Dialogue
A. Josh, I just finished reading this Forbes article about Jeff Bezos's leadership
style. It was straightforward, yet very insightful.
Josh，我刚刚看了福布斯关于杰夫·贝佐斯领导风格的文章。浅显易懂，但很有见
解。
B. What did the article say?
文章说什么？
A. In the article, Bezos gave his top ten leadership principles that have helped
him build Amazon into one of the biggest companies in the world.
文章里说，贝佐斯给出了他的十条领导原则，这些原则帮助他将亚马逊打造成了世
界上最大的公司之一。
B. What are some of his principles?
他是什么原则？
A. First and foremost, he thinks that your strategy should be based on things
that are constant in the business world like offering a wider selection of
products and services, competitive pricing, and reliable delivery.
首先，他觉得你的策略应该建立在业界一些不变的东西之上，比如广泛的产品选项
、有竞争力的价格、和可靠的物流。
B. I heard Bezos is truthful in sticking to that principle. In fact, Amazon loses
money on many product categories in order to out price their competitors and
expand market share.
我听说贝佐斯真的就身体力行这些原则。实际上，亚马逊在很多产品上都是亏钱的
，因为他们想用低价策略压倒对手，以此扩大市场份额。
A. True. But low prices are not everything. Bezos is also obsessed with
customer service. His mantra is ‘the customer is always right’. He even
encourages customers to send him personal emails when they run into
problems shopping at Amazon. And he forwards those emails to the relevant
employees with a big question mark.
是没错，但低价并不是一切。贝佐斯还很注重客户服务。他有一句真言叫做“客户
永远是对的”。他甚至鼓励客户在亚马逊购物遇到问题的时候给他发送私人邮件。
他会把这些邮件转发给相关员工，并打上一个大大的问号。
B. Wow, that’s a bit excessive. I bet Amazon is a tough place to work at.
哇，这有点过了吧。在亚马逊工作肯定不容易。
A. Yes. I once read that he thinks spending money on employee perks is a
waste of money because it doesn’t create any value for customers. Amazon
employees have to pay for their own lunch and parking. It’s so different from
other internet companies.
没错。我有一次读到说他觉得在员工福利上花钱很不值得，因为这不直接为客户创
造价值。亚马逊的员工要自己掏钱买午饭和停车。这个和其他互联网公司太不一样
了。
B. I wouldn’t want to work for a company like that. But what amazes me the
most about Amazon is that even though it’s the largest online retailer in the US,
it’s still losing money.
我才不想去那样的公司上班呢。不过我觉得最惊讶的还是亚马逊虽然是美国最大的
在线零售商，但它还在亏钱。
A. Well, that’s because Jeff Bezos believes that taking risks for long term
financial gain is a good business practice. So he keeps reinvesting money in
logistics infrastructure and innovation because he wants Amazon to be a great
company 100 years from now.
嗯，那是因为杰夫·贝佐斯相信短期亏损换取长期盈利是好的商业作风。所以他不
断往物流基础设施和创新产品里投钱，因为他想让亚马逊在100年后还是一个伟大
的公司。
B. But I am just not sure about this strategy. I mean you have responsibility
towards shareholders as a public company. You can’t deliver loss year after
year.
我觉得这个策略说不过去。一个上市公司要对它的股东、股民负责任。你不能一年
一年这么亏损下去。
A. Bezos has been able to convince shareholders and Wall Street otherwise.
They are still very bullish about Amazon.
但是贝佐斯就能说服股东和华尔街相信他的眼光和策略。他们对亚马逊的成长很乐
观。
B. In many ways, he is like Steve Jobs, an extremely uncompromising and
eccentric visionary. We seem to like business leaders with those qualities.
其实从很多方面看，贝佐斯和乔布斯很像，都是毫不妥协、思维古怪而且有远见的
人。看来人们还挺喜欢商业领袖有这些特质的。
关键词汇
insightful ˈɪnˌsaɪtfəl 见解深刻的
leadership principles ˈlidərˌʃɪp ˈprɪnsəpl̩z 领导原则
strategy strætədʒi 策略
mantra ˈmæntrə 良言
business practice ˈbɪznɪs ˈpræktɪs 商业惯例
leadership style ˈlidərˌʃɪp staɪl 领导风格
constant ˈkɑnstənt 不变的
competitive pricing kəmˈpɛtɪtɪv praɪs 有竞争力的价格
market share ˈmɑrkət ˈʃer 市场份额
uncompromising ʌnˈkɒmprəˌmaɪzɪŋ 不妥协的
eccentric ɪkˈsɛntrɪk 古怪的
visionary ˈvɪʒəˌnɛri 有远见的人
bullish ˈbʊlɪʃ 行情看涨的
补充词汇
outsourcing ˌɑːwtˈsɔːrsɪŋ 外包
organizing ɔrgənɑjzɪŋ 组织
autocratic ˌɔːtə'krætɪk 专制的，独裁的
Expansion
insightful (insightful)
He gave an insightful presentation on how games can benefit businesses.
他做了一个很有见解的专题演讲，关于游戏怎么能给业务带来好处。
The team have put together a really insightful explanation of their thinking, approach andpurpose behind the project.
团队非常有见解的解释了他们的想法、做法、和项目背后的目的。
The discussion about the new healthcare policy was very insightful.
关于新的医保政策的讨论很有见解。
leadership principles (leadership principles)
Amanda wrote down a long list of leadership principles that she finds effective.
Amanda写下了很长的她觉得有用的领导原则列表。
David used his leadership principles to make his company the largest technology firm in theregion.
David用他的领导原则让他的公司成为了最大的技术公司。
Her leadership principles for her team are very simple and easy to execute.
她对团队的领导原则非常简单且易于执行。
strategy (strategy)
He came up with the best strategy to avoid any problems with the product launch.
他想出了最好的避免产品发布上出问题的策略。
The strategy of the criminal was to deny everything to avoid going to jail.
罪犯的策略是否认一切，避免坐牢。
Our business strategy will allow us to beat the competition.
我们的商务策略会让我们打败竞争对手。
mantra (mantra)
I have recited the mantra for one whole year.
这个金玉良言我背了一整年。
The idea that people are our most valuable resource is an often repeated business mantra.
人民是我们最宝贵的资源这个想法在商务的金玉良言中不断出现。
Purchaser beware should be the mantra of all consumers.
应该告诉所有客户出柜货物拒不退换。
business practice (business practice)
Good business practices can encourage business growth.
好的商业惯例可以帮助业务增长。
Most companies have included interacting with clients on social media as a new business practice.
很多公司都在社交网络上和客户互动，这是一个新的商业惯例。
Placing customer interests above company interests is a good business practice.
将客户的利益置于公司的利益至上是个很好的商业惯例。
Grammar
Using in fact in a sentence (in fact的用法)
Phrases like "in fact" are added to the beginning of a sentence to show emotion, tone or emphasis. When we use it at the beginning of a sentence, it should be emphasized and followed by a comma. Without the use of a comma, the flow of the sentence may be awkward for the reader or for the conversation. By saying the sentence out loud; you’ll naturally pause where the comma should be.
像"in fact"这样的短语放在句首可以反映说话者的情绪、语调及强调。我们把它放在句首的时候，后面要跟上一个逗号。如果不加逗号的话整句句子都会很奇怪。试着大声读读下面的例句，你会深有体会。
Sample sentences:
I'm going to take on a bit more responsibility now that Kevin's left. In fact, I've beenpromoted to senior sales manager.
现在Kevin走了之后我要承担更多的责任。事实上，我被提拔为高级销售经理了。
I got so bored listening to what he was saying. In fact, I fell asleep halfway through hispresentation.
听他说话实在是无聊透顶。事实上，我在他做专题演讲讲到一半的时候睡着了。
It may sound very straightforward to you. In fact, it's actually very complicated.
对你来说这听起来可能很显而易见。事实上，它很复杂。
Exercises
Culture
成为领导责任重大。你可能可以想到一个在一家公司能力很强的领导，却在另一家公司失败的例子。领导决定公司的模式及公司文化。高效的领导风格、领导原则、商业惯例和策略都能决定公司的成功与否。领导风格也决定了公司办事的规章制度及每日的例行公事。
Practice