To challenge the status quo, find a "co-conspirator" | Ipsita Dasgupta

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

翻译人员: 功伟 邢 校对人员: Wanting Zhong

So I've been thinking about how to explain this concept to you,

我一直在想我该如何 向你们解释这个概念，

and I've decided I'm just going to start with something we all understand.

我决定就从我们都理解 的一些事情开始。

To achieve great heights or change the world,

为了实现伟大的成就或者改变世界，

no matter how smart we are, we all need people.

无论我们有多聪明，我们都需要人。

And for conventional people,

对于循规蹈矩的人来说，

the universe seems to conspire to make them successful.

是世界合谋的天时地利 让他们获得成功。

For the unconventional,

而对于特立独行的人来说，

I think we need something that I like to call "co-conspirators."

我认为我们需要一些 我喜欢称之为“同谋者”的东西。

Co-conspirators are different not because they're different themselves,

同谋者是不同的， 并不是因为他们本身不同，

but because of the people who need them.

而是因为那些需要他们的人 与众不同。

They tend to be people who are willing to bend the rules --

他们大多都是 愿意改变规则的人，

actually even break them sometimes --

实际上有时甚至打破规则，

and challenge the status quo

并且挑战现状

to stand beside someone who is going against societal norms.

来支持那些 与社会常态抗争的人。

I'm actually going to describe an experience that I had

我接下来要描述一次 我的亲身经历，

that first crystallized the idea of co-conspirators in my mind.

在那次经历中，我第一次 形成了关于同谋者的认知。

In 2014,

2014 年，

I was a corporate executive with an American multinational in India,

我是美国跨国公司 在印度的一名企业主管，

and we were actually faced with an interesting problem:

我们碰到了一个有趣的问题：

we didn't have enough women in the workforce.

我们的工作岗位上 没有足够的女性。

And just to give you some context,

让我来给你们一些数据吧，

27 percent of women work in India.

印度的工作女性有 27%。

If you look at most of Asia,

如果你看看大多数亚洲国家，

that number is around 48 percent.

这个数字大约是 48%。

So we knew the numbers were deplorable,

所以我们知道这个比例非常不堪，

and it was manifesting itself in our own organization.

而它在我们的组织中也有所表现。

So we decided -- actually, I'll just give you a quick example

所以我们决定—— 事实上，我将会给你们讲一个

of a young engineer, a 25-year-old woman,

关于 25 岁年轻女工程师 的简单例子，

who told us a great story about her daily life,

她告诉了我们关于 她日常生活的精彩故事，

to just exemplify it for us.

来给我们解释 女性为什么这么少。

She said, "As I walk out of the house in the morning,

她说，“当我早上走出房间的时候，

I am running around doing a bunch of chores,

我会东奔西走 忙着做一堆杂务，

and my mother-in-law -- I live with my in-laws --

而我的婆婆——我和我公婆 住在在一起——

is starting to get a little bit irritated,

开始有一点点怒气，

because she's going to be left with all the housework to do.

因为她将要留下来 做所有的家务。

And then, as I get back home in the evening,

然后，当我晚上回家的时候，

I've overshot the time I'm going to be home by an hour or two at least,

我最少已经比正常回家的时间 迟到了一到两个小时，

and by then, two of my biggest champions,

而我家里最厉害的两位男性，

my father-in-law and my husband,

我公公和我丈夫

are also starting to get a little bit irritated.

也都开始有一些不满。

And my mother-in-law is furious, because she's taken care of everything

我的婆婆因为照料完了 所有需要做的事情

已经怒不可遏。

that needs to be done.

And through the middle of the day,

而在每天白天，

I'm actually surrounded by men my age,

我和一大堆年龄相仿 的男同事共事，

and there's only one expectation from them by society.

而社会对他们只有一个期望。

It's to achieve in their careers

那就是在事业上有所成就，

and provide for their families financially.

并且挣钱养活家人。

How do you expect me to bring this same level of enthusiasm,

你怎么能指望我把同样的热情、

excitement and passion to the workplace?"

兴奋和激情带到工作中来呢?

And she was right.

她说得很对。

And I thought the women's network volunteers

我认为女性联络网的志愿者

came up with a great idea.

提出了一个非常好的想法。

They instituted a "bring your mother-in-law to work" day.

他们发起了一项名为 “带婆婆上班”的行动。

So we heralded a group of mothers-in-law

所以我们邀请了一组婆婆

and a few mothers into the office,

和妈妈们到我们的办公室来，

and we took them to our R and D labs.

然后我们带她们 到我们的研发实验室参观。

We took them to the medical equipment

我们也带她们参观了 她们的儿媳们

that their daughters-in-law were creating and building.

所创造和构建的医疗设备。

And as we did, we described to them what their daughters-in-law actually did:

与此同时，我们还向她们描述了 她们的儿媳究竟在做什么，

they impacted maternal mortality rates and infant mortality rates.

她们的工作帮助降低了

They brought them down.

孕妇和婴儿的死亡率。

They identified complex diseases

她们能够尽早诊断疑难杂症

early enough to be able to prevent and cure them.

以便于预防和治愈它们。

And then we took them to lunch.

然后我们带婆婆们共进午餐。

We gave them a lavish lunch and thanked them for the role they played

我们用一顿极其丰盛的午餐招待她们， 并且感谢她们所发挥的作用，

for freeing up a young woman to work shoulder to shoulder with us

她们解放了年轻女性 来与我们并肩工作，

to literally change the world.

改变世界。

There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

她们都感动地流下了泪水。

Every one of these women were grateful and proud.

在场的每一位女性 都充满感激和自豪。

They were proud of who their daughters-in-law were,

她们为自己的儿媳感到骄傲，

but they were grateful to be included as part of the conversation.

但是她们更感激自己能够 亲身参与这样的一次对话。

And I wondered at the time

那一刻我就在想，

whether what we'd done was just a great touchy-feely moment

我们今天所做的是否 只是一个动人的情感沟通时刻，

and was cute

这一刻的确很动人，

but really wasn't going to have long-term impact.

但其实不会产生长久的影响。

几天之后，我辅导的一位职员 路过我的办公室，

And a couple of days later, one of my mentees swung by my office,

and she was super excited.

她非常激动。

She said, "I went home from work yesterday,

她说，“昨天我下班回家，

and I was bracing myself, because I was really late,

我鼓起勇气，因为我真的太迟了，

and I was bracing myself for a lecture,

我做好了接受训斥的准备，

and my mother-in-law turned to my husband and said,

而我婆婆转过去对我丈夫说，

'Can you please get up and make her a cup of tea?

’你就不能起来 给她倒杯茶吗？

She's exhausted.

她累坏了，

She's saving lives. You work at a bank.'"

她在拯救别人的生命， 而你在银行上班。' ”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And there you had it.

这下你就做到了。

You had the perfect co-conspirator,

你有了一个完美的同谋者，

someone that we don't always recognize or value,

这个人是我们往往 不会意识到、也不会重视的人，

but was changing the way somebody else could challenge the status quo,

但恰恰是这个人可以改变 他人挑战社会常态的方式，

by standing beside her

通过站在她身后支持她、

and questioning the societal norms

质疑社会常态

and making a difference.

并产生影响。

The next example I'm going to use will be closer to almost everyone in this room.

我接下来要用的这个例子 和我们在场几乎每一个人都更接近。

When I graduated from business school and started working in a company,

当我从商学院毕业， 并开始在公司上班的时候，

a group of us, my peers and I, were asked to work on a strategy

我们一伙儿人，我和我的同辈，

被要求为一家 在过去十年经营得不太好

for a business that hadn't been doing too well over the last decade

并一直被忽视的公司 制定战略。

and was being neglected.

We put our hearts and souls into it,

我们在这个项目上倾注了心血，

and we did a lot of analysis on our nights and weekends

在晚上和周末做了大量分析，

and put together what we thought was a good strategy.

并且整理出了我们认为 很不错的战略。

And after presenting it to a number of people

在把方案展示给一部分

支持我们的人之后，

that we were getting buy-in with,

we were actually asked to present to the global CEO

我们被要求在为期一周的 的年度战略会议上

at his annual strategy meet that happened over a week.

把战略汇报给全球 CEO。

And we were both excited and apprehensive as we flew into headquarters.

当我们到达公司总部的时候， 我们既兴奋又担心。

We were excited because this was an opportunity

我们兴奋是因为这是一个

to show how much we had learned.

展示我们所学的机会。

But we were also nervous because, though a brilliant, dynamic man,

但我们也很紧张，这是因为， 虽然 CEO 才华出众、充满活力，

he had a fiery temper and wasn't really the easiest person to present to.

但他脾气暴躁 实在不是一个好的汇报对象。

在我们汇报的五六个小时前， 一位资深的同事把我们叫到一边，

Five or six hours before our presentation, a senior colleague pulled us aside

and sat down and gave us a front-seat view of what had happened all week.

坐下来，给我们讲了 整个星期发生的事情。

We knew about people who had bombed their presentations.

我们得知有的人搞砸了他们的汇报，

We knew about people who had almost been instantaneously promoted in the room.

还得知有的人几乎当场获得提拔。

We knew what was keeping the CEO up at night

我们知道了是什么 使得 CEO 夜不能寐，

and what he thought were tailwinds to the business.

也知道了他认为 什么是对公司的助力。

And when we walked into that presentation later in the day,

当那天迟些时候 我们走进汇报室时，

we actually got buy-in with both the CEO

我们实际上得到了 CEO 还有他的

高级雇员的支持。

and his senior staff.

And it wasn't just because of our analysis or our strategy.

这样的结果不仅仅是因为 我们成功的分析和战略，

It was because we were prepped

还因为我们做好了准备

to be able to communicate in a way that the team could absorb.

按照团队能够理解 的方式进行沟通。

Now, this senior colleague of ours didn't pull us aside,

我们的这位资深同事 并不是因为想要八卦

because he wanted to gossip.

才把我们拉到一边。

He pulled us aside because he believed we were unconventional in the boardroom.

他把我们拉到一边，是因为他相信 我们在董事会里不会循规蹈矩。

That unconventionality was exactly why he wanted us to think about

正因为我们另辟新径的做法， 他才想让我们

this new, fresh perspective

从全新的角度思考，

and provide a view on where this business should go.

并为这个企业的发展提供见解。

But he also knew it was a distinct disadvantage for us,

但是他也深知这对我们来说 是一个显而易见的劣势，

because we didn't know how to present in that room,

因为我们并不知道 如何在那个会议室里做汇报，

and we hadn't done it before,

我们在这之前并没有汇报过，

and they weren't used to receiving us.

他们也并没有习惯于接受我们。

And that again is an example, in my mind,

在我看来，这又是一个

of somebody bending the rules.

有人挑战常规的例子。

Because he decided to co-conspire with us,

因为他决定与我们共谋，

he not only changed the career trajectories

他不仅改变了 组织中六个年轻人

of six young people in the organization who suddenly got all this visibility,

的职业轨迹，他们在那一瞬间 变得非常引人注目，

but he actually changed the trajectory of a business

而且他还改变了一个 人们惯于忽视、

that people were neglecting and didn't have any fresh ideas for.

没有新见解的企业 的发展策略。

The last example I want to share with you

我想与你们分享的 最后一个例子

is actually very far removed from the corporate world

实际上与企业界 没有太大关系，

而是一个比较私人的故事。

and somewhat personal.

This is the story of my mother.

这是我妈妈的故事。

In her early 20s, she lost her father.

在她二十多岁的时候， 她失去了父亲。

He had passed away in his late 40s,

我外公在四十多岁的时候离世，

leaving behind six children,

留下了六个孩子，

four younger siblings and one older sibling than her,

她四个年幼的弟弟妹妹， 一个比她稍大的姐姐，

and a widowed mother who had never worked.

还有一个从来没有工作过的母亲。

My mom and her older sister realized

我妈妈和她的姐姐认为

that they actually needed to start earning an income --

她们真的需要开始挣钱养家——

they were both in grad school --

她们都是研究生——

to ensure the rest of the siblings could get through their schooling

来保障剩下的弟妹们 能够读完书

and start to work.

并开始工作。

于是她把法学课改成了夜校，

So she shifted her law school classes to evening classes,

and she started to work during the day as a schoolteacher

然后开始在白天

to bring home an income.

在学校教课以补贴家用。

And every day, she would actually get off a bus

就这样，每一天她都要

at the end of her evening law school classes

在夜校的法学课结束之后

on the streets of Calcutta.

在加尔各答的街道上 从公交站下车。

Now, mind you,

请注意，

this is a woman who wasn't used to taking public transportation at all,

这是一个过去不曾习惯 乘坐公共交通的女孩，

更别提独自在夜晚行走。

let alone at night.

And as she would get off the bus,

她从公交站下车，

she would take about a seven- to eight-minute walk to her home

花七到八分钟从公交站

from the bus stop

步行回到家，

on a street that was largely deserted,

那街上人烟稀少，

because it was a residential street

因为那是条住宅区街道，

with some shops that closed around 8pm or a little bit before that.

晚上八点甚至更早， 所有的店铺都关门了。

One day, a store owner was closing his store a little bit later than usual,

有天晚上，一个店铺的老板 关门比往常晚一些，

because there was a customer who had actually left a little bit later.

因为有个顾客离开得晚了。

And he saw my mother get off the bus.

他看到我妈妈从公交下车。

He waited for her.

他在等她。

He actually knew the family.

他认识我妈妈一家。

The store had been in the neighborhood for more than 20 years,

那家店铺在那一带已经 经营了 20 多年，

so he knew her since she was a baby.

所以在我妈妈很小的时候， 他就认识她。

He watched her walk to the street that her house was on,

他看着她走到 她家所在的那条街上，

turned off the lights, shut the store and went home.

之后他才关了灯，锁门回家。

From the next day, he found that he waited for her every single day

从第二天开始， 他每天都在等我妈妈

until he she made her way to her own house.

直到她步行回到家里。

Other store owners on that same street suddenly noticed this one store

街上其他的店主 突然发觉这家店

that was open longer,

营业得比往常更久了，

and suddenly started to see a bunch of end-of-day customers walk in

并且突然开始注意到 一些末班的顾客

to buy odds and ends that,

会顺便进去买一些东西，

from after their long day from work and their commute home,

这些顾客通常都在 上了一天班回家后，

realized they hadn't picked up for the next morning.

发现忘了买 第二天早上需要的东西。

Some people who came in the mornings also started to come the night before.

一些原本计划早上购物的人们 也开始在前一天晚上过来。

一些店主们觉得是他垄断了

A few of the storekeepers decided that actually what was happening

was he was monopolizing a bunch of customers,

一批顾客，

and they started to keep their store lights on

所以他们也开始亮起店里的灯

and keep their shop open till 9 o'clock.

并且延长营业时间到晚上九点。

From that time on, my mother had a lit street

从那时开始， 我妈妈走的街道，

with plenty of activity on the street.

变得灯火通明， 行人也络绎不绝。

I believe that that store owner was my mother's co-conspirator.

我相信那个店主 就是我妈妈的同谋者。

Because of him,

正是因为他，

a small change to what was conventional on that street at the time

当时街道上的常态 发生了小小的改变，

allowed for her and her family

而这一改变让我妈妈和她的家人

to do something that was completely unconventional.

得以去做一些完全 不合传统的事情。

A woman her age from an upper-middle-class family

来自中上阶层的同龄女孩

actually got married at that age

通常在她这个年纪结婚

or studied in grad school with the protection of their family.

或者在家庭的庇护下 攻读研究生。

Because of that store owner,

正是因为那个店主，

all of my mother's siblings went on to become engineers,

我妈妈所有的弟弟妹妹们 都成为了工程师、

lawyers, accountants and teachers,

律师、会计师或教师，

and my mother went on to become a lawyer.

而我的妈妈日后也成为了一名律师。

The world needs co-conspirators.

这个世界需要同谋者。

当我们身处于一个 存在越来越多复杂问题的环境中，

As we get into a complex environment where more and more complex problems exist

and we need to find more solutions,

我们也需要寻找更多解决方法，

we need unconventional people in our boardrooms and at the table.

我们的董事会与谈判桌 需要那些剑走偏锋的人。

For that to happen,

为了实现这一切，

we need co-conspirators.

我们需要同谋者。

In my own life,

在我的生活中，

whether it's because of my gender,

不管是因为我的性别、

my ethnicity or sometimes,

我的种族，或者有时候

as I've been living in this part of the world for over a decade, my accent,

是因为我在世界这一侧 生活十几年而形成的口音，

I'm often perceived to be unconventional.

我经常被认为是不符合传统认知的。

It's my co-conspirators that have shown me the path forward,

正是我的同谋者 给我指明了前进的道路，

and actually, it's my co-conspirators that keep me seeking out

事实上，也是我的同谋者 让我不断寻找

the unconventional paths to go down.

打破传统的道路。

So what I'd like to ask of all of you today

所以今天我想对各位提出的请求是，

is that you look around and find the people

看看四周，找到那些

that inspire you to co-conspire.

激励你们进行同谋的人吧。

I promise you that your empathy

我向你保证，你的同理心

and your courage

和你的勇气

will change someone's life

将会改变某人的人生，

and may even change the world.

甚至可能改变整个世界。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）