Rethinking What Your Mother Told You

老媽的話 不能盡信

By JAY GOLTZ

There are some things your mother told you that may have served you well in everyday life — and that I hear from business owners all the time. But not everything mothers say makes for sound advice when running a business. Here are some common sayings that seem reasonable but may be worth reconsidering. 
一些企業主常說，他們把媽媽的教誨運用在日常生活中。但在企業運作中，媽媽的話未必中肯。以下面是一些常見的說法，似乎合理，但也值得反思。

1. Don’t judge people. Hmm. Isn’t that what management is? You need to judge whether people are doing good jobs, whether they represent your company’s values, whether they have the potential to take more responsibility.
不要論斷人。嗯。那麼管理是幹什麼的？你需要衡量員工能否做好工作，實踐公司的價值觀，以及他們是否能承擔更多的責任。

2. People are innocent until proven guilty. Actually, when it comes to interviewing people and checking references, it’s probably better to assume guilty until proven innocent. People lie, exaggerate, and are delusional about their own abilities and histories. If you are skeptical and careful, you will have a much better track record of hiring good people.
人是無辜的，直到被證明有罪。事實上，當面試新人，查證背景資料時，最好抱持懷疑直到證明為真。人們說謊，誇大，並妄想他們自己的能力和歷史。如果你是持懷疑態度並且謹慎從事，你會因仔細訪查而招聘到優秀的人才。

3. The customer is always right. A nice thought, but it makes for a terrible training mantra. It can frustrate employees who have to deal with customers who are not always right. The reality is that customers are usually right if you look at the situation from their perspective. And even when they are not right, it probably isn’t worth fighting with them. We can afford to lose some money on a sale more easily than we can afford to lose a customer.
顧客永遠是對的。是個正確的想法，同時也是一個可怕的口號。它會讓員工面對奧客時感到挫折。現實是，客戶通常從他們的觀點認為自己都是對的。即使客戶是不對的，也許不值得與他們爭辯。我們可以在銷售時損失點利潤，總比失掉一個客戶合算。

4. Treat others the way you want them to treat you (the golden rule). Not everyone thinks like you, operates like you or behaves as responsibly as you do. If someone is coming in late regularly, doing a sloppy job, or alienating customers, you might want to do something about it. If you follow the golden rule, you won’t — because you would not want anyone to call you on it. The golden rule is a nice sentiment in life, but it would work in business only if everyone — suppliers, employees and customers — also operated by it. They don’t.
己所不欲，勿施於人（金科玉律）。不是每個人都有同樣的想法和行為。如果有員工經常遲到、怠慢工作或輕忽客戶，你宜採取行動加以改善。如果你不想接獲一再反映，別再依律行事。在生活此律極佳；只要每一個人，包括供應商、員工和客戶也一體遵循，也可以用在企業經營中。但不盡如人意。

5. All you have to do is to try your best. Not really. Customers deserve what they pay for, and they really don’t care how hard you are trying. If your house burns down, you’re probably not going to be consoled that your insurance agent tried hard — but forgot to renew the policy.
要盡你所能。不盡然。客戶不在乎你曾如何努力，他們只顧相對於付出的收獲。如果你的房子失火，而保單已經過期，你的保險經紀人不會理你。

6. Honesty is the best policy. Usually. But there are times when keeping your mouth shut is the best policy. Suppose you interview someone for a sales job and you think he communicates poorly. You send him letters thanking him for his time but telling him you have selected another candidate. He calls you and wants to know why you didn’t hire him. If you go with the honesty policy, you will say that you didn’t think he sounded very smart. How smart does that make you? Or suppose someone calls you for a reference for a former employee and you decide to tell the truth. Silence can be golden. A simple “I really can’t comment” may save you from a lawsuit.
誠實為要。通常如此。有時，「沈默是金」才是上策。假設某人應徵業務員，面試時你覺得他不善溝通。你寫信給他，謝謝他撥冗前來，但告訴他並未錄用。他打電話給你，想知道原因。如果你誠實以對，會說，他不夠靈光。這樣聰明嗎？或者，假如有人打電話給你查證一位前員工，你決定據實以告。沉默就是金。一句簡單的「無可奉告」，可免於爭訟。

7. The meek will inherit the earth. Maybe this one is true. But it is also true that the meek are going to have a tough time in business. The entrepreneur needs to take charge, make things happen and stand up to suppliers and employees who are not delivering and customers who are not paying their bills. (But that doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk.)
謙卑人有福了。也許這是真的。但溫順將導致經營艱辛也是實情。企業家要勇於面對不按時交貨的供應商和員工，和不付賬的客戶。（但這並不表示你要成為一個混蛋。）

8. Everything happens for a reason. This one is frequently true, but not in the cosmic, “it’s all about fate” way it is intended. Good and bad things do happen for a reason. The reason a company goes broke may be that it over expanded. The reason that someone got hurt may be that he or she wasn’t following the safety procedures or was never trained in the safety procedures. The reason you lost the customer may be that you didn’t deliver what you promised. In any case, it may not have been just fate.
事出必有因。通常如此，但不能歸責於命運。好事、壞事必有因。一間公司因擴充太大而倒閉。追究員工受傷的原因，可能是未遵守安全規定或根本沒有受過工安訓練。丟了客戶，可能是你沒有信守承諾。無論如何，都不是命運所致。

O.K., go ahead. Ruin my fun. Tell me why I’m wrong. But please remember the golden rule.
請記住金科玉律外，也歡迎指正。

原文參照：
http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/re-thinking-what-your-mother-told-you/