金融英語泛讀:隔夜快遞之父：弗里德·史密斯

The Father of the Overnight Delivery Business：Fred Smith隔夜快遞之父：弗里德·史密斯

Every night several hundred planes bearing a purple, white, and orange design touch down at Memphis Airport, in Tennessee. Crews unload the planes'cargo of, on average, more than half a million parcels and letters, picked up from locations all over the United States earlier in the day.The packages and envelopes are rapidly sorted according to address, then loaded onto other aircraft and flown to their destinations, to be hand delivered-many within 24 hours of Leaving their senders.This sequence of events is the culmination of a dream of Frederick W.Smith, the founder, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of the FedEx Corp.—known originally as Federal Express-the largest and most successful overnight delivery service in the world.Conceived when he was in college and now in its 28th year of operation, Smith's brainchild has become the standard for door-to-door package delivery.

Known for his geniality as well as his business acumen, Smith is reportedly held in high regard by his competitors as well as his employees.“I always said I thought one of the most brilliant parts of Fred Smith was his ability to deal with each person individually，”Tuck morse, a former Federal Express lawyer, recalled. Indeed，3.2 percent of the entire Memphis workforce is made up of FedEx employees, who are said to have been drawn by the company's high wages and family ethos.“The first thing people do when they move to Memphis is apply for a job at Federal Express，”one FedEx worker said.“Then they go get another job until one opens up here.”

Leadership

Fred Smith was just 27 when he founded FedEx. Thirty-five years later, he's still at the helm.He attributes the success of the company to leadership, pure and simple-something he picked up from his years in the military, and from his family.

Frederick Wallace Smith was born into a wealthy family on August 11，1944 in Mississippi. After his father's death, when he was four years old, his mother, Sally Smith, often talked to the boy about her late husband.“I kept his father alive in his mind all those years，”she recalled.“I told him how much big Fred loved him, and how much he wanted him to have the best education possible.And how much he was certain his son would surpass his achievements in business.”

As a child, Smith suffered from Legg-Calve-Pthes disease, which is characterized by the interruption in the blood supply to the thighbones and the consequent improper development of one or both legs. Unable to walk normally, Smith was picked on by bullies, and he learned to defend himself by swinging at them with his crutch.Reportedly cured of the disease by the age of 10，he became a star athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball.

Smith's grandfather had captained a Mississippi River steamboat；his father built the Greyhound Bus Linein the South, expanding his fortune along with the routes. Smith says he was just four when his father died，“so he probably served as a near mythical role model for me.”

Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, Smith says，“I didn't know I wanted to go into business, but I knew I wanted a leadership position. That appealed to me.”

At 15，he was operating a crop-duster over the flat fields of the Mississippi Delta. As a student at Yale University, he helped resurrect the Yale flying club；its alumni had populated naval aviation history, including the famous“millionaires'unit”in World War I.Smith took care of the club's business and ran a small air-charter operation in New Haven.

With little time to study, his scholastic performance suffered, but Smith never stopped looking for the“big idea.”

He thought he had found it when he wrote a term paper for an economics class. He outlined an idea for a transportation company that would guarantee overnight delivery of small, time-sensitive goods-replacement parts and medical supplies-to major U.S.cities.The professor was not impressed.

Smith was certain he was onto something, but it would be a while before he could turn his idea into reality.

A CentraI Hub

Smith completed two tours in Vietnam, eventually flying more than 200 ground-support missions. While on his first tour, in Vietnam, he survived an ambush that left most of his company dead.During the assault he became separated from his gun, but he managed to retrieve the weapon in time to bring down a Vietcong soldier who was about to attack him.He had also learned a valuable lesson from the war.“There're only three things you gotta remember，”he said，“shoot, move, and communicate.”

Home from Vietnam, Smith became fascinated by the notion that if you connected all the points of a network through a central hub, the efficiency could be enormous, whether the system involved moving packages and letters or people and planes. With an investment from his father's company, as well as a chunk of his own inheritance, Smith bought his first Dassault Falcon planes, and in 1971 formed the Federal Express Corporation.

The early days of Federal Express were marked by extreme frugality and enormous financial losses. It was not uncommon for FedEx drivers to pay for gasoline for their vans out of their own pockets.But despite such problems, Smith always showed concern for the welfare for his employees（as he has continued to do ever since）.“Even when we didn't have the money, even when there weren't couches in this office and electric typewriters, we had a good medical plan for our people.”He recalled.

Today, FedEx is a$32 billion global transportation and logistics company, serving over 220 countries and territories. Operations include more than 670 aircraft and 70000 vehicles.Some 260000 employees and independent contractors worldwide handle more than 6 million shipments each business day.

Along the way, FedEx pioneered the“hub and spoke”system, which has since been adopted by almost all major airlines. The phrase“FedEx it”has become as much a part of the language as Xerox or Google.

Smith says success in business boils down to three things.“You have got to have a viable product or service and a compelling strategy. Then you need an efficient management system.Assuming you have those things, leading a team is the single most important issue in running an organization today.”For Fred Smith, there is a bred-in-the-bone satisfaction that comes from getting people to do the best job they can do every day.

Although Smith avoids the media and the trappings of public life, he is said to be a gregarious and accessible employer. He reportedly visits FedEx's Memphis site at night from time to time and addresses sorters by name, and for years he extended an offer to any courier with 10 years of service to come to Memphis for an“anniversary breakfast.”That embodies Fred Smith's philosophy：People, Service, Profit（P-S-P）.Smith says，“The P-S-P philosophy is like an unbroken circle or chain.There are no clearly definable points of entry or exit.The People link is supported by Profit, which is supported by Service, which is supported by People.Each link upholds the others and is, in turn, supported by them.”In articulating this philosophy and in personally involving himself in its implementation in every company policy and action, Frederick Smith truly demonstrates the new brand of leadership that success in the future will demand.

每天晚上，都有幾百架漆有紫、白、橙三色圖案的飛機在田納西州的孟菲斯機場降落。機組人員卸下清晨從美國各地收到的五十多萬份包裹和信件，根據(jù)地址迅速地將這些包裹和信件分類，然后裝上其他飛機送往目的地。大多數(shù)包裹和信件都會在寄出的24小時內(nèi)交到收貨人的手上。這一連串的事情正是弗里德·史密斯——聯(lián)邦快遞公司（原為聯(lián)邦快遞）的創(chuàng)立者、總裁、首席執(zhí)行官和董事長的最大的夢想。目前，該公司已是全球最大、最成功的隔夜快遞服務(wù)商。史密斯在大學(xué)期間的這個設(shè)想已經(jīng)實行了28年，并成為送貨上門服務(wù)的標準。

據(jù)說史密斯以其親切的態(tài)度、靈活的經(jīng)商頭腦著稱，并贏得競爭者和雇員的高度尊重。前聯(lián)邦快遞法律顧問塔克·莫爾斯回憶說：“我總是說，弗里德·史密斯最杰出的地方之一就是他能以不同的方式對待不同的人?！睂嶋H上，孟菲斯市的3.2%的勞動力是聯(lián)邦快遞的員工，他們被這家公司的高薪和家庭般的企業(yè)文化所吸引。聯(lián)邦快遞的一名員工說：“人們搬到孟菲斯要做的第一件事就是申請一份聯(lián)邦快遞的工作，如果沒有職位空缺，他們會先暫時找份其他工作干著，同時等待為聯(lián)邦快遞工作的機會?！?/p>

領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力

弗里德·史密斯在創(chuàng)辦聯(lián)邦快遞時只有27歲。如今，35年過去了，他依舊坐在掌舵人的位置上。史密斯把公司的成功完全歸功于他的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)方法——純粹而簡單——這是軍隊和家庭教給他的。

弗里德·華萊士·史密斯于1944年8月11日出生在密西西比州的一個富有家庭。在他只有四歲時，父親去世了。在那之后，母親薩利·史密斯經(jīng)常給兒子講丈夫生前的故事。她回憶道：“那些年我一直都努力讓他在心中記住他爸爸。我告訴他，爸爸是多么愛他，多么想讓他接受最好的教育，又是多么確信他兒子將大大超過他在商業(yè)上的成就?！?/p>

兒時，史密斯曾患股骨病，這種疾病會中斷股骨供血，最終導(dǎo)致一條腿或雙腿發(fā)育畸形。因此史密斯無法像健全人那樣行走，為此經(jīng)常被欺負，后來他學(xué)會了揮動拐杖來自衛(wèi)。據(jù)說，十歲那年病愈后，史密斯成了體育明星，足球、籃球和棒球，樣樣精通。

史密斯的祖父曾是“密西西比”號汽輪的船長；父親在南部創(chuàng)建了灰狗巴士公司，賺了不少錢。由于父親在他只有四歲時就去世了，“所以對我來說，他就是一個近乎虛構(gòu)的榜樣”。在田納西州孟菲斯市長大的史密斯說道：“我自己不清楚到底要不要從商，但我知道我想當上領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。這點對我極具吸引力。”15歲時，他曾在密西西比三角洲的平原上駕駛過農(nóng)用飛機。作為耶魯大學(xué)的學(xué)生，他幫忙重建了耶魯大學(xué)飛行俱樂部；其中不少成員的大名都書寫在海軍航空史上，包括第一次世界大戰(zhàn)中著名的“百萬富翁支隊”。史密斯不僅掌管著俱樂部，還在紐黑文經(jīng)營了一家小型飛機租賃公司。

他沒什么時間學(xué)習，學(xué)業(yè)成績開始下滑，但是史密斯從來沒有放棄追求自己的“遠大抱負”。

在寫經(jīng)濟學(xué)的學(xué)期論文時，他覺得自己找到了“遠大抱負”。他大致描述了一下自己的想法，他想建立一家運輸公司，隔夜運送一些小的、保質(zhì)期短的物品——備用零件和醫(yī)療供給到美國的主要城市。然而教授對此并不感興趣。

史密斯確定他將有所行動，但要把想法變成現(xiàn)實還需要一段時間。

中心樞紐

史密斯在越南參加了兩次飛行，總共完成了200多次地面支援飛行任務(wù)。在越南的第一次飛行中，他們遭遇突襲，戰(zhàn)友大多數(shù)都犧牲了，而他僥幸生還。戰(zhàn)斗中，他的手槍脫手，但他及時奪回武器并擊斃了一名正準備攻擊他的越南士兵。戰(zhàn)爭給史密斯上了寶貴的一課。他說：“你只需記住三件事：開槍、移動和聯(lián)絡(luò)?！?/p>

從越南回來后，史密斯開始執(zhí)著于這樣一種想法，如果把網(wǎng)絡(luò)內(nèi)所有的點都連接到一個中心樞紐，無論是運送包裹和信件，還是人和飛機，都會極富效率。他拿著父親企業(yè)的投資以及一大部分繼承的財產(chǎn)，購買了第一架達索爾特鷹式飛機。1971年，史密斯創(chuàng)辦了聯(lián)邦快遞公司。

早期的聯(lián)邦快遞經(jīng)營非常困難，虧損嚴重。送貨員們不得不經(jīng)常自掏腰包出油錢。盡管問題重重，史密斯卻一直很關(guān)心職員的福利（至今仍是如此）。他回憶道：“即便我們沒有錢，即便辦公室里沒有沙發(fā)，沒有電子打印機，我們?nèi)砸獮槊棵麊T工提供完善的健康計劃。”

如今，聯(lián)邦快遞是一家擁有320億美元資產(chǎn)的全球運輸、物流公司，業(yè)務(wù)遍及220多個國家和地區(qū)，擁有超過670架飛機和70000輛運輸車。每個工作日，在全球范圍內(nèi)，大約260000 名遍及全球的職員和獨立承包商要裝運600多萬批貨物。

在發(fā)展過程中，聯(lián)邦快遞率先建立了“車輪式中心輻射”系統(tǒng)，之后被幾乎所有的大航空公司所采用?！斑x擇聯(lián)邦快遞”已經(jīng)成為與施樂公司和谷歌齊名的流行語匯。

史密斯說商業(yè)上的成功主要靠三件事：“你需要一個有生命力的產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)；一項令人信服的戰(zhàn)略；之后，就是要建立一個高效的管理系統(tǒng)。如果具備了上述三點，那么現(xiàn)在運作一個機構(gòu)最重要的就是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)團隊。”對于弗里德·史密斯來說，能讓人們每天各盡所能地工作給了他發(fā)自肺腑的滿足感。

盡管史密斯經(jīng)常回避媒體，遠離公眾視線，但人們依然認為他是一個合群、親切的雇主。據(jù)說，他經(jīng)常晚上回到設(shè)在孟菲斯的聯(lián)邦快遞公司，而且“指名道姓”地和郵件整理員打招呼。幾年來，他向所有十年工齡以上的快遞員發(fā)出邀請，去孟菲斯參加“周年慶早餐”。這一點體現(xiàn)了弗里德·史密斯的哲學(xué)：人、服務(wù)、利潤（P-S-P）。他說：“P-S-P哲學(xué)就像一個堅不可摧的圓圈或鎖鏈，其中沒有確定的入口和出口。人以利潤為動力，而獲得利潤需要提供服務(wù)，服務(wù)則依賴于人的付出。它們環(huán)環(huán)相扣，相互支撐。”無論是對這一理念的闡述，還是身體力行地投入到各項公司的政策執(zhí)行中來，弗里德·史密斯都很好地證明了企業(yè)未來的成功需要這種新型的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)方式。

實戰(zhàn)提升

核心單詞

sequence['si:kw?ns]v./n.連續(xù)；接連

culmination[,k?lmi'nei??n]n.頂點；高潮的到達

conceive[k?n'si:v]v.構(gòu)想出，想象；懷孕

crutch[kr?t?]v./n.支持，依靠

aviation[,eivi'ei??n]n.航空，飛行

財經(jīng)知識一點通

聯(lián)邦快遞集團（FedEx Express）

為遍及全球的顧客和企業(yè)提供涵蓋運輸、電子商務(wù)和商業(yè)運作等一系列的全面服務(wù)。作為一個久負盛名的企業(yè)品牌，聯(lián)邦快遞集團通過相互競爭和協(xié)調(diào)管理的運營模式，提供了一套綜合的商務(wù)應(yīng)用解決方案，使其年收入高達320億美元。

承包經(jīng)營（contract management）

在堅持生產(chǎn)資料所有制不變的基礎(chǔ)上，按照所有權(quán)和經(jīng)營權(quán)分離的原則，承包方通過簽訂合同，明確責權(quán)關(guān)系，為發(fā)包方完成一定生產(chǎn)任務(wù)、工程建設(shè)項目、技術(shù)設(shè)計任務(wù)等進行的自主經(jīng)營的一種經(jīng)營制度。

翻譯練習

Known for his geniality as well as his business acumen, Smith is reportedly held in high regard by his competitors as well as his employees.

With little time to study, his scholastic performance suffered, but Smith never stopped looking for the“big idea.”

lt was not uncommon for FedEx drivers to pay for gasoline for their vans out of their own pockets.