2010年11月19日 星期五

孫子兵法學英文/留優汰劣

留優汰劣 trimming the fat

公孔雀身上鮮豔無比的長尾巴,不但沉重,還容易引起侵略者注意。但生物學家指出,長尾巴看似極大的缺陷(an Achilles' heel),但雄鳥用它向雌鳥明白宣示:即使有不方便的尾巴,它還是可以爭雄稱霸(a big wig),可見有多麼強壯。
雌鳥認知到,雄鳥尾巴愈鮮豔,代表它擁有生存能力(to bear fruit)愈大。因此,在雌鳥看來,長尾巴不但不是缺點(the bitter fruits),實乃力量表徵。

孔雀開屏 炫耀優越力量

這種現象,在非洲瞪羚身上也可以看到:身強力壯的瞪羚常在獅、豹面前輕鬆跳躍展示身手,迫使掠食者停止打牠的主意,轉而以其他的弱者為目標。
例:"Our new director is a big wig in the company, but vanity might be his Achilles' heel."「新來的總監目前是公司大紅人。有人擔心,驕傲會是他的致命傷。」
"Launching the new product in the market has already borne fruit for the company."「在市場砸下新產品,已為公司打下一片江山。」
"Diminishing market share is the bitter fruits of an inefficient marketing strategy."「行銷企劃案失靈,產生市場占有率衰退的苦果。」
孔雀和瞪羚藉由優越力量,獲得異性青睞(the apple of somebody's eye),這和現代企業應徵新人的儀式非常類似:一流的商學院學費巨萬,課業困難重重,稍有閃失就拿不到學位(have had your chips)

文憑加持 謀職勝率大增

應徵者以名校MBA學位,高姿態地傳遞強烈訊息給老闆(call someone's bluff):雖然面試競爭激烈(Many are called but few are chosen.),但他應該雀屏中選。
在歐美國家,這些有名校文憑加持的應徵者,通常也都會如願,因為名校MBA文憑所代表的,的確是過往的努力成績,和未來的品質保證。
例:"With Harvard MBA in hand, John is more competitive than other job applicants and finds himself the apple of the boss's eye."「小江有哈佛企管碩士文憑,因此得以擊敗其他應徵者,變成老闆的首選。」
"Maria has had her chips. The advisor gave her the chance of a pass and she threw it away."「指導教授有心放水,瑪麗亞卻亂搞一通,害自己畢不了業。」
"Since many are called but few are chosen, some applicants try to call my bluff and look elsewhere in order to get the job."「職缺少,競爭大,若干應徵者假裝另有高就,要我當場錄用他們。」
自然界和企業界一樣,時刻都在進行留優汰劣(trimming the fat)的賽局,而成功是屬於準備妥當的人。
誠如孫子說:「行火必有因,煙火必素具…凡此四宿者,風起之日也」,要想生存下去,就要隨時準備妥當,用明確的訊息向外傳遞,用正確的策略廣結善緣,為大家接納(receive someone as something),進而風起雲湧,燒旺並壯大自己的生存空間。

自我充實 壯大生存空間
例:"We are close to losing profits and I need to trim the fat in this company. I want a full report on individual expenses and productivity next week so we can review each person's contributions and costs to the company."「公司虧損連連,我決定刪減人事。下周我要看到每個人的績效考核表,來評定每個人對公司的貢獻。」
"The department received the new manager as a welcome partner."「部門同仁由衷歡迎新任經理,當他為知心夥伴。」

(作者任教陸軍官校,suntzu@suntzu4u.com.tw)
【2010/11/19 經濟日報】@ http://udn.com/

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