培养文化的自信

by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

罗莎贝斯·莫斯·坎特

One difference between winners and losers is how they handle losing. 

成功者和失败者仅一步之遥--看他们如何掌控失败。

Even for the best companies and most-accomplished professionals, long track records of success are punctuated by slips, slides, and mini-turnarounds. Even the team that wins the game might make mistakes, fumble, and lag behind for part of it. That’s why the ability to recover quickly and get back on course is so important.

就算是最好的公司以及最成功的专家，他们的长期成功仍伴随着时不时的跌跌撞撞，以及小型的资金周期。就算是行业的龙头也有可能犯错失手，错失良机。这就是有一种快速恢复并走上正轨的能力非常重要的原因。

[Troubles are ubiquitous. Surprises can fall from the sky like volcanic ash and appear to change everything. ]New ventures can begin with great promise and still face unexpected obstacles, unanticipated delays, and critics that pop up at the wrong moment. That’s why I coined Kanter’s Law: “Anything can look like a failure in the middle.”

【麻烦无处不在。惊喜如同天上下火山灰，将会改变一切。】有了巨大的希冀，新的冒险就能开始，不惧任何意想不到的阻碍，意料不到的事件以及任何时刻潜伏的危机。这就是我创造坎特法则的原因：“任何事情的中期阶段看起来都像失败。”

Nothing succeeds for long without considerable effort and constant vigilance. Winning streaks end for predictable reasons: Strategies run their course. New competition emerges to take on the industry leader. Ideas get dusty. Technology marches on. Complacency sets in, making people feel entitled to success rather than motivated to work for it. 

任何一个长期的成功都离不开大量的小成功以及保持长期的警惕。一段成功期的结束不外乎这些原因：多条战略使他们偏离了原来的方向。新的竞争者成为了行业龙头。对所有想法都轻率的回绝。科技进步。被自满冲昏了头脑，让员工沉浸在成功的感受中而不是为之努力工作。

Thus, a key factor in high achievement is bouncing back from the low points. Long-term winners often face the same problems as long-term losers, but they respond differently, as I found in the research for my book Confidence. I compared companies and sports teams with long winning streaksand long losing streaks, and then looked at how leaders led turn arounds from low to high performance. 

因此，取得巨大成功的一个关键因素就是回到事业低点。长期成功的企业常常像长期失败的企业一样面对同样的问题，但他们处理的方式不同，这一点我在我的书《Confidence》中有介绍。我将一些处于长期成功期和长期失败期的公司和体育队伍进行比较，然后观察他们的领队如何领导一个队伍从低谷到事业的高点。

Consider first the pathologies of losing. Losing produces temptations to behave in ways that make it hard to recover fast enough—and could even make the situation worse. For example, panicking and throwing out the game plan. Scrambling for self-protection and abandoning the rest of the group. Hiding the facts and hoping that things will get better by themselves before anyone notices. Denying that there is any thing to learn or change. Using decline as an excuse to let facilities or investments deteriorate. 

首先关注失败的异常现象。失败会诱导公司做出一些举动导致他们不能快速的恢复元气--更有可能使情况变得更糟。比如说，对比赛计划的恐慌和否定。出于自卫的竞争并且禁止团队休息。隐藏事实，并且希望在其他人发现之间使事情好转。否认他们需要学习或者改变什么。用贬值作为设备和投资环境恶化的借口。

The culture and support system that surrounds high performers helps them avoid these temptations. They can put troubles in perspective because they are ready for them. They rehearse through diligent practice and preparation; they remain disciplined and professional. Their leaders put facts on the table and review what went right or wrong in the last round, in order to shore up strengths and pinpoint weaknesses and to encourage personal responsibility for actions. They stress collaboration and teamwork—common goals; commitment to a joint vision; respect and support for team members, so when someone drops the ball, someone else is there to pick it up—and responsibility for mentoring, so the best performers lift everyone’s capabilities. They seek creative ideas for improvement and innovation, favoring widespread dialogue and brainstorming.

在周遭表现非常出色的文化和支援系统可以帮助他们避免这些诱导情况。他们会用长远的眼光看待问题，因为他们这些早有准备。他们通过勤奋的练习和准备进行预演；他们保持严格的纪律和专业性。他们的将问题表露出来，重审在最后环节做的是对是错，以此来增强他们的长处，一针见血的指出缺点，并以此来提升个人在整体行动的能力。他们强调合作和团队协作--是他们的共同目标；强调他们共同的梦想，尊重并且支持整个团队中的其他人。因此当有人疏忽时，其他人就会帮助其改正--并且成为一个负责的可信赖的顾问。所以最好的周遭表现能发挥每个人的潜能。他们积极寻找能够提高和革新的新奇的想法，他们偏好于大讨论和头脑风暴。

Resilience is not simply an individual characteristic or a psychological phenomenon. It is helped or hindered by the surrounding system. Teams that are immersed in a culture of accountability, collaboration, and initiative are more likely to believe that they can weather any storm. Self-confidence, combined with confidence in one another and in the organization, motivates winners to make the extra push that can provide the margin of victory.

适应力不单单是个体特征或者心理现象。它受到周围情况或好或坏的影响。一个沉浸在责任、合作和独创精神文化氛围中的团队，更有可能适应各种难题。来自团队内部队员之间互相的信任和来自整个团队的信任构筑的自信心，能够激发着成功者更多前进的动力，以此来获得更巨大的成功。

The lesson for leaders is clear: Build the cornerstones of confidence—accountability, collaboration, and initiative—when times are good and achievement comes easily. Maintain a culture of confidence as insurance against the inevitable downturns. And while no one should deliberately seek failure, remember that performance under pressure—the ability to stay calm, learn, adapt, and keep on going—separates winners from losers. 

对于领队们，这一课很明晰：建立自信的基础--责任、合作和独创精神--当遇着好时机时，成功唾手可得。主张自信文化来抵消不可避免的下滑趋势。过不了多久没人会费尽心思的寻找失败案例，了解在那种压力下的表现--这种能力能够使我们保持镇静、学习、适应并且继续努力--用以区分成功者和失败者。

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds Harvard Business School’s Arbuckle Professorship and specializes in strategy, innovation, and leadership. Her latest book is SuperCorp (Crown, 2009).

罗莎贝斯·莫斯·坎特是哈佛商学院的阿尔伯克教授和战略专家、发明家、导师。她最近出的一本书是《SuperCorp》（Crown于2009年出版）