2010年10月22日 星期五

孫子兵法學英文/使出渾身解數

put your best foot forward
「補教人生」延燒兩個月,夾雜業者競爭、挖角、爆料和媒體炒作,把台灣外語補習業界,搞得烏煙瘴氣。補習業發達,台北南陽街、高雄建國路,都是補習班集中地。細心的讀者或許會問,為何補習班都集中在火車站附近?
這個道理,和夜市裡一連幾家攤販都賣相同的蚵仔煎、生炒花枝現象相似:交通方便,人潮洶湧,雖然競爭激烈,生意愈炒愈熱。
英文片語:廚子太多,熬不出好湯(too many cooks spoil the broth),等於中文的「人多嘴雜,成事不易」。但站在顧客角度,競爭者多多益善(the more the merrier),大家使出渾身解數(put your best foot forward),才能物美價廉,讓消費者感覺物超所值。
例:"Your colleagues' perspectives can be useful, but don't let too many cooks spoil the broth. "「你同事意見不無見地,但你不能讓他喧賓奪主。」
"General Han Xin wanted to enlist as many soldiers as possible. The more listed in the muster roll, the merrier he would be."「韓信點兵,多多益善。」
"Make sure you put your best foot forward for tonight's performance."「今晚的表演,你要全力以赴,絕對不能砸鍋。」
餐飲業入行門檻低,但真要得到食客青睞,就要有兩把刷子,經得起嚴苛的市場考驗(school of hard knocks ),才能站得住腳,甚至揚名立萬。每個業者都有辦法端出好菜,顧客聞香下馬,自然形成號召,這也是「人多好辦事」(Many hands make light work.),齊心把餅做大的良性競爭現象(to make the pie bigger)。
例:"Keats didn't go to any hospitality college, but he went to the school of hard knocks. He learned everything by experience."「阿基師沒有餐飲學校文憑,一身好手藝全來自實戰,過程十分辛苦。」
"There are enough good chefs to keep the night market thriving. As they say, many hands make light work."「好廚師雲集,人多好辦事的結果,夜市生意當然興隆」
"We will probably be better off taking a smaller share of a larger pie. Sometimes a small share of a large pie is bigger than a larger share of a smaller pie."「與其為小利爭破頭,不如合力把餅做大。」
孫子說:「散地吾將一其志」(在自己地盤作戰,要使士兵意志專一)、「散地則無戰」(不在自己的土地作戰)。意指:聰明的將領不把主戰場安排在本國境內,重點在集中士兵心志,向外開展,才是用兵要旨。
根據賽局理論,獨處一隅,不與外界交流,只能照顧稀少顧客;要想鴻圖大展,必須立足能吸引最多客人的要津(the road most traveled),不能遺世獨立(chosen his own path)。
兩者殊途同歸,都說明:競爭愈激烈,餅愈做愈大(gross proportions),大家收穫就愈多,作生意須往人潮靠攏;市場成形,還要有能力維持江山,避免被淘汰,這是夜市攤販林立、補習街人頭鑽動原因。
例:"More and more chefs are gathering in that market and the path to it will doubtlessly become a road most traveled."「名廚匯集,那市場果然聚集了許多人氣。」
"The success of the booming night market is the happy result of hard working, convenient location, and help of gross proportions."「大家努力投入,加上地點適中,規模夠大,難怪夜市生意愈來愈旺。」
(作者任教於陸軍官校,suntzu@suntzu4u.com.tw)
【2010/10/22 經濟日報】

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