Stanley McChrystal: Listen, learn ... then lead

翻译人员: chen xujie 校对人员: Jenny Yang

Ten years ago, on a Tuesday morning,

十年前，周二的早上

I conducted a parachute jump at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

我在北卡罗纳州的Fort Bragg讲述跳伞

It was a routine training jump, like many more I'd done

这是一次例行的跳伞练习 像我以往做过的很多的培训一样

since I became a paratrooper

自从我成为专业的跳伞者后

27 years before.

27年之前

We went down to the airfield early

我们很早就来到飞机场

because this is the Army and you always go early.

因为在军队 你需要很早出行

You do some routine refresher training,

你做了一些例行的恢复训练

and then you go to put on your parachute and a buddy helps you.

接着你背上你的跳伞包 ,一个伙伴会帮你

And you put on the T-10 parachute.

你背上T10的跳伞包

And you're very careful how you put the straps,

你要很小心绑上安全皮带

particularly the leg straps because they go between your legs.

尤其是腿的皮带 因为你需要绑在你两腿之间

And then you put on your reserve, and then you put on your heavy rucksack.

接着穿上你的后备装置，接着背上你很重的帆布包

And then a jumpmaster comes,

接着跳伞专家也来了

and he's an experienced NCO in parachute operations.

他是在跳伞操作方面很有经验的NCO

He checks you out, he grabs your adjusting straps

他来跟你做检查，他拿着你调整安全皮带

and he tightens everything

接着他绑紧所有东西

so that your chest is crushed,

所以你的胸部有些挤压感

your shoulders are crushed down,

你肩膀也被压住

and, of course, he's tightened so your voice goes up a couple octaves as well.

当然，因为他绑得很紧 所以你的声音会提高几个八度

Then you sit down, and you wait a little while,

接着你坐下来，等一段时间

because this is the Army.

因为这是军队里

Then you load the aircraft, and then you stand up and you get on,

接着要把你装到飞机里， 你站起来上飞机

and you kind of lumber to the aircraft like this, in a line of people,

你在飞机中好像木头一样,人们排成了一列

and you sit down on canvas seats on either side of the aircraft.

你坐在分列在飞机两旁的帆布座位上

And you wait a little bit longer,

你要等候较长一段时间

because this is the Air Force teaching the Army how to wait.

因为空军会告诉军队如何去等待

Then you take off.

接着你就起飞了

And it's painful enough now --

这已经足够痛苦了

and I think it's designed this way --

我想就是这样设计的

it's painful enough so you want to jump.

这非常痛苦 你很想跳下去

You didn't really want to jump, but you want out.

你不是真的想跳下去 你只是想离开

So you get in the aircraft, you're flying along,

所以当你进入到飞机 你需要一直飞行

and at 20 minutes out, these jumpmasters start giving you commands.

接着20分钟过后 这些跳伞专家就会给你命令

They give 20 minutes -- that's a time warning.

他们给你20分钟——这是时间的提醒

You sit there, OK.

你做在那里， 好的

Then they give you 10 minutes.

接着他们给你10分钟的提醒

And of course, you're responding with all of these.

当然， 你要对这些做出回答

And that's to boost everybody's confidence, to show that you're not scared.

这是为了建立每一个人的信心，告诉你不要害怕

Then they give you, "Get ready."

他们给你提示，“准备好了。”

Then they go, "Outboard personnel, stand up."

接着他们说，“外舱的人员，请站起来。”

If you're an outboard personnel, now you stand up.

如果你是外舱的人员，你就要站起来。

If you're an inboard personnel, stand up.

如果你是内舱的人员，站起来。

And then you hook up, and you hook up your static line.

你要用钩挂住，你钩在固定的拉线上。

And at that point, you think, "Hey, guess what?

在那一刻，你想：“接下来会发生什么事情了？”

I'm probably going to jump.

我很可能准备跳下去。

There's no way to get out of this at this point."

但在这一刻你绝对不能这样就跳出去。“

You go through some additional checks, and then they open the door.

你需要做额外的一些检查，接着他们打开舱门。

And this was that Tuesday morning in September,

这就是九月里那个周二的早上

and it was pretty nice outside.

外面都非常好

So nice air comes flowing in.

新鲜的空气吹进来

The jumpmasters start to check the door.

跳伞专家开始检查舱门

And then when it's time to go,

到了起跳的时候

a green light goes and the jumpmaster goes, "Go."

会出现一道绿光 接着跳伞专家会喊，”开始。“

The first guy goes, and you're just in line,

第一个人跳下去了，你只需排着队。

and you just kind of lumber to the door.

你就像木头一样靠在门边

Jump is a misnomer; you fall.

跳是一个不恰当的名字，确实来说你是掉下去

You fall outside the door,

你从舱门掉下去

you're caught in the slipstream.

你被气流接住

The first thing you do is lock into a tight body position --

你第一个件事是锁定一个固定的身体姿势

head down in your chest, your arms extended,

你的胸部朝下，你的手臂展开

put over your reserve parachute.

放在你预先准备的伞包

You do that because, 27 years before,

你做这样的事，是因为在27年前

an airborne sergeant had taught me to do that.

一个空军警官让我这样做

I have no idea whether it makes any difference,

我并不知道这样是否会产生什么不同

but he seemed to make sense,

但他却使得这个很有道理

and I wasn't going to test the hypothesis that he'd be wrong.

我并不想做实验去证明他的假设是错的

And then you wait for the opening shock

接着你等待着开伞那一刻

for your parachute to open.

那强劲的冲击

If you don't get an opening shock, you don't get a parachute --

如果你没有碰到这个冲击力，你可能没有带降落伞

you've got a whole new problem set.

或者你遇上了一连串新的问题

But typically you do; typically it opens.

但通常伞都会正常打开

And of course, if your leg straps aren't set right,

当然，如果你的腿的皮带扣得不对

at that point you get another little thrill.

此时你又会又是一阵紧张

Boom.

很大一声

So then you look around,

接着你四处去看

you're under a canopy and you say, "This is good."

你所属的长官会说：“这不错。”

Now you prepare for the inevitable.

现在 你要为不可避免的事情做准备

You are going to hit the ground.

你现在准备撞到地上

You can't delay that much.

你不能耽误太多

And you really can't decide where you hit very much,

实际上你不能决定哪里你撞得最厉害

because they pretend you can steer,

因为他们假想你可以驾控

but you're being delivered.

但事实上你是被送到地上的

So you look around, where you're going to land,

你四处去看，哪里是你着陆的地方

you try to make yourself ready.

你希望你自己能做好准备

And then as you get close, you lower your rucksack below you on a lowering line,

但当你越接近的时候，在下降的过程中你把你的背包置于你之下

so that it's not on you when you land,

所以当你着陆时 它并不在身上

and you prepare to do a parachute-landing fall.

你需要准备打开降落伞然后降落

Now the Army teaches you

接着部队会教你

to do five points of performance --

五个部位的动作

the toes of your feet,

你的脚趾头

your calves, your thighs,

你的小腿，你的大腿

your buttocks and your push-up muscles.

你的屁股和你的支撑肌肉

It's this elegant little land, twist and roll.

这是一个优雅轻微的着陆，连翻代转

And that's not going to hurt.

者将不会造成伤害

In 30-some years of jumping, I never did one.

但在30年的跳伞经历中，我并没有成功作过

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I always landed like a watermelon out of a third floor window.

我总是像在3楼扔下的西瓜一样降落

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And as soon as I hit,

只要我着地

the first thing I did is I'd see if I'd broken anything that I needed.

第一件事我会做的是看看我是否打烂了我的必需品

I'd shake my head,

我会晃脑袋

and I'd ask myself the eternal question:

问自己一个恒久的问题：

"Why didn't I go into banking?"

“为什么我没有进入到银行业？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I'd look around,

我爱四处去看

and then I'd see another paratrooper,

我喜欢看其他跳伞人员

a young guy or girl,

年轻男女

and they'd have pulled out their M4 carbine

他们需要拿出他们M-4的卡宾枪

and they'd be picking up their equipment.

接着他们需要拿走他们的设备

They'd be doing everything

他们需要做所有的事情

that we had taught them.

我们教授他们的

And I realized

我意识到

that, if they had to go into combat,

如果他们需要战斗

they would do what we had taught them and they would follow leaders.

他们会作我们所有教他们的 他们会服从领导的安排

And I realized that, if they came out of combat,

我发现到，如果他们结束战争之后，

it would be because we led them well.

会是怎样，因为我们领导得很好

And I was hooked again on the importance of what I did.

我再次被我做的事情的重要性迷住了

So now I do that Tuesday morning jump,

所以在周二早上我跳的那一次

but it's not any jump --

但这不是任何一次跳伞——

that was September 11th, 2001.

是在2001年九月11日

And when we took off from the airfield, America was at peace.

当我们从机场起飞，美国当时还一片平静

When we landed on the drop-zone, everything had changed.

当我在预定着陆区域着陆，所有东西都改变了

And what we thought

我们所想到的是

about the possibility of those young soldiers going into combat

很多年轻士兵进入到战争的可能性

as being theoretical

从理论上说

was now very, very real --

这是非常非常真实的

and leadership seemed important.

领导力显得很重要

But things had changed;

但是很多东西改变了

I was a 46-year-old brigadier general.

我是46岁准将

I'd been successful,

我曾经取得成功

but things changed so much

但很多事情已经改变

that I was going to have to make some significant changes,

我需要做出一些显著的改变

and on that morning, I didn't know it.

在那一个早上，我并不知道

I was raised with traditional stories of leadership:

我在很多传统的关于领导力的故事所熏陶下成长

Robert E. Lee, John Buford at Gettysburg.

Robert E.Lee, John Buford在葛斯底堡

And I also was raised

我同样受到了

with personal examples of leadership.

一些关于个人领导力的例子的熏陶

This was my father in Vietnam.

这是我的父亲在越南

And I was raised to believe

我从小的培养就相信

that soldiers were strong and wise

士兵是强壮和智慧的

and brave and faithful;

是勇敢和忠诚的

they didn't lie, cheat, steal

他们不会说谎，欺骗和偷盗

or abandon their comrades.

或者被战友所遗弃

And I still believe real leaders are like that.

而我一直相信领导者就是这样的

But in my first 25 years of career,

但在我职业生涯头25个年头中

I had a bunch of different experiences.

我获得了很多不同的经历

One of my first battalion commanders,

我第一个战事中的一个指挥官

I worked in his battalion for 18 months

我在他的营部工作了18个月

and the only conversation he ever had with Lt. McChrystal

他唯一和McChrystal中将的谈话

was at mile 18 of a 25-mile road march,

是在25英里的行军中走到18英里的时候

and he chewed my ass for about 40 seconds.

他严厉斥责我大约40秒

And I'm not sure that was real interaction.

我不肯定这是否一个真正意义上的互动

But then a couple of years later, when I was a company commander,

但几年过去以后，当我是一个连队的指挥官时

I went out to the National Training Center.

我去了全国训练中心

And we did an operation,

我们布置了一个行动

and my company did a dawn attack --

我的连队做了一个黎明攻击

you know, the classic dawn attack:

你知道，经典的黎明攻击

you prepare all night, move to the line of departure.

你需要整晚准备，来到了出发的地方

And I had an armored organization at that point.

当时我拥有一个有装甲的团队

We move forward, and we get wiped out --

我们按计划行动， 我们被全歼了

I mean, wiped out immediately.

我是说立刻被全歼了

The enemy didn't break a sweat doing it.

敌人没花摧毁之力

And after the battle,

在那次行动之后，

they bring this mobile theater and they do what they call an "after action review"

他们带来了移动的电影院 做了“行动后的回顾”

to teach you what you've done wrong.

教你那些地方做错了

Sort of leadership by humiliation.

所谓的屈辱教育

They put a big screen up, and they take you through everything:

他们带来一个大屏幕，让你重温一切

"and then you didn't do this, and you didn't do this, etc."

“...你没有做这个，你也没有做这个，等等。”

I walked out feeling as low

我走出来后感觉

as a snake's belly in a wagon rut.

自己非常愚蠢

And I saw my battalion commander, because I had let him down.

而我看到我这个营部的指挥员，因为我让他失望了

And I went up to apologize to him,

我走上去跟他道歉

and he said, "Stanley, I thought you did great."

他说："Stanley，我觉得你做得很好。”

And in one sentence,

这一句话，

he lifted me, put me back on my feet,

他的支持让我重新振作

and taught me that leaders can let you fail

教会好领导者会让你尝试失败

and yet not let you be a failure.

但不会让你变成败者。

When 9/11 came,

当911来临的时候，

46-year-old Brig. Gen. McChrystal sees a whole new world.

46岁的Brig.Gen.McChrystal看到一个全新的世界。

First, the things that are obvious, that you're familiar with:

首先，这些是很明显的，你熟悉的：

the environment changed --

环境改变了--

the speed, the scrutiny,

速度，审议

the sensitivity of everything now is so fast,

对所有事物的感触都很快

sometimes it evolves faster

有时变化得更加快

than people have time to really reflect on it.

没有时间给人们作出反应

But everything we do

但所有我们做的事情

is in a different context.

都是在不同的情况下

More importantly, the force that I led

更加重要的是，我领导的军队

was spread over more than 20 countries.

已经遍布了20多个国家

And instead of being able to get all the key leaders

代替将所有的主要领导人

for a decision together in a single room

为了一个决定集中在一个房间里面

and look them in the eye and build their confidence

直视他们，建立他们信心，

and get trust from them,

从他们那里得到信任，

I'm now leading a force that's dispersed,

现在我领带一支分散的军队

and I've got to use other techniques.

我需要使用其他技术。

I've got to use video teleconferences, I've got to use chat,

我需要用视频会议，我需要使用聊天工具，

I've got to use email, I've got to use phone calls --

我需要用电邮，我需要用电话——

I've got to use everything I can,

我要用上所有我能用上的东西

not just for communication,

但这不仅仅是为了交流沟通

but for leadership.

这是为了领导。

A 22-year-old individual

一个22岁的人

operating alone,

一个人独立行动

thousands of miles from me,

他离我数千里远

has got to communicate to me with confidence.

需要有信心与我交流。

I have to have trust in them and vice versa.

我需要相信他们，反之亦然

And I also have to build their faith.

我需要建立他们的信心

And that's a new kind of leadership

这是新型的领导能力

for me.

对于我来说

We had one operation

我们需要有一个运作系统

where we had to coordinate it from multiple locations.

我需要把多个地方联系起来

An emerging opportunity came --

一个紧急机会来了——

didn't have time to get everybody together.

没有时间让所有人集中在一起

So we had to get complex intelligence together,

但我们需要集中智慧

we had to line up the ability to act.

我们必须合力去采取行动。

It was sensitive, we had to go up the chain of command,

这是很敏感的，我们必须一路向上汇报

convince them that this was the right thing to do

说服他们这是我们应该做的事情

and do all of this

完成这些东西

on electronic medium.

在电子的媒介上

We failed.

我们失败了。

The mission didn't work.

这个任务没有能完成。

And so now what we had to do

所以我们现在需要做的

is I had to reach out

我必须达到

to try to rebuild the trust of that force,

能重建（我带领的）军队的信任

rebuild their confidence --

重建他们的信心

me and them, and them and me,

我跟他们和他们跟我

and our seniors and us as a force --

还有我们的上级和作为整个军队的我们

all without the ability to put a hand on a shoulder.

所有的事情都不能单靠个人的力量

Entirely new requirement.

全新的要求

Also, the people had changed.

当然人们也改变了

You probably think that the force that I led

你可能会想我带领的军队

was all steely-eyed commandos with big knuckle fists

他们都是由钢铁般的眼神和巨大指节拳头的突击队员

carrying exotic weapons.

他们都带着奇异的武器

In reality,

事实上

much of the force I led

大部分我带领的军队

looked exactly like you.

看来都跟你们一样

It was men, women, young, old --

他们是男人，女人，年轻，年老的——

not just from military; from different organizations,

并不是只来自于狭义上的军队,而是来自不同的组织

many of them detailed to us just from a handshake.

他们很多人的信息都是来自一次握手的相遇

And so instead of giving orders,

不同于以往给出命令，

you're now building consensus

你现在需要建立一致性

and you're building a sense of shared purpose.

你要建立一种以分享为目的的意识

Probably the biggest change

或者说最大的改变

was understanding that the generational difference,

那是对于不同年代不同观念的理解

the ages, had changed so much.

时代改变了太多

I went down to be with a Ranger platoon

我下去跟突击部队的一个排

on an operation in Afghanistan,

参与了在阿富汗的一个行动

and on that operation,

在那一次行动中

a sergeant in the platoon

在这个排中一个警官

had lost about half his arm

损失了半个手臂

throwing a Taliban hand grenade

他把塔利班扔到攻击部队里的

back at the enemy

一个手榴弹

after it had landed in his fire team.

扔回了敌人阵营

We talked about the operation,

我们讲述了这次行动

and then at the end I did what I often do with a force like that.

在最后我做了以往我跟军队做的事，就好像这样，

I asked, "Where were you on 9/11?"

我说，“在911的时候你们在哪里？”

And one young Ranger in the back --

一个年轻的军士在后面

his hair's tousled and his face is red and windblown

他的头发打卷脸色通红

from being in combat in the cold Afghan wind --

那都是在阿富汗战斗中让寒风吹的

he said, "Sir, I was in the sixth grade."

他说"长官,我在读六年级."

And it reminded me

这提醒我

that we're operating a force

我们需要这样运行一支军队

that must have shared purpose

他们必须分享目的

and shared consciousness,

分享意识

and yet he has different experiences,

然而他有不同的经验

in many cases a different vocabulary,

在很多例子中 这是不同的词汇

a completely different skill set

完全不同的一套技能

in terms of digital media

用数码的媒体

than I do and many of the other senior leaders.

取代了我和其他高级领导者的做法

And yet, we need to have that shared sense.

我们现在需要一个有共享的意识

It also produced something

它能制造一些东西

which I call an inversion of expertise,

我叫做倒置的专业技术

because we had so many changes at the lower levels

因为我们在较低层次作了很多的改变

in technology and tactics and whatnot,

在技术、战术诸如此类的东西

that suddenly the things that we grew up doing

突然之间我们在成长过程 中学会要做的事情

wasn't what the force was doing anymore.

现在部队已经不再做了

So how does a leader

作为一个领导者

stay credible and legitimate

如何能保持合理性和信服力

when they haven't done

当他们在领导他人

what the people you're leading are doing?

做那些他们自己也没有做过的事情的时候

And it's a brand new leadership challenge.

这是领导层遇到的崭新挑战

And it forced me to become a lot more transparent,

它迫使我将很多事情变得透明

a lot more willing to listen,

要更乐意去聆听

a lot more willing to be reverse-mentored from lower.

更乐意收到下层的反过来的指导

And yet, again, you're not all in one room.

而且，你们并不在一个屋子里

Then another thing.

这是另外一面

There's an effect on you and on your leaders.

会影响你和你们这些领导者

There's an impact, it's cumulative.

这是有影响的，而且是累积的

You don't reset, or recharge your battery every time.

你不能重置，或者重新充电，你需要每时每刻充电

I stood in front of a screen one night in Iraq

有一天晚上，我在伊朗站在一块屏幕前

with one of my senior officers

和一个比我高级的官员

and we watched a firefight from one of our forces.

我们看到我们一支武装力量进行火力搏斗

And I remembered his son was in our force.

我记得他的儿子在我们的部队中

And I said, "John, where's your son? And how is he?"

我说：“John,你的儿子在哪里？现在怎么样？”

And he said, "Sir, he's fine. Thanks for asking."

他说，“他很好，多谢问候。”

I said, "Where is he now?"

我说，“他在哪里？”

And he pointed at the screen, he said, "He's in that firefight."

他指着屏幕，说，“他就在这场火力搏斗中。”

Think about watching your brother, father,

试想看着你的兄弟，父亲，

daughter, son, wife

女儿，儿子，妻子

in a firefight in real time

正在这场火力搏斗中

and you can't do anything about it.

你却不能帮他做任何事情

Think about knowing that over time.

想象一下随着时间的推移

And it's a new cumulative pressure on leaders.

这种累积的压力沉沉压在领导者的身上

And you have to watch and take care of each other.

但你必须照看和互相照顾。

I probably learned the most about relationships.

在怎样处理人的关系上我学到了很多

I learned they are the sinew

我学习到他们是支柱

which hold the force together.

他们让部队连在一起

I grew up much of my career in the Ranger regiment.

我的大部门职业生涯是在突击团队中成长的

And every morning in the Ranger regiment,

每一个早上 在这个团队中

every Ranger -- and there are more than 2,000 of them --

每一个军士， 两千个多个人

says a six-stanza Ranger creed.

诵读六段部队的信条

You may know one line of it, it says,

你可能知道其中的一条，它是这样说的，

"I'll never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy."

“我绝对不会留下任何一个落后的队友在敌人的手中。”

And it's not a mindless mantra,

这不是一个愚蠢的咒语

and it's not a poem.

也不是一首诗

It's a promise.

这是一个承诺

Every Ranger promises every other Ranger,

每一个军士都会向其他每一个军士作出承诺

"No matter what happens, no matter what it costs me,

无论什么事情发生，无论对于自己付出什么代价

if you need me, I'm coming."

如果你需要我，我就会来。

And every Ranger gets that same promise

每一个军士都获得这样的承诺

from every other Ranger.

从其他军士身上

Think about it. It's extraordinarily powerful.

想象一下。这是绝对的有力量

It's probably more powerful than marriage vows.

这甚至比结婚的誓言更加有力量

And they've lived up to it, which gives it special power.

他们为此而生存,并且给出了特别的力量

And so the organizational relationship that bonds them

所以有组织的关系把他们联系起来

is just amazing.

这是太棒了

And I learned personal relationships

我学习人际间的关系

were more important than ever.

现在比以往都重要

We were in a difficult operation in Afghanistan in 2007,

2007年我们在阿富汗的行动非常艰难

and an old friend of mine,

我的一个老朋友

that I had spent many years

我们交往了多年

at various points of my career with --

在我职业生涯多个重要的点上

godfather to one of their kids --

我还是他一个孩子的教父

he sent me a note, just in an envelope,

他给我寄了张纸条,就放在一个信封里

that had a quote from Sherman to Grant

是Sherman和Grant书信里的摘录

that said, "I knew if I ever got in a tight spot,

说，“我知道如果我困住了，

that you would come, if alive."

你是会来的，如果你还活着。”

And having that kind of relationship, for me,

能有这样的关系 对于我而言

turned out to be critical at many points in my career.

在职业生涯的很多时候都至关重要

And I learned that you have to give that

我学习到你必须付出

in this environment,

在这样的环境里，

because it's tough.

因为这很艰难

That was my journey.

那是我的旅程

I hope it's not over.

我希望它还没有结束

I came to believe

我开始相信

that a leader isn't good because they're right;

一个领导并不是因为他正确了就是好的

they're good because they're willing to learn and to trust.

他们是好的，因为他们愿意学习和去信任别人

This isn't easy stuff.

这不是简单的事情

It's not like that electronic abs machine

这不是一个电子瘦肚机

where, 15 minutes a month, you get washboard abs.

那里，一个月15分钟，帮你把肚子搓一下

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And it isn't always fair.

这总不是那么的公平

You can get knocked down,

你可能被击败

and it hurts

它会痛

and it leaves scars.

留下伤疤

But if you're a leader,

但如果你是一个领导者

the people you've counted on

那些人你依赖的人

will help you up.

会帮你成长

And if you're a leader,

如果你是一个领导者

the people who count on you need you on your feet.

而那些信任你的人需要你立场坚定

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（鼓掌）