比起大多數(shù)人才，他們天生更像是混蛋。

????從理論上說(shuō)，他們確實(shí)像混蛋，但你知道，我看自己的簡(jiǎn)歷時(shí)，我對(duì)我所做過(guò)的事情很自豪，但我也承認(rèn)，有許多事情我并不是最佳人選。領(lǐng)袖要認(rèn)識(shí)到自己的長(zhǎng)處和短處，短處在什么地方，然后讓自己的下屬幫助加以彌補(bǔ)。

????例如，有一天在峽谷訓(xùn)練時(shí)，帕姆（指帕姆?梅爾羅伊）和我是共同領(lǐng)隊(duì)。那次我脫水了。我看著她說(shuō)：“帕姆，我感覺(jué)很不舒服。你要成為領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，直到我恢復(fù)元?dú)狻！碑?dāng)然，帕姆眼都沒(méi)眨就同意了。這對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)是非常寶貴的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。對(duì)于一個(gè)男人，尤其是戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)飛行員來(lái)說(shuō)尤為如此。這件事了不起的地方在于，一旦我們放下面子，事情就會(huì)進(jìn)展順利：“沒(méi)準(zhǔn)我應(yīng)該經(jīng)常這么辦?！?/p>

你曾經(jīng)談到，在亞特蘭蒂斯號(hào)與國(guó)際空間站手動(dòng)對(duì)接時(shí)，梅爾羅伊曾幫助進(jìn)行關(guān)鍵決策。你的隊(duì)員是如何協(xié)同作業(yè)的？

????關(guān)鍵是，她很了解我，能判斷出我是否猶豫不決。我的選擇顯然是按訓(xùn)練要求操作。她知道我已經(jīng)下定決心，而機(jī)組的每個(gè)人也都很清楚這一點(diǎn)。而且他們都給我提供信息反饋，讓我知道了：a）我們機(jī)組有足夠的能力完成手動(dòng)交會(huì)，b）有他們?cè)谝磺卸紱](méi)問(wèn)題。我的意思是，這種支持非常強(qiáng)大。雖然這是一個(gè)組建只有九個(gè)月的團(tuán)隊(duì)。

你以后還會(huì)再飛嗎？

????我會(huì)的，不過(guò)是新的私人航天器。我告訴我所在小公司的每一個(gè)人，要飛的話，得由我來(lái)打頭陣，但是沒(méi)確認(rèn)安全之前，我不會(huì)飛。我代表的是人類(lèi)的安全，所以只有我飛過(guò)了，其他人才能飛。

為什么太空旅行對(duì)人類(lèi)如此重要？

????我認(rèn)為，它現(xiàn)在已成了我的個(gè)人信念，太空已作為一種生存機(jī)制寫(xiě)入了人類(lèi)的DNA。只要有適當(dāng)?shù)募?lì)，它就會(huì)點(diǎn)燃我們的激情。我想，這種激情會(huì)伴隨人們的生活和選擇，繼續(xù)在社會(huì)和每個(gè)人身上流淌。

我可以去太空嗎？

????會(huì)的，我差不多百分之百確定?？傆幸惶欤阋矔?huì)飛向太空。你的努力目標(biāo)應(yīng)該是軌道飛行，因?yàn)閬嗆壍里w行對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)太容易了，不是嗎？首先，你飛行的高度將是亞軌道飛行的兩到三倍。到時(shí)候，你會(huì)坐在那里，穿過(guò)雷暴的邊緣，城市的光影，以及亞馬遜河流入大海時(shí)浩渺云煙。你會(huì)看到洛基山脈變成地球表面的一排小土包。你會(huì)看到廣袤的森林變成一條條綠色。你會(huì)看到大氣層，那些薄薄的小帶子，心里說(shuō)：“人類(lèi)就生活在這些小帶子中嗎？”你會(huì)浮想聯(lián)翩。首先，我們要更好地保護(hù)這些小帶子；其次，我們最好能沖出去。你會(huì)為人類(lèi)的脆弱而驚訝。人類(lèi)緊緊地抓住地球表面，就像一棵小小的植物抓住懸崖邊的一小堆土一樣。

如果把我們的老總們也送入太空軌道，他們就能全面的考慮問(wèn)題，而不會(huì)再犯以自我為中心的錯(cuò)誤了吧。

????（大笑）這一點(diǎn)我很懷疑。

????譯者：杜偉華

Those are inherently more badass than most talents.

????Well, they certainly look badass on paper, but you know, I look at my resume, and I'm proud of what I've done, but also recognize that there's a lot of things that I'm not the best person to do. Leaders need to recognize where their strengths and weaknesses are, and where the weaknesses are, they really want active followers to step up and help cover them.

????For example, Pam [Melroy] and I were co-leaders one day in the canyons. I got dehydrated. I looked at her, and I said, 'Pam, I feel really bad. You need to be the leader until I can regroup.' Of course, Pam didn't bat an eye. That was a very powerful lesson for me. For a man especially, for a fighter pilot more so. But what a great lesson, to swallow my pride and see how well it comes out, and go, 'Man, maybe I should do that more often.'

You've spoken about how Melroy helped in the crucial decision aboard the Atlantis to manually dock the spaceship at the International Space Station. How did your crew work together?

????They key was that she knew me and could tell that I was vacillating. The obvious choice was to do what we were trained to do. She knew it was my decision, and so did every person on that crew. They all fed me information to let me know a) we had enough capability on the crew to pull off a manual rendezvous and b) that it was okay with them. I mean, that is powerful. And it came from a team that had been built only nine months before.

Will you fly again?

????I will, but in a new private space vehicle. I'm telling everyone that I'm number one to fly at the little company I work at, and I won't go unless I think it's safe. I'm there to represent the safety of the human beings, so no one else should fly until I do.

Why does space travel matter to humankind?

????I think, and this is my personal belief now, that space is written in our DNA as a survival mechanism. It can ignite passion in us when properly incited. I think that we see that passion ebb and flow in society and individuals as they go through their lives and they have other priorities.

Will I go to space?

????I would say with near certainty, yes. You'll fly some day. What you should strive for -- because the suborbital thing is easy for you, right? -- is an orbital flight. First of all, you're two to three times as high. You're going to sit there and cross over lines of thunderstorms and the lights of cities and plumes of the Amazon flowing into the ocean. You'll see the Rocky Mountains as a series of tiny little bumps on the surface of the earth. And you'll see the great forests as little strips of green. You'll look at the atmosphere, this thin little band, and you'll say, 'all of human kind lives in that little band?' And you'll think. Wow. First, we better take care of that little band, and second of all, we better have an out. You will be astounded at the fragility of humankind. Life is clinging to the surface of this earth like a little plant would cling to a cliff side in a tiny bit of dirt.

Maybe if we sent our CEOs into orbit, they would put everything in perspective and stop making ego-driven mistakes.

????(Laughs) I doubt it.