responsible for gathering as many relevant facts and projections as you possibly can.
显然，你有责任尽可能多地搜集相关事实和预测情况。
But at some point you've got to take that leap of faith.
但有时你却不得不根据自己的信念跳一步，断然采取行动。
First ,because even the right decision is wrong if it's made too late.
首先，因为即使是正确的决定如果做得太晚了也会成为错误的决定。
Second, because in most cases there's no such thing as certainty.
其次，因为在多数情况下，生意场上是没有毫无疑问的事的。
There are times when even the best manageer is like the little boy with the big dog waiting to see where the dog wants to go

so he can take him there.
有时即使是最优秀的经理也会象一个牵着一条大狗的小男孩儿了样，停下来看看狗想到哪里去，于是他就把狗牵到那儿。
What constitutes enough information for the decision-maker?
那么决策者需要多少信息才算足够呢？
It's impossible to put a number on it,but clearly when you move ahead with only 50 percent of the facts the odds are stacked against you.
要就此提出一个具体的数字是不可能的，但很显然，如果你只有百分之五十的事实就行动的话，你就会处于很不利的位置。
If that's the case,you had better be very lucky-or else come up with some terrific hunches.
如果事情果真如此的话，你最好是非常幸运——否则就得有极妙的预感。
There are times when that kind of gamble is called for,but it's certainly no way to run a railroad.
有时这种赌博是需要的，但决不能这样来管理铁路。
At the same time,you'll never know 100 percent of what you need.
同时，你永远也不可能百分之百地知道你需要什么。
Like many industries these days,the car business is constantly changing.
象现如今的许多行业一样，汽车业也在不断地变化着。
For us in Detroit,the great challenge is always to figure out what's going to appeal to customers three years down the road.
对于我们这些在底特律的人来说，最大的挑战一直是设法推断出三年后什么样的汽车能吸引顾客。
I'm writing these words in 1984,and we're already planning our models for 1987 and 1988.
我这些话是1984年写的，而我们已经在着手计划1987和1988年可能受顾客欢迎的新的汽车样式了。
Somehow I have to try to predict what's going to sell three and four years from now,
无论如何我不得不设法预测出三至四年后什么样的汽车会畅销，
even though I can't say with any certainty what the public will want next month.
尽管我还不能肯定地说出公众下个月会需要什么样的汽车。
When you don't have all the facts,you sometimes have to draw on you experience.
当你没有掌握所有事实的时候，有时你不得不凭以往的经验来做事了。
Whenever I read in a newspaper that Lee Iacocca likes to shoot from the hip,
每当我在报上读到诸如“李·亚科卡喜欢轻举妄动”的描述时，
I say to myself:“Well,maybe he's been shooting for so long that by this time he has a pretty good idea of how to hit the target.”
我就对自己说：“喔，也许他打猎已经有很久了，所以这会儿他非常清楚怎样才能有的放矢哦！”
To a certain extent,I've always operated by gut feeling.
在某种程度上，我一贯是凭直觉进行管理的。
I like to be in the trenches.
我喜欢深入到堑壕阵地上去。
I was never one of those guys who could just sit around and strategize endlessly.
我决不是那种只会呆坐着没完没了地制订战

略行动计划的决策者。
But there's a new breed of businessmen,mostly people with M.B.A.'s,who are wary of intuitive decisions.
但是有一类新型企业家——大多有工商管理硕士学位，对凭直觉决策小心翼翼。
In part,they're right.Normally,intuition is not a good enough basis for making a move.
在某种程度上他们这种审慎的态度是对的。通常，直觉并不是采取行动的一种足够好的依据。
But many of these guys go to the opposite extreme.
但他们中的许多人却走向了另一个极端。
They seem to think that every business problem can be structured and reduced to a case study.
他们似乎认为企业中的第一个问题都可以加以组织并归纳为一个个案研究。
That may be true in school,but in business there has to be somebody around who will say:“Okay,folks,it's time.Be ready to go in one hour.”
这在学校也许是对的，但在企业中却总要有个人在那儿说：“好了，伙计们，是时候了。准备好一个小时内行动。”
When I read historical accounts of World War II and D-Day,
每当我读到历史书中对第二次世界大战和盟军反攻日的叙述时，
I'm always struck by the same thought:Eisenhower almost blew it because he kept vacillating.
我总是被同一想法所打动：艾森豪威尔差一点使成功的希望成为泡影，因为他一直在踌躇不定。
But finally he said:“No matter what the weather looks like,we have to go ahead now.
但最后他说：“不管天气怎样，我们现在不得不前进了。
Waiting any longer could be even more dangerous.So let's move it!”
再等下去只会更加危险。所以，我们行动吧！”
The same lesson applies to corporate life.
这一教训同样适用于企业生活。
There will always be those who will want to take an extra month or two to do further research on the shape of the roof on a new car.
总会有那么一些人想再用一至两个月的时间来对新车车顶的形状进行进一步研究。
While that research may be helpful ,it can wreak havoc on your production plans.
虽然这种研究或许有用，但它却会给你的整个生产计划造成混乱。
After a certain point,when most of the relevant facts are in ,you find yourself at the mercy of the law of diminishing returns.
过了某一时刻，当大多数相关的事实掌握在手时，你就会发现自己只有听凭报酬递减律摆布了。
That's why a certain amount of risk-taking is essential.I realize it's not for everybody.
这就是为什么必须冒一定的风险的原因所在。我知道不是人人都必须冒险。
There are some people who won't leave home in the morning without an umbrella even if the sun is shining.
有些人早晨若不带把伞是不会离开家的，既便是阳光灿烂也如此。
Unfortunately,the world doesn't always wait for you while you try to anticipate your losses.
遗憾的是，在你试图预料

你的损失时，世界并不总是停下来等你。
Sometimes you just have to take a chance-and correct your mistakes as you go along.
有时你只得去冒险——接着一边前进一边改正你的错误。
Back in the 1960s and through most of the 1970s,these things didn't matter as much as they do now.
追溯到六十年代和七十年代的大部分时间里，这些事情并不象现在这样显得这么重要。
In those days the car industry was like a golden goose.We were making money almost without trying.
那时，汽车工业就象一只会下金蛋的鹅。我们几乎不必付出努力就能赚到大钱。
But today,few businesses can afford the luxury of slow decision-making,
然而在今天，无论是涉及到一个人的工作安排不当，
whether it involves a guy who's in the wrong job or the planning of a whole new line of cars five years down the road.
或者是涉及到五年后一个完整的新车系列的规划，没有哪个企业能够付担起慢条斯里决策的“奢华”代价。
Despite what the textbooks say,most important decisions in corporate life are made by individuals,
无论教科书上是怎样说的，企业生活中的绝大多数重要的决策是由个人作出的，
not by committees.My policy has always been to be democratic all the way to the point of decision.
而不是由委员会作出的。我的一贯政策是：决策之前尽可能地发扬民主，
Then I become the ruthless commander.
然后我就成了一个无情的指挥官。
"Okay,I've heard everybody,"I say. "Now here's what we're going to go."
“行了，你们诸位的意见我已经知道了，”我说。“现在该我来讲一讲我们要做些什么了。”
You always need committees,because that's where people share their knowledge and intentions.
你总还是需要委员会的，因为在委员会里人们可以分享彼此的知识，交流彼此的意图。
But when committees replace individuals-and Ford these days has more committees than General Motors-then productivity begins to decline.
但是当委员会取代了个人集中作出决定的权力的时候——而现在福特汽车公司的委员会就比通用汽车公司的委员会要多——则生产率就开始下降。
To sum up:nothing stands still in this world.
总之，世上没有一成不变的事物。
I like to go duck hunting,where constant movement and change are facts of life.
我喜欢去打鸭子，在这种猎鸭活动中，不停地运动和不断地变化就是生活的事实。
You can aim at a duck and get it in your sights,but the duck is always moving.
你可以瞄准一只鸭子，让它处于你猎枪的瞄准线上，但鸭子总在不停地跑动。
In order to hit the duck,you have to move your gun.
为了打中鸭子，你不得不移动你的猎枪。
But a committee faced with a major decision can't always move as quickly as the events it's trying to respond to.
但当面对一项重大决

策时，委员会并非总能对迅速变化的事件作出同样敏捷的反应。
By the time the committee is ready to shoot,the duck has flown away.
等到委员会做好开枪的准备时，鸭子已经飞跑了。