職場雙語:像企業家一樣樂觀
A financial reporter recently explained to me why he enjoyed writing about entrepreneurs: "They're so much more optimistic than all the cynical journalists I work with." I know exactly what he means.
一位金融記者最近跟我解釋他爲何喜歡寫有關企業家的文章："與和我共事的所有憤世嫉俗的記者相比，他們要樂觀得多。"我非常明白他的意思。All human existence has been a struggle between those who believe in a bright future, and those who can see only decline. At present the pessimists might appear in the ascendance. But history demonstrates irrefutably that in the longer run they are always wrong about the really big issues that matter most. Of course there are cycles but the relentless accumulation of knowledge means that progress is unstoppable. Yet the inclination towards apocalyptic visions persists.
所有的人類存在一直是那些相信燦爛未來以及眼中只有衰落的人之間的鬥爭。目前，悲觀主義者可能看上去佔了上風。但歷史無可辯駁地證明，從更長的時期看，他們對於什麼纔是真正最重要的大問題的看法總是錯誤的。當然，週期是存在的，但知識的不斷積累意味着，進步是無法阻擋的。然而，人們總是傾向於看到災難性前景。Perhaps we should see pessimism as a sort of pathological condition. Like many diseases it can be contagious, and I suspect it often contributes to sicknesses such as clinical depression. Yet bad news, gloomy headlines and miserable predictions usually dominate mainstream communications. Scientific advances and globalisation seem to encourage doom-laden imaginings – environmental collapse, overpopulation, global warming, resource exhaustion, pandemics, terrorism, nuclear disaster and – most recently – the eurozone crisis. I suppose such fears reflect instincts that emerged to protect us against predators and starvation. Now they induce pointless anxiety and paralysis.
或許，我們應該把悲觀主義視爲一種病理狀態。與很多疾病一樣，它可能具有傳染性，而且我懷疑，它會經常導致臨牀抑鬱等疾病。然而，壞消息、悲觀的新聞標題以及悲慘的預測通常主宰着主流媒體。科學進步和全球化似乎會帶來充滿厄運的想象——環境災難、人口過剩、全球變暖、資源枯竭、流行病、恐怖主義、核災難以及最新的歐元區危機。我想，這些擔憂反映出了爲保護我們自己不受掠奪者和飢餓威脅而出現的本能。現在它們帶來了毫無意義的焦慮和麻痹。
By contrast, two weeks ago I enjoyed the Founders Forum, an annual boost of positive thinking as powerful as a huge jolt of adrenalin. Roughly 300 entrepreneurs gathered to talk about cutting edge technology, the agony and the ecstasy of building a start-up, and the wonders of free enterprise.
相比之下，兩週前，我心情愉悅地參加了"創業家論壇"(Founders Forum)，這個一年一度的論壇對人們的積極思維是一大提振，就像給人們打了一針強心劑。約300名企業家齊聚一堂，討論領先科技、創建初創企業的痛苦和歡愉以及自由企業的種種奇蹟。The place is bursting with confidence. I invariably leave with an overwhelming sense that mankind's combined ingenuity can solve any challenge, if sufficient brainpower and the right incentives are applied. The occasion was all about invention and action, unlike political conferences, which tend to be dominated by complaint, dispute and an obsession with legislation.
這裏信心爆棚。我總是帶着一種強烈的感覺離開：如果我們運用足夠多的智慧和合理的激勵，人類的聰明才智加在一起可以應對任何挑戰。這一論壇討論的全都是創新和行動，與政治會議不同，後者往往充斥着抱怨、爭論和對立法的癡迷。I find that those who doubt capitalism's potential tend to see the worst in society. They disregard improvements and focus on downsides rather than possibilities. Their belief in redistribution and central planning reveals an urge to stifle opportunity and a mistrust of individual empowerment. The liberal left's dominance of certain media outlets emboldens their negative outlook. They revel in national setbacks because it confirms their prejudices. Yet they also embrace an ideology of utopian nonsense, fantasising that our chief motivation is a mass desire for equality.
我發現，那些質疑資本主義潛力的人往往看到的是社會中最糟糕的部分。他們漠視進步，關注負面因素，而非事物的各種可能性。他們對於再分配和中央計劃的信念，暴露了一種扼殺機會的衝動和對個人賦權的懷疑。自由主義左派在某些媒體的主導地位更強化了他們的負面展望。他們沉湎於國家受到的挫折，因爲這證實了他們的偏見。然而，他們還支持荒謬的烏托邦學說，幻想着我們的主要推動力是對平等的普遍願望。We take for granted the countless incremental developments which make life safer, longer, healthier and generally more enjoyable. We see greater productivity, new medicines and materials and brilliant machines invented quietly every week. These innovations are the products of the private sector and free markets. Meanwhile, bitter old academics and hacks predict that we are facing a depression like the 1930s, more riots and intergenerational warfare. One new volume by a pair of professional defeatists is laughably titled Going South: Why Britain Will Have a Third World Economy By 2014.
我們把數不清的漸進發展視爲理所當然，而正是它們讓生活變得更安全、更長久、更健康、（普遍來說）也更快樂。我們看到了更高的生產率、新的藥品和材料以及每週都靜悄悄地被髮明出來的了不起的機器。這些創新是私營部門和自由市場的產物。同時，憤憤不平的老學者和僱傭文人預測，我們正面臨一場類似上世紀30年代的蕭條、更多的騷亂以及代間戰爭。一對職業失敗主義者爲他們撰寫的一本新書取了這樣一個可笑的名字：《加入南方國家：爲什麼英國會在2014年成爲第三世界經濟體》(Going South: Why Britain Will Have a Third World Economy By 2014)。Confidence is a self-fulfilling emotion. We all know winners who have achieved much through willpower, meritocracy and practice rather than innate talent or advantages of birth. Everyone respects a leader who thrives under fire, cheerleading and encouraging even in the darkest moments. Entrepreneurs learn to inspire because they have stared failure in the face and know it to be, as Rudyard Kipling said, an "imposter". They have realised first-hand that free enterprise is the best system for advancing human welfare and freedom. Of course it proceeds through cyclical episodes of creative destruction, but these stimulate further gains over time.
信心是一種自我實現的情緒。我們都知道，一些成功者憑藉毅力、讓能者居於管理地位的體制和身體力行的實踐取得成功，而非靠天分或家庭出身方面的優勢。所有人都敬仰那些在逆境中仍然生機勃勃、在最黑暗的時刻還能鼓舞和調動人們激情的領袖。企業家能夠鼓舞他人，是因爲他們曾直面失敗，知道它將只不過是"紙老虎"，就像魯德亞德•吉卜林(Rudyard Kipling)說過的那樣。他們通過親身經歷認識到，自由企業是推進人類福祉和自由的最佳體制。當然，它會經歷一次次週期性的創造性毀滅，但隨着時間的流逝，這些會帶來更多的好處。My suggested solutions are straightforward: ignore the delusional prophets of doom; laugh; reinvent; exercise; treasure friendships; keep learning; surround yourself with younger people; and pursue whatever creative endeavours are available. Those with a positive outlook make the best companions and tend to do well in life. I recommend their company rather than listening to the exaggerated paranoia of the media misanthropes.
我提出的解決方案直截了當：不要理會那些患有幻想症的厄運預言家；笑；進行再創造；鍛鍊；珍視友情；堅持學習；進入年輕人當中；從事所有能從事的創造性活動。那些對未來抱樂觀態度的人會是最好的夥伴，他們往往在生活上很成功。我建議你與他們爲伴，而不要去聽媒體上的厭世者那些誇張的悲觀妄想。The writer runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and is chairman of StartUp Britain.
本文作者管理着私人股本公司Risk Capital Partners，並擔任StartUp Britain主席。
