The brand of me
自我标榜
“WHAT'S the difference between God and Larry Ellison?” asks an old software industry joke. Answer: God doesn't think he's Larry Ellison. The boss of Oracle is hardly alone among corporate chiefs in having a reputation for being rather k________① on himself. （1）Indeed, until the bubble burst and the public turned nasty at the start of the decade, the cult of the celebrity chief executive seemed to demand bossly narcissism[1], as evidence that a firm was being led by an all-conquering hero.
过去软件业有一个笑话说：“上帝和拉里·埃利森有什么不同？”回答是：上帝认为他不是拉里·埃利森。在各公司领导人中，以自恋闻名的并非仅仅这位甲骨文公司老板一个人。事实上，在十年前IT业泡沫破裂、公众骤然失去理智之前，对知名首席执行官的顶礼膜拜似乎使得自恋一直都是老板们必须具备的条件，因为它表明一个公司是在一位无敌英雄的领导之下。（译注：根据Longman，“the bubble bursts”是指“a very successful or happy period of time suddenly ends”，即“一段非常成功或者欢乐的时期突然结束”。“get/turn nasty”相当于“suddenly start behaving in a threatening way”，即“行为突然之间变得有危险性”。）
Narcissus met a nasty end, of course. And in recent years, boss-worship has come to be seen as bad for business. In his management b________②, “Good to Great”, Jim Collins argued that the truly successful bosses were not the self-proclaimed stars who adorn[2] the covers of Forbes and Fortune, but instead self-effacing[3], thoughtful, monkish[4] sorts who lead by inspiring example.
当然，希腊神话中顾影自怜的那喀索斯最后还是不得善终。近年来，人们已经渐渐发现“崇拜上司”对企业不利。吉姆·科林斯在他的管理学畅销书《听大人物的话》中指出，真正成功的老板不是那些装点《福布斯》和《财富》杂志封面的所谓明星，而是那种为人谦卑、考虑周全、心无杂念并通过干一些鼓舞人心的事来领导公司的人。
（2）A statistical answer may be at hand. For the first time, a new study, “It's All About Me”, to be presented next week at the annual g________③ of the American Academy of Management, offers a systematic, empirical analysis of what effect narcissistic bosses have on the firms they run. The authors, Arijit Chatterjee and Donald Hambrick, of Pennsylvania State University, examined narcissism in the upper echelons[5] of 105 firms in the computer and software industries.
这方面的统计结果也许即将出炉。一项名为“围着我转”的新研究将于下周在美国管理学会年会上首次公诸于世，该研究根据实际经验，系统分析了自恋型老板对其管理的公司所产生的影响。研究报告作者、宾西法利亚大学的阿里伊特·查特叶和唐纳德·汉姆布里克调查了105家计算机和软件公司的上层人士自恋状况。
（3）To do this, they had to solve a practical problem: studies of narcissism have hitherto relied on surveying individuals personally, something for which few chief executives are likely to have time or inclination. So the authors devised an index of narcissism using six publicly available indicators obtainable without the co-operation of the boss. These are: the prominence of the boss's photo in the annual report; his prominence in company press releases; the length of his “Who's Who” entry; the frequency of his use of the first person singular in interviews; and the ratios of his cash and non-cash compensation to those of the firm's second-highest paid executive.
为此，他们必须解决一个实际问题——迄今为止有关自恋症的研究都是依靠面对面个体调查，而首席执行官们可能很少有人有时间或愿意接受这种调查。因此，作者应用6种无需老板合作、通过公众渠道获取的指征，制定了一个自恋症状目录。这些指征是：老板照片在年度报告中的突出位置；他在公司新闻发布会上的突出地位；他的“名人录”记录了多少名人；他在面试时使用第一人称单数（“我”和“你”）的次数；他对薪水位居公司第二位的主管人员给予的现金与非现金补偿比率。
Narcissism naturally drives people to seek positions of power and influence, and because great self-esteem helps your professional advance, say the authors, chief executives will tend on average to be more narcissistic than the general population. How does that affect a firm? Messrs Chatterjee and Hambrick found that highly narcissistic bosses tended to make bigger changes in the use of important resources, such as research and development, or in spending and leverage[6]; they carried out more and bigger m_______④ and acquisitions; and （4）their results were both more extreme (more big wins or big losses) and more volatile than those of firms run by their humbler peers. For shareholders, that could be good or bad.
自恋症必然会驱使人们寻求有权有势的地位。而且作者认为，由于强烈的自尊心有助于提升人的职业地位，因此大多数首席执行官都比一般人更容易有自恋倾向。这对一个公司会产生怎样的影响呢？查特叶和汉姆布里克两位先生发现，高度自恋的老板在研究和开发之类重要策略的使用或者开支和举债经营方面，往往会作出比较大的改变。他们实施较多、较大的兼并与收购项目；相比那些由较为谦卑的首席执行官所管理的公司，他们的业绩更容易走向极端（要么大举获胜，要么一败涂地），也更不稳定。对股东们而言，这可能有利也有弊。
（5）Although (oddly) the authors are keeping their narcissism ranking secret, they have revealed that Mr Ellison did not come top. Alas for him, that may be because the study limited itself to people who became the boss after 1991—well after he took the helm. In every respect Mr Ellison seems to be the c________⑤ narcissistic boss, claims Mr Chatterjee. There is life in the old joke yet.
作者虽然对受调查老板的自恋状况孰重孰轻秘而不宣（有点出乎意料），但透露说埃利森并不是最严重的。这可能是因为研究本身仅限于调查1991年以后成为老板的人——而他在1991年前就早已掌舵，对他而言这未尝不是一件憾事。（译注：alas此处作副词，用于“mentioning a fact that you wish was not true”。）查特叶断言，埃利森在任何方面看起来都是典型的自恋型老板。这就是过去的那个笑话在现实生活中的写照。（这样的老笑话在生活中还有很多。）
[QUIZ]
1. 根据上下文和英文释义，补全单词：
①k_______（adj. fond of something or someone）
②b_______（n. a popular product, especially a book, which many people buy）
③g________（n. a meeting of a group of people）
④m________（n. the joining together of two or more companies or organizations to form one larger one）
⑤c________（adj. typical）
2. 英译汉（将划线部分英文翻译成中文）：
[NOTES]
1. narcissism n. 自我陶醉，自恋
2. adorn v. 装饰（decorate）
3. self-effacing adj. 谦虚的（modest）；谦卑的
4. monkish adj.僧侣的；苦行僧般的；禁欲的
5. echelon n.等级，阶层
6. leverage n. 影响作用；杠杆作用；举债经营
[KEY TO QUIZ]
1. ①keen （be keen on 喜爱）
表示“喜欢，喜爱某物或某人”：like • be into对……着迷 • be fond of • be keen on • appeal to 对……有吸引力• go down well广受欢迎，受到一致好评 • be to your liking投其所好
②bestseller 畅销书
③gathering 集会，会议
表示“会议”的词：meeting会议 • conference讨论会，协商会 • convention大会 • summit 峰会• gathering集会
④mergers 合并
⑤classic 典型的
表示“a typical person or thing”：typical典型的 • representative有代表性的 • archetypal原型的 • classic • textbook case /example典型案例（范例） • stereotype陈规；典型；固定模式
来源:考试大-口译笔译
责编:huangling 纠错
