莫耶斯的五堂管理課

莫耶斯的五堂管理課

弗格森爵士欽點的接班人莫耶斯在曼聯(lián)黯然“下課”，這一石激起千層浪。對管理者來說，他們能從中學(xué)到些什么？FT專欄作家安德魯·希爾編了個段子讓莫耶斯“親自授課”。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

bend on 下決心做某事

Champions’ League 歐冠聯(lián)賽

golden parachute 金色降落傘，一種公司治理的策略，即給因種種原因退職的高管豐厚補(bǔ)償?shù)臈l款，一方面減小管理層的心理壓力，一方面保證權(quán)力變動和交接的平穩(wěn)。用中國的語境來理解就是用經(jīng)濟(jì)補(bǔ)償來避免“59歲現(xiàn)象”。

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Five lessons from Manchester United’s Professor Moyes

by Andrew Hill

* * *

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United's legendary manager, had retired last summer, before picking his Scottish compatriot David Moyes as successor. As English title defender, Man Utd is now at a miserable 7th position on league table. As a result, Moyes was sacked on April 22rd.

Good morning and welcome to the new Harvard MBA module on sports management. I’m assistant professor David Moyes.

You were probably looking forward to listening to Professor Sir Alex Ferguson. He is unavoidably detained, rewriting his first lecture on “Successful Succession Planning: How to Hand-Pick a Man to Look After Your Legacy”. But, having raised your expectations, he asked me to try to fulfil them – something I have got used to doing.

I’d like you to take away five key lessons from this morning’s lecture:

Lesson One. Never, ever, agree to take over from a legend. Someone is bound to end up disappointed. (Just ask Jeff Immelt at General Electric – and he’s had nearly a decade and a half to convince shareholders it doesn’t matter that he’s not Jack Welch.)

Lesson Two. If you must take over from a legend, do try to make sure that said legend is either dead, distant or otherwise unable to turn up every week to watch how you’re doing your job. (Chief executives whose predecessor was recently elevated to the chairmanship may sympathise.)

Lesson Three. If your success depends on the quality of your team, and the quality of your team depends on how much the shareholders will pay to maintain it, don’t take a job where the owners are bent only on squeezing costs and assets. (Chief executives of investment banks, please note.)

Lesson Four. It’s going to take time to convince the team that you’re the right person to take charge. At least make sure that you gain enough of their confidence to achieve one of your key performance indicators – whether that’s a place in the Champions’ League or a quarterly sales target.

Lesson Five. If you can’t rely on shareholders’ patience (and, let’s face it, shareholder patience is a scarce and changeable commodity, whatever business you’re in), at least make sure you’ve packed your golden parachute.

Thank you for listening and now – please excuse me – I have an appointment with my lawyers.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1. According to Moyes, should managers take over a business from a legend?

a. Yes, take the opportunity.

b. No, unless he's dead or distant.

c. It depends on what business they are in.

2. For a successful manegement career, Moyes suggests that...

a. invest heavily on your team.

b. Be authoritative and confident.

c. Score highly on key performance indicators.

d. Let people believe that you can perform well.

3. What do we know about the western investment cunture?

a. Shareholders always welcome the chief executive chosen by the predecessor.

b. Investors judge the performance of football managers in a quaterly basis.

c. Investors often overestimate the role of chief executives.

d. Shareholders across all business sectors are rather short-sighted.

4. Which of the following serves as a sympathy?

a. "Successful Succession Planning: How to Hand-Pick a Man to Look After Your Legacy"

b. "Don’t take a job where the owners are bent only on squeezing costs and assets."

c. "he’s had nearly a decade and a half to convince shareholders it doesn’t matter that he’s not Jack Welch"

d. "let’s face it, shareholder patience is a scarce and changeable commodity"

[1] 答案a. Yes, take the opportunity.

解釋：第一課（教訓(xùn)）是Never, ever, agree to take over from a legend.第二課是If you must, do try to make sure that said legend is either dead, distant...

[2] 答案d. Let people believe that you can perform well.

解釋：第四課是，贏得團(tuán)隊對你的信任需要花一定的時間，如果不能立即讓公司的關(guān)鍵指標(biāo)表現(xiàn)出色——至少得讓人相信自己能讓這些指標(biāo)表現(xiàn)出色。

[3] 答案d. Shareholders across all business sectors are rather short-sighted.

解釋：let’s face it, shareholder patience is a scarce and changeable commodity, whatever business you’re in...

[4] 答案b. "Don’t take a job where the owners are bent only on squeezing costs and assets."

解釋：這是第三課：球隊的成功顯然依靠對團(tuán)隊的投入，而曼聯(lián)的擁有者只對削減開支感興趣，這種背景下你可別接這個活。這顯然有“莫耶斯是替罪羔羊”的意思。AD都有諷刺的意味在里面，而C是喜劇案例，顯然不是同情。