雙語散文:讓過去過去 讓未來來到
Regret can be a terrible addiction. Those who suffer from it so often become bitter and full of self-pity.
後悔是一件很可怕的東西, 它會讓人上癮. 那些經常感到後悔的人會變得更加悲天憫人, 自顧自憐.
It is an emotion that serious entrepreneurs cannot afford: they must keep pressing onwards and should not look back with remorse, dwelling on errors of long ago.
而對於企業家來說, 他們絕對不可以對 “後悔” 這種情緒上癮. 他們必須時刻堅持前進, 不能總是回望很久以前犯下的錯誤而懊悔自責.
As Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone, said: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Entrepreneurs must learn to manage the conflict between constant experimentation – which means lots of painful mistakes – and a fear of failure, which can lead to paralysis.
正如電話機的發明者亞歷山大•格拉漢姆•貝爾所言, “當人生的一扇門關閉了, 總會有另一扇門爲你打開; 然而, 我們卻經常久久地回顧那扇關閉了的門, 懊悔不已, 卻沒有看到那扇爲我們打開的門.” 企業家必須學會如何平衡各種不斷的嘗試和害怕失敗的心理之間的矛盾. 這些嘗試可能意味着許多痛苦的失誤, 而害怕失敗的心理則可能導致你停滯不前.
Likewise, past glory can be a killer. For example, Greg Dyke, who is a clever fellow, still harks back too much to his resignation as director-general of the BBC. He should move on and stop moaning about the injustice of it all.
同樣的, 過去的榮耀也可能是毀滅你的殺手. 比如說, 格里格•戴克, 一個頭腦聰明的人, 至今仍然對他當初辭去BBC總裁一職耿耿於懷. 他應該立即停止抱怨所有的不公, 繼續前進.
And Tim Waterstone should give up trying to buy back his bookshop chain, which he finally left more than 10 years ago (after selling it once and then getting involved again). He has tried to repurchase it at least five times, if rumour is to be believed. Possibly the root of the problem is that he exaggerates the chain’s importance, once saying: “Waterstone’s does more for the day-to-day cultural life of the nation than perhaps anything or anyone else.”
而蒂姆•沃特斯通, 既然十年前已經決定離開他的連鎖書店了, 現在就應該放棄試圖回購連鎖書店的計劃(他曾經將書店出售, 後來又買回來). 如果傳言屬實的話, 他曾經至少五次試圖將它買回來. 問題的根源可能是, 他過於高估書店的價值. 他曾說, “Waterstone’s 在本國日常文化生活層面上所做的貢獻是任何東西和任何人都不能比擬的.”
No doubt I suffered from a similar delusion in taking over Borders bookshops. But such thoughts were never true, and are even less so now, in the age of e-books and Amazon. Admittedly, I did try to buy back PizzaExpress once, but that was different – it would have been a sound financial deal.
同樣並不稀奇的是, 在接管Borders書店時, 我也有類似的錯覺. 然而, 這樣的感覺從來都是錯誤的, 而在當今的電子書和亞馬遜普及的時代, 這種感覺就更加錯誤了. 無可置否, 我也曾經試圖回購 PizzaExpress, 然而那時的情況不同, 那次的回購可能是一次明智的金融交易.
And who doesn’t have a tale of the one that got away? I remember David Dein, my predecessor as chairman of the charity Stage One, telling a wonderfully self-deprecating anecdote of his initial activities as a theatrical angel. Mr Dein, who has made a fortune investing in Arsenal football club, backed some early shows from a promising young producer called Cameron Mackintosh, and they unfortunately lost money. Finally, the apprentice impresario approached him about supporting an idea to put some of T.S. Eliot’s poems to music, on stage. Not unreasonably, Mr Dein turned it down. It became, of course, Cats, one of the most successful productions of all time, and helped make Mr Mackintosh a very rich man indeed.
然而, 誰不曾中此類的招數呢? 我記得在我之前擔任慈善機構Stage One董事長的大衛•德恩曾經自嘲般地講過他的一件軼事, 這件事與他剛開始擔任戲劇贊助人的經歷有關. 德恩先生曾經投資阿森納足球俱樂部並獲得可觀的利潤. 後來他贊助一位頗有潛力的年輕製片人卡梅倫•麥金託什的一些早期劇目, 然而不幸的是, 這是一筆虧本買賣. 最後, 那位學徒式的劇場經理希望德恩可以支持他將T•S•艾略特的部分詩歌改編成音樂劇搬上舞臺. 而德恩拒絕了他的請求, 這一切看起來也確實合情合理. 這時你應該猜到, 這後來成爲了史上最成功的音樂劇之一, <<貓>>. 它成功地讓麥金託什變成一個非常富有的人.
One of my experiences in that vein was Transform, a leading cosmetic surgery company. It was a highly profitable undertaking, serving a booming market, and I believed the acquisition would be a real winner. I spent many weeks negotiating a deal, but then got slightly cold feet at the last minute, and fell out with the vendor over a relatively trivial sum. He immediately turned round and sold it to those astute fellows at Phoenix private equity. Inevitably, they proceeded to make a rapid fortune.
我也有類似的經歷, 那是在一家叫Transform的領先美容整形公司裏. 這家公司營利情況非常好, 市場需求大, 因此我相信收購這家公司是一個明智的選擇. 我花了好多周的時間談判這筆交易, 但是在最後一刻卻有點動搖了, 最後因爲一筆非常小的金額上與出售方發生分歧而使交易告吹. 出售方立即把公司轉賣給私人股本公司Phoenix的那幫精明的傢伙. 結局不用說, 這些人迅速地賺取了可觀的利潤.
At least my mistake wasn’t as expensive as George Bell’s. He was the former documentary film-maker hired in 1996 to run Excite, the dotcom darling, which achieved a market capitalisation of $35bn at its peak. Three years later, the founders of Google decided that their search business was interfering with their studies and tried to sell it to a number of buyers, including Mr Bell, for just $750,000. He turned it down flat. Excite subsequently went bankrupt, while Google is now worth $170bn.
然而, 至少, 我的失誤不及喬治•貝爾的失誤付出的代價高. 他曾經是紀錄片製片人, 1996年被Excite僱用. 該公司最高實現了350億美元的市值. 三年後, 谷歌的創使人認爲, 他們的搜索業務干擾到了他們的研究, 試圖用區區75萬美元向衆多的買家出售, 包括貝爾. 然而貝爾直接拒絕了. Excite後來破產了, 而谷歌現在的市值高達1700億美元.
And it would be hard not to feel some sympathy for James Monaghan. In 1960, he teamed up with his brother Tom in the purchase of a single pizza restaurant in Michigan for $500. But later that year, he decided to go travelling, and so sold his 50 per cent share in the business to his brother in exchange for a used Volkswagen Beetle. A few years later, the company changed its name to Domino’s Pizza, and in 1998 was sold for about $1bn.
同樣的, 我們也難免會爲詹姆斯•莫納汗感到可惜. 1960年, 他和他的兄弟湯姆合作, 用500美元在密歇根買下了一間比薩餐廳. 後來, 也就在那一年, 他決定去旅行, 於是將自己百分之五十的股份賣給了他的兄弟, 換取一輛二手的大衆甲殼蟲汽車. 幾年以後, 那家比薩餐廳改名爲達美樂比薩餐廳. 1998年, 達美樂比薩餐廳以約10億美元的價格出售.
By all means treasure experience, and learn from your blunders. But don’t wallow in nostalgia, pining for what might have been. Rather, go ahead and seize the day no matter what. I have little time for those who say: I wish I had started my own business. My only response is: so do it now.
前車可鑑, 我們一定要從經驗和失誤中吸取教訓. 但是切不可以過分沉浸在過去的傷懷中而於可能的結果念念不忘. 相反, 你應該勇往直前, 抓住一切可能的機會. 我沒有空去理會那些只會說 “我要早點創業就好了”. 如果有人對我說這句話, 我會對他說: 現在就去做吧!
(作者: Luke Johnson 選自英國<<金融時報>> 譯者: 愛爾蘭都柏林大學 賴小琪)
