听力课堂TED音频栏目主要包括TED演讲的音频MP3及中英双语文稿，供各位英语爱好者学习使用。本文主要内容为演讲MP3+双语文稿:让企业运转更好的惊人因素，希望你会喜欢！

【演讲者及介绍】Marco Alverà

马可·阿尔韦拉(Marco Alverà)——商人、正直的十字军战士。他是意大利裔美国商人，同时也是欧洲最大的天然气公司Snam的首席执行官。

【演讲主题】让企业运转更好的惊人因素

【中英文字幕】

Translated by Yuiop Chen，Reviewed byMiao Wenchang

00:13

For me, it was not being invited to afriend's wedding. At first, I didn't really mind. I thought he was having asmall reception. But then I kept meeting people who were going to the samewedding, and they weren't as close to the groom as I was ... and I felt leftout. That really sucked. It felt really unfair.

有一次，我的一个朋友没有邀请我参加他的婚礼。最开始我并不在意。我想他只是举办了一个小小的聚会。但是后来我遇见了好多去参加婚礼的人，这些人也并没有我和新郎的关系那么好，我觉得自己受了冷落，非常难受。感觉很不公平。

00:35

For my daughters, Lipsi and Greta, it waslast week. They were taking turns massaging their mom's back with a toy forback rubs, and then one of the girls felt that the other girl had a longer go.That's when I walk into the room to find Greta in a rage, shouting,"That's not fair!" and Lipsi in tears, and my wife holding astopwatch to make sure that each girl had precisely one minute on the toy.

上个礼拜，我的两个女儿，Lipsi和Greta 她们正在轮流用一个按摩棒给妈妈按摩后背。一个女孩儿感觉另一个按摩的时间长了一点，就在这时我走进了房间，发现Greta开始发火，大喊着“这不公平！” Lipsi则哭了起来，我的妻子只好拿了一块秒表，确保每个女孩用的时间正好一分钟。

01:04

So if you're anything like me or my girls,the last thing that upset you probably also had to do with unfairness. That'sbecause unfairness triggers us so strongly that we can't think straight. Webecome afraid and suspicious. Our unfairness antennae stick up. We feel pain,and we walk away.

如果你是我和我女儿这样的人，最近一次让你心烦的事，很可能也跟不公平有关。因为不公平总能让我们反应强烈，无法理智思考，我们变得害怕而多疑，对于不公平十分敏感。我们感到痛苦，于是避而远之。

01:31

Unfairness is one of the defining issues ofour society, it's one of the root causes of polarization, and it's bad news forbusiness. At work, unfairness makes people defensive and disengaged. A studyshows that 70 percent of workers in the US are disengaged, and this is costingthe companies 550 billion dollars a year every year. This is, like, half thetotal spent on education in the US. This is the size of the GDP of a countrylike Austria.

不公平是我们社会中的一个重要问题，它是两极分化的一个根本原因，对于企业来讲，这可不是一个好消息。在工作中，不公平让人们变得消极而散漫。一项研究表明美国70%的工作者都存在工作不投入的现象，而这正在让公司每年遭受5500亿美元的损失。这个数字是美国每年教育经费的一半。像奥地利这种国家的 GDP也就这么多。

02:09

So removing unfairness and promotingfairness should be our priority. But what does it mean in practice? Is it aboutmore rules? Is it about systems? Is it about equality? Well, partly, butfairness is more interesting than rules and equality. Fairness works insurprising ways.

所以消除不公平，推进公平的进程应该成为我们的首要任务。但我们又该如何付诸行动呢？应该有更多的规定吗？是体系的问题吗？是我们的平等出了问题吗？的确，但这只是一部分原因，公平远比规章制度和平等要复杂。公平以一种你意想不到的方式运作着。

02:29

15 years ago, I left a US investment bankto join a large Italian state-owned oil company. It was a different world. Ithought the key to getting the best performance was a risk-reward system whereyou could give the high performers bonuses and promotions and give the underperformerssomething to worry about. But in this company, we had fixed salaries andlifelong jobs. Careers were set, so my toolkit wasn't very effective, and I wasfrustrated.

十五年前，我离开了一家美国的投资银行，加入了一个庞大的意大利国有石油公司。工作环境完全不一样。我当时想，要有好的表现，关键就在于一套“风险补偿系统”。在这种体系里，表现好的人得到报酬和提拔，表现不好的人则得到一些警告。但是在这家公司里，我们的工资都是固定的，有着一份终身工作。岗位既然固定了，我的办法就变得没那么有效了。我感到很沮丧。

03:05

But then I saw that this company wasproducing some pockets of excellence, areas in which they beat the competitionin very tough, competitive sectors. This was true in trading, in projectmanagement -- it was very true in exploration. Our exploration team was findingmore oil and gas than any other company in the world. It was a phenomenon.Everyone was trying to figure out how this was possible. I thought it was luck,but after each new discovery, that became less and less likely. So did we havea special tool? No. Did we have a killer application that no one else had? No.Was it one genius who was finding oil for the whole team? No, we hadn't hired asenior guy in years.

但是后来我发现这家公司有一些特别的优势，在一些领域里他们可以打败竞争对手，而且是在非常棘手，竞争激烈的部门。在贸易方面是这样，在项目管理上是这样，在勘探方面也是这样。我们的勘探团队发现的石油和天然气比世界上任何其他公司都要多。真是个奇迹。每个人都想知道这是怎么做到的。一开始我想这大概是运气吧，但是持续的新发现让这种猜测变得越来越站不住脚。那么我们有什么特别的工具吗？并没有。我们有独一无二的杀手级应用程序吗？没有。是有个天才帮整个团队找到石油吗？不，我们好几年没有雇用高级员工了。

03:55

So what was our secret sauce? I startedlooking at them really carefully. I looked at my friend, who drilled seven drywells, writing off more than a billion dollars for the company, and found oilon the eighth. I was nervous for him ... but he was so relaxed. I mean, theseguys knew what they were doing.

那么我们的秘诀到底是什么？我开始非常仔细地研究。我发现我的朋友，他打了七口枯井，浪费了公司十几亿美金，最后终于在第八口里发现了石油。我一直很担心他，但他毫不在意。这些人完全知道自己在做什么。

04:18

And then it hit me: it was about fairness.These guys were working in a company where they didn't need to worry aboutshort-term results. They weren't going to be penalized for bad luck or for anhonest mistake. They knew they were valued for what they were trying to do, notthe outcome. They were valued as human beings. They were part of a community.Whatever happened, the company would stand by them. And for me, this is thedefinition of fairness. It's when you can lower those unfairness antennae, putthem at rest. Then great things follow. These guys could be true to theirpurpose, which was finding oil and gas. They didn't have to worry about companypolitics or greed or fear. They could be good risk-takers, because they weren'ttoo defensive and they weren't gambling to take huge rewards. And they wereexcellent team workers. They could trust their colleagues. They didn't need tolook behind their backs. And they were basically having fun. They were havingso much fun, one guy even confessed that he was having more fun at the companyChristmas dinner than at his own Christmas dinner.

接下来我恍然大悟：这就是公平。这些人是在为一个不需要他们考虑短期结果的公司工作。他们不会因为运气不好或者无意犯的错误而受到惩罚。他们知道，是自己所做的事让自己受到重视，而不是什么结果。他们被当作人来看待。他们是集体的一部分。不论发生什么，公司都会做他们的后盾。对于我来说，这就是公平的意义。当你可以放下对不公平的戒备，好事就会随之而来。这些人可以专心工作，寻找石油和天然气，而不需要担心公司政策，贪婪或恐惧。他们可以冒更大的险，因为他们不用太心存戒备，也不用下很大赌注来换取高额回报。他们都是非常优秀的团队工作者。他们可以信任自己的同事。他们不需要提防别人从背后捅刀子。而且他们还都很享受工作。他们非常开心，一个人甚至坦白相比在家吃圣诞大餐，他更享受公司的圣诞晚宴。

05:28

(Laughter)

（笑声）

05:30

But these guys, essentially, were workingin a fair system where they could do what they felt was right instead of what'sselfish, what's quick, what's convenient, and to be able to do what we feel isright is a key ingredient for fairness, but it is also a great motivator. Andit wasn't just explorers who were doing the right thing. There was an HRdirector who proposed that I hire someone internally and give him a managerialjob. This guy was very good, but he didn't finish high school, so formally, hehad no qualifications. But he was so good, it made sense, and so we gave himthe job. Or the other guy, who asked me for a budget to build a cheese factorynext to our plant in Ecuador, in the village. It didn't make any sense: no oneever built a cheese factory. But this is what the village wanted, because themilk they had would spoil before they could sell it, so that's what theyneeded. And so we built it. So in these examples and many others, I learnedthat to be fair, my colleagues and I, we needed to take a risk and stick ourhead out, but in a fair system, you can do that. You can dare to be fair.

但最重要的是，这些人在一个公平的体系里工作，在这里他们可以做任何他们认为正确的事情，而不是那些利己的，快捷的，方便的事情。被允许做我们认为正确的事情，是构成公平的关键因素，同样也是巨大的动力。不仅仅是这些勘探者们在做正确的事情。曾经有一位人力资源总监建议我从内部雇佣某个人，给他一份管理工作。这个人很优秀，但是他高中都没念完，所以严格来讲，他并没有资格。但是他太优秀了，完全能够胜任，我们就给了他这份工作。还有一个人曾经向我申请一笔经费，要建造一座奶酪工厂，就建在厄瓜多尔一个村子里我们的工厂旁边。这简直太不靠谱了，我们没人修建过奶酪工厂。但是村民们需要它，因为他们的牛奶经常坏掉，根本卖不完，所以这是他们需要的。因此我们建了这座工厂。在这类事件中，我明白了要想变得公平，我和我的同事需要承担风险，跳出规则，但在一个公平的体系中，这样做没问题。你可以勇敢地去做。

06:43

So I realized that these guys and othercolleagues were achieving great results, doing great things, in a way that nobonus could buy. So I was fascinated. I wanted to learn how this thing reallyworked, and I wanted to learn it also for myself, to become a better leader. SoI started talking to colleagues, to coaches, to headhunters andneuroscientists, and what I discovered is that what these guys were up to andthe way they worked is really supported by recent brain science. And I've alsodiscovered that this can work at all levels in any type of company. You don'tneed the fixed salaries or the stable careers. This is because science showsthat humans have an innate sense of fairness. We know what is right and what iswrong before we can talk or think about it.

所以我意识到，这些人和我的其他同事 在追求好的结果，做正确的事情，这是不能用金钱买到的。这深深吸引了我。我想知道这种事情到底是如何办到的，同时也是为了能让我自己变成一个更好的领导者。所以我开始和同事，教练，猎头，和神经学家交流。我发现，这些人做的事和他们工作的方式是有着最新脑科学理论支持的。我还发现这对于各个层级，各种公司都适用。并不只适用于有着固定工资和稳定工作的岗位。这是因为，科学证明，人类有与生俱来的公平感。什么是对的，什么是错的，在谈论或者琢磨它之前，我们就已经知道。

07:39

My favorite experiment has six-month oldbabies watching a ball trying to struggle up a hill. And there's a helpful,friendly square that pushes the ball up the hill, and then a mean trianglepushes the ball back down. After watching this several times, they ask thebabies to pick, to choose what to play with. They can pick a ball, a square ora triangle. They never pick up the triangle. All the babies want to be thesquare.

有一个我最喜欢的实验，让六个月大的婴儿，看着一个球努力地想要爬上一个山坡。友好且乐于助人的方块会帮这个球推上山坡，而卑鄙的三角则想要把这个球推下去。数次之后，实验人员让婴儿选择和谁一起玩，他们可以选择球，方块或者三角。他们从来没有选择过三角。所有婴儿都想和方块一起玩。

08:14

And science also shows that when we see orperceive fairness, our brain releases a substance that gives us pleasure,proper joy. But when we perceive unfairness, we feel pain ... even greater painthan the same type of pain as if I really hurt myself. That's becauseunfairness triggers the primitive, reptile part of our brain, the part thatdeals with threats and survival, and when unfairness triggers a threat, that'sall we can think about. Motivation, creativity, teamwork, they all go way back.

科学同样证明，当我们看到或察觉到公平的时候，我们的大脑会释放一种令我们快乐的物质，令我们愉悦。但是当我们察觉到不公平的时候，我们会感到痛苦，甚至要比有时候真的伤到了自己还要痛苦。这是因为不公平刺激了大脑最原始的那部分，那个用于处理威胁和生存问题的部分。当不公平催生了一种威胁的时候，一切都完了。动力，创造力，团队合作，全都没有了。

08:50

And it makes sense that we're wired thisway, because we're social animals. We need to be part of a community tosurvive. We're born so helpless that someone needs to look after us until we'remaybe 10 years old, so our brain evolves towards food. We need to be in thatcommunity. So whether I like it or not, not being invited to the friend'swedding, my lizard brain is generating the same response as if I'm about to bepushed out from my community.

我们如此紧张是有道理的，因为我们是群居动物。我们需要成为集体的一部分才能生存。我们生来都是如此弱小，可能到十岁都需要有人照顾我们。所以我们的大脑向食物进化。我们需要成为集体的一部分。所以不管我喜不喜欢，没有被邀请参加朋友的婚礼，我那原始的大脑都会产生反应，让我感觉像被集体排斥了一样。

09:21

So science explains quite nicely whyfairness is good and why unfairness makes us really defensive, but science alsoshows that in a fair environment, not only do we all want to be the square, butwe tend to be the square, and this allows other people to be fair in turn. Thiscreates a beautiful fairness circle. But while we start off fair ... one dropof unfairness contaminates the whole pool, and unfortunately, there's plenty ofdrops in that pool. So our effort should be to filter out as much unfairness aswe can from everywhere, starting from our communities, starting from ourcompanies. I worry about this a lot because I lead a team of 3,000 excellentpeople, and the difference between 3,000 happy, motivated team workers and3,000 clock-watchers is everything.

因此，科学很好的说明了为什么公平很好，为什么不公平让我们如此抵触，但科学同样说明了在一个公平的环境里，我们不只是想成为那个方块，在潜意识里就是这么认为的。这让其他人也渐渐地想要变得公平。这种现象创造了一个积极的公平循环。但虽然我们一开始是公平的……一颗老鼠屎却能坏了一锅汤，不幸的是，很多情况下都是如此。所以我们应该致力于尽可能地把不公平去掉，从我们的集体开始，公司开始。我对这些事很担心，是因为我领导着一个有着三千位优秀员工的团队。最重要的，就是三千名快乐，充满动力的员工和三千名看着表等着下班的人之间的区别。

10:21

So the first thing I try to do in myfairness crusade is to try to take myself out of the equation. That means beingaware of my own biases. For example, I really like people who say yes towhatever I suggest.

所以，在我的公平改革之中，我尝试的第一件事情就是把我自己去掉。我的意思是了解自己的偏见。比如，我特别喜欢那些不管我说什么都同意的人。

10:36

(Laughter)

（笑声）

10:38

But that's not very good for the companyand not very good for anyone who has different ideas. So we try to activelypromote a culture of diversity of opinions and diversity of character. Thesecond thing we do is a little more procedural. We look at all the rules, theprocesses, the systems in the company, the ones we use to take decisions andallocate resources, and we try to get rid of anything that's not very clear,not very rational, doesn't make sense, and we also try to fix anything that'slimiting the transfer of information within the company. We then look at theculture and the motivation for the same reasons.

但是这对于一个公司来说不是什么好事，对于那些持有不同意见的人也不好。所以我们想要积极推广一种包容各种观点和不同性格的文化。我们做的第二件事情则有一点程序化。我们检阅所有的规定，流程，和公司的体制，那些我们用于做决定和分配资源的东西，摒弃掉那些不清楚的，不理性的，不合理的。我们同样设法修正那些限制公司内部信息传递的东西。我们又以同样的方式检视公司文化和积极性。

11:11

But my point is that however hard you lookat the rules, the processes, the systems -- and we have to do that -- buthowever hard we look, we're never going to do enough to get to the real essenceof fairness. That's because the last mile of fairness requires something else.It's about what people's emotions are, what their needs are, what's going on intheir private lives, what society needs. These are all questions and elementsthat are very hard to put into a spreadsheet, into an algorithm. It's very hardto make them part of our rational decision. But if we miss these, we're missingkey important points, and the outcome is likely to feel unfair. So we shouldcross-check our decisions with our fairness center switched on. Is it rightthat this guy should get the job he's really hoping to get? Is it right thatthis guy should be fired? Is it right that we should be charging so much forthis product? These are tough questions. But if we take the time to askourselves whether the rational answer is the right one ... we all know deepinside what the answer is. We've known since we were babies. And to know whatthe right answer is is pretty cool for decision-making. And if we turn on ourhearts, that's the key to getting the real best out of people, because they cansmell it if you care, and only when you really care will they leave their fearsbehind and bring their true selves to work.

但我的观点是，不管你下了多大工夫去修订规则，流程，体系——这些是必要的——但是尽管我们付出很大努力，我们永远得不到完全的公平。因为达到公平的最后几步需要一些其他的东西。这些东西和人们的情绪有关，和他们的需求有关，和个人生活有关，也和社会需求有关。这些都是很难放进电子表格，用程序计算的问题。很难把这些变成我们做理性决策的一部分。但是如果我们少了这些，就会缺失关键点，结果就是，人们又有可能感到不公平。所以我们需要在有公平意识的情况下，反复核对我们的决定。这个人应当得到那份他特别想要的工作吗？这个人真的应该被开除吗？我们真的应该在这个产品上花这么多钱吗？ 这些都是难题。但是如果我们真的静下来好好问自己 合理的答案就是正确的吗…… 我们其实内心都知道答案是什么。我们从婴儿时期就具备了这种能力。知道答案是什么，对于做决定是很有帮助的。而且，如果我们敞开心扉，你就可以看到人们真实，最好的一面，因为如果你真的用心的话，别人是可以感觉到的。只有你真正关心他们的时候，他们才会放下恐惧并把他们真正的自我用在工作上。

12:52

So if fairness is a keystone of life, whyisn't every leader making it their priority? Wouldn't it be cool to work in acompany that was more fair? Wouldn't it be great to have colleagues and bossesthat were selected and trained for fairness and for character and not based on60-year-old GMATs? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to knock on the door of aChief Fairness Officer?

所以，如果公平是人生的基石，为什么不是每一个领导都重视它呢？在一个更公平的公司工作难道不是更好吗？如果老板和同事 都是因为公平和人品 被选拔和训练，而不是根据 60年不变的GMATs，不是很棒吗？可以去敲“首席公平官”的门难道不好吗？

13:18

We'll get there, but why is it nothappening now? Well, partly, it's because of inertia, partly, it's becausefairness isn't always easy. It requires judgment and risk. Drilling that eighthwell was a risk. Promoting the guy who didn't finish high school was a risk.Building a cheese factory in Ecuador was a risk. But fairness is a risk worthtaking, so we should be asking ourselves, where can we take this risk? Wherecan we push ourselves a little bit further, to go beyond what's rational and dowhat's right?

我们迟早会这样的，但为什么不能是现在？有部分原因是人的惰性，部分是因为公平并不总是简单的事。它需要判断，有风险。打那八口井去寻找石油是有风险的。提拔高中没毕业的人是有风险的。在厄瓜多尔建一座奶酪工厂也是有风险的。但是，公平是一个值得尝试的风险，所以我们需要问自己，我们在哪些方面可以冒这个险？在哪些方面我们可以让自己更进一步，突破“合理的事”而去做“正确的事”？

14:00

Thank you.

谢谢。

14:01

(Applause)

（掌声）