给领导的一些训诫 (一)

Here are seven lessons for leaders charged with leading their organizations through a crisis:
负有带领公司走出危机之责的领导人应当记取的七大教训：

Lesson 1: Leaders must face reality. Reality starts with the person in charge. Leaders need to look themselves in the mirror and recognize their role in creating the problems. Then they should gather their teams together and gain agreement about the root causes. Widespread recognition of reality is the crucial step before problems can be solved. Attempting to find short-term fixes that address the symptoms of the crisis only ensures the organization will wind up back in the same predicament.
教训1：领导人必须面对现实。现实从负责的人开始。领导人需要审视自身，认识自己在引起问题方面扮演了何种角色。然后他们应当集合自己的团队，就问题的根源达成一致意见。普遍认清现实是问题得以解决的关键步骤。试图找出应对危机表象的短期解决方案只会让公司最终又回到同样的困境。

In order to understand the real reasons for the crisis, everyone on the leadership team must be willing to tell the whole truth. Leaders can't solve problems if they don't acknowledge their existence.
要了解危机的真正原因，领导团队中的每个人都必须愿意说出全部的事实。如果领导人不承认存在问题，就无法解决问题。

Lesson 2: No matter how bad things are, they will get worse. Faced with bad news, many leaders cannot believe that things could really be so grim. Consequently, they try to convince the bearers of bad news that things aren't so bad, and swift action can make problems go away.
教训2：不管情况多糟糕，它们都会变得更糟。面对坏消息，许多领导人无法相信事态真的这么严重。结果，他们会试图说服传达坏消息的人，说情况其实没那么坏，只要迅速采取行动就能让问题消失。

This causes leaders to undershoot the mark in terms of corrective actions. As a consequence, they wind up taking a series of steps, none of which is powerful enough to correct the downward spiral. It is far better for leaders to anticipate the worst and get out in front of it. If they restructure their cost base for the worst case, they can get their organization healthy for the turnaround when it comes and take advantage of opportunities that present themselves.
这会导致领导人解决问题时力度不够。结果，他们最终采取了一系列措施，但没有一个得力到可以纠正不断恶化的形势。如果领导人能够预先考虑最坏的情况并抢先解决，情形会好得多。如果他们从最糟糕的情况出发对成本结构进行调整，一旦经济好转，公司就会处于良好的状况，也能够利用摆在面前的机会。

Lesson 3: Build a mountain of cash, and get to the highest hill. In good times leaders worry more about earnings per share and revenue growth than they do about their balance sheets. In a crisis, cash is king. Forget about earnings-per-share and all those stock market measures. The question is, 'Does your organization have sufficient cash to survive the most dire circumstances?'
教训3：积累大量资金，越多越好。在世道好的时候，领导人更多地担心每股收益和收入的增长，而不怎么担心资产负债表的状况。但危机之时，现金决定一切。别去想什么每股收益和所有那些股市指标。关键问题是：你的公司是否有充足的资金以度过最严峻的形势？