生活英語聽力文章：改變不了從來都沒有想過的

改變不了從來沒有想過的

You Can’t Improve What you Don’t Measure

有評價(jià)才有提高

The old adage “Measure twice and cut once” is practical advice for everyone, especially carpet layers, tailors, and carpenters.

老話說得好：“三思而后行”。這是對所有人的實(shí)用性建議，尤其是對于地毯鋪設(shè)工，裁縫和木匠。

My lesson today is on measurements; however, it’s about a different kind of measurement. It’s about the importance of measuring your performance.

今天我要談?wù)勗u價(jià)，但和普通意義的評價(jià)不一樣，我談的是關(guān)于評價(jià)自己行為的重要性。 

Dr. H. James Harrington has been involved in quality and performance improvement projects since the 1950s. He summarizes well what this lesson is all about. “Measurement is the first step that leads to control and eventually to improvement. If you can’t measure something, you can’t understand it. If you can’t understand it, you can’t control it. If you can’t control it, you can’t improve it.”

20 世紀(jì)50年代有一個(gè)項(xiàng)目，叫質(zhì)量和性能改善計(jì)劃。哈林頓博士就是這個(gè)項(xiàng)目中的一員。正好可以用他的總結(jié)來說說我們本課的內(nèi)容：“評價(jià)讓你能控制最終做出改進(jìn)的第一步。如果你無法對一件事情作出評價(jià)，你就不能把它弄明白;弄不明白就不能控制它;如果你無法控制，就得不到改進(jìn)。”

Who Measures?

誰來評價(jià)?

It’s not a stretch to say that any team, organization, or person who wishes to perform better or accomplish more has meaningful points of measurement.

這不是說想表現(xiàn)更好的任何團(tuán)隊(duì)，組織或個(gè)人就能實(shí)行這個(gè)評價(jià)。

To clarify my point, consider if:

想要明白我的意思，思考一下，如果：

Baseball players never knew their batting average

Advertisers did not measure the number of people who responded to an ad

Golfers did not keep track of their scores

Online shopping sites did not track the conversion rate of website visitors to customers

Students never knew the results of their tests

Customer service centers did not measure how long customers were on hold

Companies did not measure their sales

If they didn’t measure their performance, how would they know if they improved?

壘球運(yùn)動員不知道自己的擊球率;廣告商不考慮廣告的覆蓋范圍;高爾夫球員不記錄自己的得分;線上購物網(wǎng)站不記錄瀏覽網(wǎng)站的人轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)轭櫩偷膸茁?學(xué)生從不知道考試結(jié)果;客戶服務(wù)中心不考慮顧客的等待接聽時(shí)間;公司不考慮銷售。如果像以上所說，他們又怎么能知道自己有沒有提高呢?

Why Measure?

為什么要評價(jià)?

Quite simply, what gets measured gets done. Think about it. The very nature of knowing that something is being monitored causes us to work harder and perform better. There’s actually proof of this—it’s called the Hawthorne Effect.

想想一個(gè)很簡單的道理——可以評價(jià)的工作才能完成。大家都知道，如果被監(jiān)督完成某項(xiàng)工作，我們會更努力，完成得更好。這一點(diǎn)證明了霍桑效應(yīng)。

Coined in 1955 by Henry Landsberger, the Hawthorne Effect describes a form of reactivity on the part of people whereby they improve an aspect of behavior being measured simply in response to the fact that the measurement is taking place! Amazing, isn’t it!

霍桑效應(yīng)是亨利·蘭茨貝格在1995年提出來的，指的是人們在知道評價(jià)自己某方面行為的工作正在進(jìn)行時(shí)，他們會在被評價(jià)部分的表現(xiàn)有所改進(jìn)的這樣一種反應(yīng)形式。很驚異吧? 

When you measure your own performance, positive things happen:

評價(jià)自己表現(xiàn)時(shí)，會產(chǎn)生一些積極效果：

You are able to set goals and evaluate your progress.

You always know exactly where you stand.

You can identify key aspects you want to refine.

You are able to see the results of your refinements.

You can quickly and accurately trouble shoot your problems

I can tell you firsthand how absolutely critical it was to my success that I measured my results. Throughout my sales career, I measured things such as the number of calls I made, the number of calls that were answered, the number of appointments I set, the number of appointments that resulted in new clients, as well as the size of each sale. I measured everything I did in the entire sales process.

你能設(shè)立目標(biāo)并對進(jìn)展作出評價(jià)。你總能清楚知道自己的當(dāng)下狀況。你能分出想要的精煉部分。你可以看到自己的進(jìn)步。你能夠快速準(zhǔn)確地解決問題。我可以直白告訴你們評價(jià)自己對我的成功是多么的關(guān)鍵。貫穿我的整個(gè)銷售生涯，我對銷售中做的每件事都作出評價(jià)。比如打了多少個(gè)電話又有多少人接了電話;約了多少人又有多少人最后成為了我的客戶。再比如每單銷售的大小。

Doing so not only showed me how I was doing, it brought attention to the key elements of my performance and motivated me to strive harder to improve in each area.

這樣我不僅知道我在干什么，還能集中精力更加努力做得更好，改進(jìn)每個(gè)方面的工作。 

Measuring and Improving

評價(jià)和改進(jìn)

In order to develop or improve any area of your life, you need to do three things:

無論想要改進(jìn)生活的哪些方面，你都要做下面三件事：

1. You need to know your starting point. This is often referred to as your benchmark or baseline—the point from which all progress is measured. If you wanted to lose weight, this would include your current weight and all your key body measurements.

1.不忘初衷。這通常是行動基準(zhǔn)或底線——因?yàn)樗械倪M(jìn)步都基于此。如果你想減肥，你的計(jì)劃就要包括你的目前體重和你身體其它各項(xiàng)關(guān)鍵指標(biāo)。

2. You need a goal. In the words of noted psychologist Arnold Glasgow, “In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” Without a clear idea of where you are headed and what you wish to accomplish, how will you know if you ever get there?

2.設(shè)立目標(biāo)。著名心理學(xué)家格拉斯哥說過：”生活就像一場足球賽，如果你不知道目標(biāo)在哪，你走不了多遠(yuǎn)。“不清楚目標(biāo)，不知道你想要的是什么，你怎么知道你能不能實(shí)現(xiàn)它?

3. You need to determine how you are going to measure your progress. If you wanted to reduce your spending and save money, it would be wise to carry a small notepad and write down everything thing you buy and the price you paid.

3.你要決定如何評價(jià)自己的進(jìn)步。如果你想節(jié)省開支，那最好隨身帶一個(gè)小筆記本，記下你買的所有東西和價(jià)格。

Develop an Action Plan

制定行動計(jì)劃

Whether in business, sports, school, or any area of life, you can’t improve what you don’t measure. When you track and measure your results each month, you will have new benchmarks that you can strive to improve upon the next month. If you focus on improving your results month after month, you will begin to see amazing changes take place in your performance and results.

不管是在工作中，在運(yùn)動場上，在學(xué)校里還是在生活的各個(gè)方面，如果你不對自己做出評價(jià)你就不能進(jìn)步。每月對自己的長進(jìn)的評價(jià)就是為下個(gè)月的提高設(shè)立新的基準(zhǔn)。如果你每個(gè)月不間斷提高自己，你就能看到自己驚人的變化。

Ready to get started?

準(zhǔn)備好這么做了嗎?

1. Identify the parts of your life that you want to improve. Don’t blow off this simple assignment. This is a critical component to your success. Make a list of the things you want to improve.

1.確定你想在生活哪些方面得到提高。不要小看這個(gè)簡單的任務(wù)，這對你的成功很關(guān)鍵。列出你想要改進(jìn)的地方。

2. Document your starting point. If you want to increase your net worth, then subtract your liabilities from your assets and determine your starting point.

2.記下你的出發(fā)點(diǎn)。如果你想提升資產(chǎn)凈值，從你的資產(chǎn)中扣除債務(wù)后，確定起點(diǎn)。

3. Set your goals. If you want to double your sales over the next 12 months, right down your target.

3.設(shè)定目標(biāo)。如果你想在接下來一年里讓銷售額翻倍，把這個(gè)目標(biāo)寫下來。

4. Determine the key factors that will influence your success. What are the activities that if done correctly will help you achieve your goals? These are the things you will measure.

4.確定影響你成功的關(guān)鍵因素。哪些事情如果正確實(shí)施了會有利于你實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)?這些事情就是你要評價(jià)的事情。

5. Create a means of measuring your actions and your results. What will you use to document these results?

5.創(chuàng)造一種評價(jià)你的行動和結(jié)果的方法。你會用什么記錄這些結(jié)果?

Remember: You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

記?。翰辉u價(jià)就沒有提高。

As you measure your actions and results, continue to look for ways to make refinements. This is all part of the process of striving for excellence to be the best at what you do!

評價(jià)行動和結(jié)果時(shí)，進(jìn)行尋找方法做改進(jìn)。這就是讓你努力做到最好的整個(gè)過程!

When you begin to measure what you do and how well you do it, you will begin to see the refinements you can make. As you strive to make small improvements day after day and week after week, nothing can stop you from achieving your goals.

當(dāng)你開始評價(jià)自己在做什么以及做得怎么樣時(shí)，你就會開始看到自己的進(jìn)步。只要你日復(fù)一日，周復(fù)一周地有一些小改進(jìn)，沒有什么可以阻止你實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)。