THE DESIRE TO EXCEL 人人渴望卓尔不群

Charles Schwab had a mill manager whose people weren't producing their quota of work.

“How is it,” Schwab asked him, “that a manager as capable as you can't make this mill turn out what it should?”

“I don't know,” the manager replied. “I've coaxed the men, I've pushed them, I've sworn and cussed , and I've threatened them with damnation and being fired. But nothing works. They just won't produce.”

This conversation took place at the end of the day, just before the night shift came on. Schwab asked the manager for a piece of chalk, then, turning to the nearest man, asked, “How many heats did your shift make today?”

“Six.”

Without another word, Schwab chalked a big figure six on the floor, and walked away.

When the night shift came in, they saw the “6” and asked what it meant.

“The big boss was in here today,” the day people said. “He asked us how many heats we made, and we told him six. He chalked it down on the floor.”

The next morning Schwab walked through the mill again. The night shift had rubbed out “6” and replaced it with a big “7”.

When the day shift reported for work the next morning, they saw a big “7” chalked on the floor. So the night shift thought they were better than the day shift, did they? Well, they would show the night shift a thing or two. The crew pitched in with enthusiasm, and when they quit that night, they left behind them an enormous, swaggering “10”. Things were stepping up.

Shortly this mill, which had been lagging way behind in production, was turning up more work than any other mill in the plant.

The principle?

Let Charles Schwab say it in his own words, “The way to get things done is to stimulate competition. I do not mean in a sordid, money-getting way, but in the desire to excel.”

The desire to excel! The challenge! Throwing down the gauntlet ! An infallible way of appealing to people of spirit.

查尔斯·施瓦布手下有个厂长，这个厂长的工人总是完不成工作定额。

“怎么回事儿啊？”施瓦布问，“你这么能干的厂长竟然完不成任务？”

“我也纳闷儿呢。”厂长回答，“对他们我又是好言相劝、又是施加压力、还破口大骂，我还威胁赌咒完不成就炒他们鱿鱼。但都没用。他们就是干不完。”

以上对话是在日班结束的时候说的，紧接着夜班就要开始了。施瓦布先向经理要来一支粉笔，然后向离他最近的工人问道：“你们这班今天生产了多少钢板？”

“6块。”

施瓦布二话没说，在地上用粉笔写下一个大大的“6”字就走了。

夜班工人来上班，看到了“6”字，就问是什么意思。

“大老板今天来过了，”日班工人说，“他问我们干了多少块，我们说6块。他就在地上写了这个数字。”

第二天早上，施瓦布又走进了车间。夜班工人已经擦掉了“6”，换成了一个大大的“7”。

早上，日班工人一上班就看到地上大大的粉笔字“7”，于是就想：合着夜班工人这是炫耀他们比我们日班的干得多，是吧？咱得给夜班兄弟们点儿颜色看看。工人们全员热情似火、努力赶工，晚上下班的时候，他们在地上写下了一个大到夸张的“10”。事态朝着好的方向不断发展。

很快，这个过去在产量上大幅落后的工厂成了该企业的生产大户。

要问个中原理？

用查尔斯·施瓦布自己的话说就是：“要想干成什么事儿，就得引发竞争。我说的不是刺激人们争相走向不堪、唯利是图，而是激发大家渴望超越的心。”

渴望超越！直面挑战！勇于挑战！这些绝对是唤起热情的不二法门。

-coax [kəʊks] v. 哄劝

-cuss [kʌs] v. 乱骂

pitch in 把……扔进

-swagger [ˈswæɡə] v. 昂首阔步；炫耀

-sordid [ˈsɔːdɪd] adj. 肮脏的

-gauntlet [ˈɡɔːntlət] n. (中世纪武士用的)金属手套；(骑马、击剑等用的)长手套

查尔斯·施瓦布(Charles Schwab,1862—1939)是20世纪初和卡内基、J. P. 摩根齐名的钢铁大王，创立了世界第二大钢铁公司——伯利恒钢铁公司，是从打工者成长为创业者的完美典范。出身美国乡村，家境贫困，15岁的施瓦布便在山村做了马夫，之后进入卡内基公司所属的一个建筑工地打工。工作辛苦、薪水低的状况并未动摇他累积工作经验、自学建筑知识的决心。抱着“在业绩中提升自己，使工作所产生的价值远远超过所得薪水”的信念，施瓦布很快从技师升任总工程师，25岁时任建筑公司总经理。后接任布拉德钢铁厂厂长一职，凭借天才管理艺术和从未消退的工作热情帮助该厂成为卡内基钢铁公司的灵魂。难怪卡内基总是自信满满：“什么时候我想占领市场，市场就是我的。因为我能造出又便宜又好的钢材。”