“如果我有更多的時(shí)間,我會(huì)寫一封更短的信”。有鑒于這句話說(shuō)得充滿戲謔又一針見血,人們自然而然地會(huì)誤認(rèn)為它是出自馬克·吐溫之口。不管怎么樣,那些名副其實(shí)的偉大思想家,包括西塞羅、馬丁·路德、本·富蘭克林和亨利·戴維·梭羅,也都有過極為類似的表述。 據(jù)說(shuō),當(dāng)被問及需要用多長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間來(lái)準(zhǔn)備演講這個(gè)問題時(shí),伍德羅·威爾遜總統(tǒng)回答道,準(zhǔn)備10分鐘的演講需要兩周的時(shí)間,一個(gè)半小時(shí)的演講需要一個(gè)星期,“如果沒有時(shí)間限制,我不需要準(zhǔn)備,隨時(shí)可以開講”,他說(shuō)道。 簡(jiǎn)短比冗長(zhǎng)更難得,簡(jiǎn)單比復(fù)雜更可貴。在很多重要的場(chǎng)合下,寧缺毋濫。 如今,擁有一心專注于發(fā)展個(gè)人特長(zhǎng)的自律精神對(duì)于成功來(lái)說(shuō)比以往任何時(shí)候都更為重要。這一點(diǎn)不僅適用于你的事業(yè)和業(yè)務(wù),也適用于溝通。不幸的是,越來(lái)越多的人,尤其是那些雄心勃勃的企業(yè)家們,卻在貪多求全。他們的精力極其分散,面對(duì)“你從事什么工作”這個(gè)問題時(shí),這些人無(wú)法在5秒鐘之內(nèi)給出答案。而這種做法后患無(wú)窮。 越來(lái)越多的人正在放棄加入公司、企業(yè),并選擇了他們所認(rèn)為的自由而又靈活的創(chuàng)業(yè)(他們自認(rèn)為是這樣)。問題在于,他們并沒有專注于打造創(chuàng)新的初創(chuàng)企業(yè),而是加入了日益壯大的零工經(jīng)濟(jì)大軍當(dāng)中,徘徊于多個(gè)工作之間。 數(shù)據(jù)是驚人的。美國(guó)勞動(dòng)力滲透率和新公司創(chuàng)建率均接近數(shù)十年以來(lái)的新低。與此同時(shí),普林斯頓大學(xué)在《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》刊載的一篇研究顯示,個(gè)體經(jīng)營(yíng)者占勞動(dòng)力總數(shù)的比例已從10年前的10%增至16%, 問題在哪?簡(jiǎn)而言之,生產(chǎn)力。MBO Partners最近的一則報(bào)告顯示,個(gè)體經(jīng)營(yíng)者僅貢獻(xiàn)了7%的國(guó)家GDP。換句話說(shuō),個(gè)體經(jīng)營(yíng)者的生產(chǎn)力還不到全職員工的一半。這是一個(gè)很現(xiàn)實(shí)的問題。 值得一提的是,它不僅涉及優(yōu)步司機(jī)、Airbnb房東和Etsy上的賣家。個(gè)體經(jīng)營(yíng)趨勢(shì)波及了廣泛的行業(yè)、地域和人口。這些人通常通過兼職多項(xiàng)工作來(lái)維持生計(jì)。問題就出在這里。 做的零工種類越多,打造自身差異化適銷技能的機(jī)會(huì)以及在任何單一領(lǐng)域脫穎而出的機(jī)會(huì)也就越少。多少種零工算多呢?一種以上。 如果社交媒體的個(gè)人資料能說(shuō)明什么問題話,那么顯然就能看出人們所從事的工作種類似乎必然比以往任何時(shí)候都要多。領(lǐng)英資料正在重新組建其細(xì)目清單,比如我最近看到的一個(gè)人的標(biāo)簽:“企業(yè)家、慈善家、事業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)型教練、業(yè)務(wù)策略師、轉(zhuǎn)型催化師、作者、演講者?!?/p> 運(yùn)動(dòng)員在體育中僅專注于一個(gè)項(xiàng)目有其充分的理由。在這個(gè)充滿競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的世界中,此舉是通向成功的必要條件。奧運(yùn)會(huì)選手可能會(huì)在多場(chǎng)比賽中獲得金牌,但總是集中在同一項(xiàng)賽事。誠(chéng)然,運(yùn)動(dòng)員在年輕時(shí)進(jìn)行各種嘗試是合情合理的,但他們?cè)皆绱_定主攻方向越好。 蘋果一直宣稱其專注和自律是其獲得巨大成功的關(guān)鍵因素。史蒂夫·喬布斯和提姆·庫(kù)克都曾探討過“專攻公司所長(zhǎng)”的重要性,而且拒絕進(jìn)入其他領(lǐng)域。這也是為什么蘋果有能力控制其標(biāo)志性產(chǎn)品從概念設(shè)計(jì)一直到用戶體驗(yàn)的各個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)。 谷歌的故事有所不同。在成立初期,其十大信條包括:“最好是將一件事做到極致?!钡钱?dāng)艾瑞克·施密特于2011年卸任首席執(zhí)行官之后,公司發(fā)布了五花八門的瘋狂項(xiàng)目,從評(píng)價(jià)不佳的無(wú)人駕駛汽車和谷歌眼鏡到無(wú)線上網(wǎng)氣球以及Calico抗衰老項(xiàng)目。在長(zhǎng)達(dá)4年的時(shí)間中,這位搜索引擎巨人曾經(jīng)一路高歌的股票只能勉強(qiáng)跟上納斯達(dá)克指數(shù)的走勢(shì)。 自從聘請(qǐng)摩根士丹利首席財(cái)務(wù)官Ruth Porat之后,情況發(fā)生了徹底的變化。這位搜索引擎巨人重組為Alphabet,以提升被稱為“其他投資”(other bets)的非谷歌業(yè)務(wù)的財(cái)務(wù)清晰度。此舉加強(qiáng)了Alphabet急需的財(cái)務(wù)紀(jì)律和會(huì)計(jì)責(zé)任,并在股價(jià)中得到了體現(xiàn)——Alphabet股價(jià)在15個(gè)月的時(shí)間中上漲了45%。 每一位風(fēng)投資本家和初創(chuàng)企業(yè)創(chuàng)始人都會(huì)告誡人們,創(chuàng)業(yè)成功的關(guān)鍵在于專注和自律。這一點(diǎn)同樣適用于你的職業(yè)。發(fā)現(xiàn)你要專注的事情,停止像無(wú)頭蒼蠅一樣亂撞,越早越好。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)) 譯者:李翔 校對(duì):詹妮 |
“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” Considering its ironic truth, it’s not surprising that the quote has been widely misattributed to Mark Twain. Nevertheless, a veritable who’s who of great thinkers, from Cicero and Martin Luther to Ben Franklin and Henry David Thoreau, have made strikingly similar statements. When asked how long it takes to prepare his speeches,President Woodrow Wilson reportedly said?that it takes two weeks for a?10-minute speech, one week to prepare a half-hour speech, and “if I can talk as long as I want,” he said, “it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.” Brevity is more precious than verbosity. Simplicity is far more valuable than complexity. In so manyimportant?ways, less is more. Now more than ever, having the discipline to focus only on what you do best is critical to success. It’s as true in your career and your business as it is in your communication. Sadly, more and more people – particularly aspiring entrepreneurs – are doing more and more.?They’re spreading themselves too thin, unable to answer “What do you do for a living?” in less than five seconds.?And that’s a recipe for disaster. A growing segment of the population is abandoning the corporate world and opting for the perceived freedom and flexibility of entrepreneurship?—?or so they think. The problem is they’re not focusing on creating innovative startups, but joining the growing ranks of of the gig economy and doing a little of this and a little of that. The data is startling. The?U.S. labor force participation rate?and?new business creation?are both at or near their lowest level in decades. At the same time, self-employed workers have ballooned to 16% of the workforce, up from 10% a decade ago, according toresearch from Princeton University reported in theWall Street Journal. Why is that a problem? In a word, productivity. Arecent report by MBO Partners?says that independent workers contribute just 7% of the nation’s GDP. In other words, self-employed workers are less than half as productive as their counterparts with full-time jobs. And that’s a real problem. This isn’t just about Uber drivers, Airbnb renters and Etsy marketers, mind you. The self-employment trend cuts across a broad swath of industries, geographies and demographics. Those workers often make ends meet by doing multiple gigs on a part-time basis. And therein lies the rub. The more gigs you have, the less chance you have of developing differentiated, marketable skills and excelling in any single field. How many gigs is too many? More than one. If social media profiles are any indication, folks certainly appear to have more irons in the fire than ever before.?LinkedIn profiles are starting to resemble laundry lists?like this one I recently came across: “Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Career Transition Coach, Business Strategist, Transformational Catalyst, Author, Speaker.” Look, there’s a very good reason why athletes focus only on one position in one sport. That’s what it takes to make it in a competitive world. Olympians may take the gold in multiple events, but always in the same category. Granted, it makes sense to cast a wider net when they’re young, but the sooner they focus, the better. Apple has long touted focus and discipline as key to its breakout success. Both?Steve Jobs?and?Tim Cook have talked about the importance of doing only what the company does best?and saying no to everything else. That’s why Apple can afford to control every aspect of its iconic products, from conceptual design to the customer experience. Google is a different story.?In the early days, its 10-point philosophy?included, “It’s best to do one thing really, really well.” But when Eric Schmidt stepped down as CEO in 2011,? the company?unleashed a dizzying array of moonshots, from the infamous self-driving car and Google Glass to Wi-Fi balloons and the Calico anti-aging project. For four long years, the search giant’s once high-flying stock barely kept pace with the Nasdaq. Since hiring?Morgan Stanley?CFO Ruth Porat, it’s like night and day. The search giant reorganized as Alphabet to increase visibility of its non-Google operations – projects it now calls “other bets.” That provided some much-needed fiscal discipline and accountability, and shares of Alphabet have responded, rising 45% in just 15 months. Every venture capitalist and startup founder will tell you the key to entrepreneurial success is focus and discipline. The same is true of your career. The sooner you figure out what to focus on doing and quit screwing around with everything else, the better. |