James Rhee: The value of kindness at work | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: sylvia feng 校对人员: 思辰 李

So today I'm going to talk about the word goodwill.

今天 我想聊聊“商誉”这个词。

Goodwill, did you know, is a technical accounting term.

我们知道这原本是一个会计术语，

It's an asset

“商誉”是一种资产。

that's literally only created when a buyer shows up

但是它仅在一种情况下体现，

and pays a purchase price for a company

那就是买家购买一家企业时，

that's more than the fair value of that company's net assets.

支付了高于这家企业的 资产净估值的价格。

So this unexplained differential is named goodwill.

这种会计数字 未能解释的差异统称“商誉”。

And with it, accountants actually can make balance sheets balance.

这样一来， 会计们至少可以把报表做平。

Now, of course, this isn't how most of us think of goodwill.

当然，大多数人并不这样理解商誉。

We experience the more human definition of goodwill.

我们更愿意给它 一个更人性化的定义。

And I remember very clearly

而我依旧清晰的记得 我从何开始理解这个定义。

when that definition first entered my life.

It was 1976,

1976 年，那年我 5 岁。

and I was five years old.

And I was sitting there one morning in kindergarten class

一天早上，我坐在幼儿园的教室里，

when in walked the father and older siblings of one of my friends.

我好朋友的父亲和兄长们走了进来。

And they handed me a present.

他们递给我一个礼物，

They gave me a little toy red helicopter,

是一个红色的小直升机玩具。

that sort of looked like this.

和我手里这个差不多。

And in the moment,

当时，

I didn't really understand why they were giving it to me.

我不明白为什么要送我这个。

I just remember sensing that they were happy

我只记得我能感到

and sad at the same time.

他们既高兴，又有些忧伤。

And it wasn't only until much later that I had my aha moment.

但不久以后，我突然就明白了，

That my friend had lost his mom recently,

那是，我朋友的母亲刚刚离世，

and that this gift, it was a thank you,

而那个礼物则是为了表示感谢。

because I would often share my lunch with my friend

因为我朋友在上学的时候 经常不带午饭，

on the many days that he would come to school

without any lunch of his own.

而我常常把我的午饭分享给他。

And over time, as things happen,

时过境迁， 那个玩具早就丢了。

I lost the toy,

but I never forgot the lesson and especially how it made me feel.

但是我不会忘记那段记忆， 以及它带给我的感受。

My friend's father had rewarded kindness without cheapening it,

我朋友的父亲让我明白， 如何以不廉价的方式回报善意。

and he made it tangible with an object,

他将无形的报答 转化为了有形的物品，

and he made it human in that exchange,

使这一利益交换更人性化，

and he made it shareable with this story.

也使得这其中的含义值得分享。

And in doing all of this, he created real value out of thin air

他一边这样做， 一边凭空创造了价值。

by turning kindness into a scalable,

他让善意变成 一种可测量且集体拥有的资产。

collectively-owned asset called goodwill.

这一资产亦可称为“商誉”。

You know, and then for us, for many of us, my life,

和许多人一样， 我的人生时间飞逝，白驹过隙。

the years just pass at a dizzying pace

and I collected a couple of fancy degrees,

我拿到了一些不错的学位。

I became a dad myself three times over.

我有了三个孩子。

And I found myself wheeling and dealing as an investment banker

我还成为了一个不停操劳的投资人，

and a private equity investor for many years.

以及一个私人股权投资者。

And the lessons from that red helicopter,

同时，那个红色直升机玩具 所带来的感悟，

they seemed incredibly childish and weirdly misguided

在商业与金融的世界里 越来越显得幼稚与具有误导性。

in the world of business and finance.

Because let’s face it:

说实在的，

non-revenue-generating investments in people,

如果对人的投资不能产生现实收益。 没人会去考虑，更没人去实践。

they're generally not measured, let alone rewarded.

But something happened in the summer of 2013

2013 的夏天发生了一件事，

that would forever change the way I thought about kindness,

足以改变我对善意和商誉的理解， 以及它们如何重塑商业世界。

goodwill and their roles in reshaping business.

I was on a series of just deflating board calls

我当时参加了一系列的董事会会议，

involving a failed investment in a company called Ashley Stewart.

其中包括对 Ashley Stewart 公司 投资失败的讨论。

Ashley Stewart as a clothing retail

Ashley Stewart 是一家服装零售企业,

that has served and employed primarily plus-sized,

1991 年至今，其主要客户群体 以及员工来源于

moderate-income Black women

美国各区域的，收入水平中等、 体型偏大的黑人女性。

in neighborhoods across America since 1991.

And I felt accountable to my former employer,

其实我对我的前雇主、 前投资人们、

to my former investors,

to the 1,000 plus employees at Ashley Stewart,

以及 Ashely Stewart 的 1000 多名员工负有责任。

and frankly, to myself

坦白讲，我也得对自己负责。

because I had saved this company from a near-death bankruptcy filing

因为是我把这家 已经申请破产的公司救了回来，

just three years prior.

而仅 3 年后， 却让情况再次如此糟糕。

So this time I did something, I took an action,

所以我必须负责到底， 于是我做了一件事情，

I made a choice,

也相当于一个决定：

I resigned as chairman of the board

从董会主席的位置上辞职，

and I agreed to serve as a first-time CEO of this broken company.

并担任这家破产企业的 首席执行官(CEO)。

But I agreed to do it just for six months.

不过，我只同意做 6 个月，

I just wanted to avert a nasty liquidation.

因为我只是为了避免公司破产清算。

And then I wanted to come home and get on with my life.

那之后我会回到我家继续正常生活。

I had immediate pangs of regret

但我立马就感到后悔了，

during those first few weeks at Ashley Stewart.

因为在 Ashley Stewart 前几周的会议就让我难以招架。

The corporate headquarters was a converted warehouse.

而且公司的总部是仓库改成的，

I just remember there being a lot of bugs.

那里的蚊虫多到让我永生难忘。

There was no Wi-Fi at the headquarters,

总部里居然也没有无线网络，

and the stores didn't have computers.

店面里也没有电脑。

And because there was a lack of trust,

更糟的是，公司得不到大家的信任，

there were vendors in the lobby demanding to be paid in cash upfront.

供应商都在堵在大厅里， 要求用现金支付欠款。

And because of them,

他们这般闹事，

a lot of my employees were scared.

使得很多员工开始感到害怕。

And so I ended up having to hire an armed security guard to protect them.

我不得不雇佣一个配枪保安 才平息了这场混乱。

And I felt alone,

这里的每一个方面，

like, on every dimension you can think of --

都让我感到孤独。

geography, industry,

水土不服、行业不熟、

gender and, yeah, race.

性别差异、民族异同。

My first town hall, it went something along these lines.

在我第一次对全员讲话时， 我大概是这样说的：

"Hi, I'm James.

大家好，我叫詹姆斯(James)，

I've never done this before.

这是我第一次 做首席执行官(CEO)，

You know, I may be the least qualified person to run this company.

你们也看出来了， 我可能没有做这件事的潜质。

But I'm here and I'm willing to learn.

但是我依然选择来到这里， 而且我愿意学习。

Oh, and by the way, after this speech, I’ve got to head out to the DC,” --

不瞒你说，我演讲完后得， 立即前往华盛顿，

that’s a distribution center, right --

因为那里是我们的分销中心。

"I've got to head out to the DC,

我得赶紧到华盛顿，

I've got to find stuff to sell to fund payroll.

把货卖出去，才能给大家发工资。

But don't panic.

但是大家不要惊慌，

Because I think that if we can center kindness and math together,

如果我们能 在保持服务质量的同时打好算盘。

then maybe we can get out of this together."

说不定可以渡过难关。”

And I don't know why I said some of these things with my outside voice.

我不知道为什么说这些话时， 我不自觉地抬高了音量。

(Laughter)

（笑）

I may have panicked just a little bit,

我也许是有点紧张，

but the words were true

但是这些话

and they did come from my heart.

都是我的真心话。

And you know, what happened

随之发生的场景是：

was that the people who really wanted to solve these problems once and for all,

那些想要彻底解决问题的人

they stepped up.

纷纷站出来帮忙。

And it was the women.

是那些女士们，

It was the employees and customers alike at those stores,

那些遍布全美商店的员工和顾客们，

in those neighborhoods across America who came forth.

站出来提供援手。

And they offered me insight after insight as we work side by side together.

她们在与我并肩作战之际， 为我提供了无数的深刻见解。

And some of the customers, sensing that we were in a lot of trouble,

有些顾客在了解到我们的难处时，

they even offered to bring back their clothes hangers

甚至提出向我们送回她们的衣架，

so that we could save money.

以此帮助我们省钱。

You know, I know what you may be thinking,

我知道你也许会想：

you might think, geez, there were a lot of reasons

天呐，那些在 Ashley Stewart 的女士们

why the ladies of Ashley Stewart might have rejected me.

有千万种理由可以忽视我的请求。

But they didn't.

但是她们没有这么做，

They did the exact opposite.

她们做的恰恰相反。

And store after store sort of worked this way:

每个商店的人们都用以下方式回应我

They would say, “You’re James?

她们会问：“你是詹姆斯吧？

You’re the new CEO of Ashley Stewart?

你就是 Ashley Stewart 的新CEO？

Well, OK, let’s go.”

那好，来吧。”

And this played out in town after town,

这一现象在一个接一个小镇中，

city after city.

一座又一座城市里发生。

And their generosity toward one another

她们对彼此的慷慨，

and their kindness to me,

以及对我的善意，

it just rekindled memories of the red helicopter.

让我再次回忆起了 儿时的那架红色直升机，

And I remembered the lesson

我记起了那次教训：

that goodwill, like, real goodwill,

诚挚的商誉

it is a real asset

才是企业真正的资产。

that can compound and be amplified

它可以聚合在一起从而达到更强的效果，

independent of financial capital.

且不受经济资金所影响。

So late, late nights --

所以在此后的无数深夜里，

And I'm going to use these words very deliberately --

严谨地来说，

It inspired me to compose, draw, design,

这一经历启发我 去着手于撰写、绘制和设计，

create a new business plan

以此制作出了一个全新的企业计划。

with new mathematical formulas,

在计划中，我建立了新的数学公式

operational protocols that were woven together with multi-sensory storytelling,

和融入多感官故事体验的操作协议。

whose singular purpose was to create real value,

从而达到创造出真正价值的唯一目标：

driving real goodwill.

激发出真正的商誉。

The business plan fundamentally had three concentric spirals

这一企业计划从根本上有 3 个重心

underpinning it.

在支撑着它。

So picture this.

设想一下：

So first,

首先，

we had the courage

我们有勇气

to establish a culture of kindness in the workplace.

去在工作场所中 建立起友善的企业文化。

Period, end of story.

就是这样。

It was a strategic priority day in, day out.

这是一个时时刻刻的战略重点。

And yeah, there were moments as individuals we failed.

的确，有时候我们作为个体会失败，

But as a collective,

但是作为一个集体，

we were very successful in changing attitudes

我们成功地改变了工作中

about the transformative power of kindness at work.

对善意所带来的变革性力量的态度。

Because you see, what kindness does,

因为你能够看到善意会带来什么。

it distributes the joy, actually,

它向所有人散布出

of problem-solving to everyone.

能够解决问题的愉悦感。

It creates a safe environment that unleashes innovation,

它为释放创新改革 提供了一个安全的环境，

especially the unselfish kind.

尤其是毫无私心的那种变革。

And it turns perceived liabilities into assets,

并且将大家感知到的责任 转化为资产，

which, as any financial accountant will tell you,

就像任何财务会计会告诉你那样，

mathematically has to result

单从数字角度来看，

in the creation of real equity value in every meaning of the word.

这会在各种层面上 创造出真正的股权价值。

Second,

第二，

once we felt sure about the authenticity

一旦我们确信我们共同创造的 内部善意是真实的，

of the internal goodwill that we had co-created,

we just wanted to show the whole world and make it tangible to everybody.

我们就想向全世界展示， 让每个人都能感受到。

So by trusting our employees and our customers

因此，通过信任我们的员工和客户，

and by leveraging their smartphones

利用他们的智能手机 和社交媒体账号，

and their social media platforms,

we were able to scale our marketing creative efforts very fast

我们能够以低成本和有机的方式

in a very low-cost and organic way.

迅速扩大我们的营销创意。

We invited everyone in,

我们邀请所有人加入，

and we were able to merge ecosystems

我们能够合并生态系统，

and blurring the lines between outsider and insider,

模糊了局外人和局内人的隔阂、

and them and us.

他们和我们之间的界限。

And we were able to create a seat at the table for everyone,

我们能够为每个人创造一个席位，

which, by the way, enabled us to leverage the assets

顺便说一下， 这使我们能够利用每个人的

and the balance sheets of everyone.

资产和财务状况。

And third, once we centered goodwill,

第三，一旦我们以商誉为本，

we had to center people.

我们就必须以人为本。

And it wasn't long before we realized we had to redo our financial formulas

不久之后，我们意识到 我们必须重做我们的

and our financial reporting.

财务公式和财务报告。

So payroll, instead of being an expense,

因此，工资不再是一项支出，

became an investment.

而是一项投资。

And internal communications,

内部交流一种很好的培训和教学方式。

well, that was just a great way to train and to teach.

And the materials that we created became critical first stanzas

我们创造的材料 成为了整个故事的关键的第一节，

of the overall narrative that was our brand song.

这成了我们品牌的主题曲。

And working capital?

那如何考虑营运资金呢?

Well, our vendors became effectively co-investors,

我们的供应商 成为了有效的共同投资者，

and we would measure working capital as a unit of trust

我们会以信任为单位 来衡量营运资本，

that we were rebuilding together step by step.

我们会一步一步地一起重建。

And finally, human resources.

最后是人力资源。

Well, how could that possibly be a cost center?

有人诧异这怎么可能是成本核心呢?

See, when you center on maximizing goodwill,

你看，当你着重把商誉作为核心时，

it forces you to actually measure it.

它会迫使你实实在在地衡量它。

And you realize that despite what the rules of accounting might say,

你会意识到，不管会计规则怎么说，

that it's operations and leadership and culture

真正创造商誉的是

that actually create goodwill.

运营、领导和文化性。

Not some outside source of financial capital.

而不是来自外部的金融资本。

And it makes accounting actually accountable.

它让会计变得真正的可信。

And it isn't long also before you realize

而且不久你就会意识到

that the entire flow of your operations has to naturally follow suit.

你的整个操作流程 必须自然地遵循。

So to illustrate all of this,

所以为了说明这一切，

I'm going to take you back to the holiday season of 2013,

我将带你们 回顾 2013 年的假期，

which was only four months removed from my sort of "meh" town hall.

不咋地的市政厅 只批了 4 个月假。

We were out of money at this point,

我们当时没钱了，

and I was terrified.

我很害怕。

But we made a couple of decisions that seemed to have long-term importance

但我们做了几个似乎对我们的努力 具有长期影响的决定。

for our efforts.

We hosted a really modest holiday party

我们在纽约布鲁克林的

at a homeless shelter for women in Brooklyn, New York.

一个流浪妇女收容所 举办了一个很普通的节日派对。

And at this point, we didn't have anything to give,

当时，我们没有什么可以给予的，

so we gave our time.

所以我们付出了我们的时间。

We gave our hearts,

我们捐出了自己的爱心，

and we found a few boxes of merchandise samples that we donated.

还赠出了几盒商品样品。

And around that time as well,

在那段时间，

we organized a chain-wide sales competition.

我们组织了一场 全连锁店的销售比赛。

The top 40 stores

排名前40的商店

earned the right to donate 250 dollars

获得了向自己选择的当地慈善机构

to a local charity of their own choosing.

捐款 250 美元的权利。

Together, these two things, right,

这 2 件事加在一起，

the event -- the party, the competition,

派对和比赛，

they were just a way for us to say "thank you" and "goodbye"

它们只是我们向街坊和社区

to the local neighborhoods and communities

说“谢谢”和“再见”的一种方式，

that had supported this company for 20 years.

他们 20 年来 一直支持我们的公司。

And the outpouring was just amazing.

他们倾注的努力非常惊人。

We saw real friendships

我们看到在这 20 年里建立的

that have been developed over those 20 years

真正的友谊

play out right in front of us.

就在我们面前呈现。

And our newly installed e-com platform?

要不讲讲我们新安装的 电子商务平台呢?

We operated it in a way that accentuated that

这个平台的运作方式强调

and connected people, rather than diminishing humanity.

将人们联系起来， 而不是埋没人性。

And sales just exploded.

这导致我们的销量激增。

And just like that,

就这样，

we had found a way to operationalize goodwill.

我们找到了一种运作商誉的方法。

In our internal culture,

无论是通过内部文化，

in our outbound sales and marketing,

还是在我们的对外销售和宣传中，

but also, perhaps most significantly, in our sense of compensation system.

但也许最多的是 在我们的薪酬体系里。

There were all three spirals just sort of doing this,

这 3 个循环都在 支持并巩固彼此。

mutually reinforcing each other.

We measured everything.

我们权衡了一切。

You know, down the road, as the strategy really took hold,

你知道，在这条道路上， 随着战略的真正确立，

and I was finally able to secure some financial capital

我终于能够获得一些财务资本

and make some necessary technological investments,

并进行一些必要的技术投资，

we just did the same thing,

我们只是在做同样的事情，

just over and over again at scale.

只是在规模上一遍又一遍地重复。

So we rolled out something called a CEO Citizenship Award.

所以我们推出了 CEO 民意奖。

That was the most prestigious,

那是公司里最有声望、

highest-compensated bonus system in the company.

薪酬最高的奖金制度。

It went to those employees who lived out the following credo.

它属于那些践行以下准则的员工。

You act like an owner.

你表现得像个老板。

Be a good friend.

你是一个好朋友。

Be a good mentor.

你是一个好的导师。

We never factored in sales or revenues into these determinations.

不过我们不会考虑 员工的销售或盈利情况。

Second, you know, our marketing team,

第二，我们的营销团队，

our outbound-facing consumer team

我们面向海外消费者的团队

continued to do most of the most important internal communications.

做了大部分最重要的内部沟通。

And I, as a former high school teacher,

而我，作为一名前高中教师，

I relished the fact that I could teach the principles of money, life and joy

我很享受这样一件事: 我可以大规模地向我的同事传授

to my colleagues at scale.

金钱、生活和快乐的原则。

And that really kind of sad holiday party?

那场悲伤的节日派对又怎样了呢?

Well that evolved into something big.

他演变成了一个大事件。

We called it Finding Ashley Stewart,

我们称之为 “寻找 Ashley Stewart ”，

which was an annual, nationwide,

这是一年一度

year-long search

的全国性活动，

for unsung women leaders in our communities.

为的就是我们的社区 寻找默默无闻的女性领袖

It would culminate in front of 3,000 screaming fans

在布鲁克林国王剧院 3000 名尖叫的粉丝面前，

at the Brooklyn Kings Theater and a star-studded concert.

以及一场众星云集的音乐会里， 这一切将达到高潮。

And the best part of all of it was that the vendors,

最棒的是我们的供应商们，

which by now included some of the world's leading tech

如今也包括一些世界领先的 科技和金融公司，

and financial companies,

they're the ones who funded all of this.

他们为这一切提供了资金。

You know, I ended up spending seven years at Ashley Stewart, leading it.

我在 Ashley Stewart 工作了 7 年，领导着这家公司。

So, far from getting on with my life,

所以，它变成了我生活的一部分， 尤其是友谊方面。

it became part of my life, especially the friendships.

And we had to make some tough business decisions along the way,

在这个过程中，我们不得不 做出一些艰难的商业决定，

and not everyone made it.

并不是每个人都做到了。

But our overall strategy and philosophy generated staggering results.

但我们的整体战略 和理念产生了惊人的结果。

And yes, it showed up in our financial statements, too.

它也呈现在我们的财务报表中。

So within two years,

所以在 2 年内，

we generated more in annual operating profit

我们产生的年营业利润超过了

than we paid for all of the assets of the company.

我们公司所有资产的购入成本。

And our digital strategy,

我们的数字战略

which never forgot to center the real friendships in the stores,

从来不会忘记 在商店里聚拢真正的友谊，

it landed us on the stages

这让我们登上了

of the most prestigious business conferences in the world

世界上最负盛名 的商业会议的舞台，

celebrating our growth and our innovation,

庆祝我们的发展和创新，

only a few years removed from not even having Wi-Fi.

仅仅几年前，我们公司 甚至没有无线网络(Wi-Fi)。

And it wasn't long before the financial community,

但不久之后， 金融界的从业者就改变了主意，

well, they changed their minds and they showed up at our headquarters,

他们出现在我们的总部，

but this time with their checkbooks,

这次带着他们的支票簿，

and they stroked us a check

他们给了我们一张支票，

that made us convert our real goodwill

这让我们把我们的实际商誉

into accounting goodwill to the tune of well north of 100 million dollars.

转换为会计商誉， 而这超过 1 亿美元。

And I know that none of this would have been possible

我知道，如果没有我在幼儿园

without the lessons that I learned from my friend's father

从我朋友的父亲那里 学的那套东西，

way back in kindergarten.

这一切都不可能实现。

He invested dollars, but also his time and his heart

1976 年， 那位父亲把金钱、时间和心血

into a little toy red helicopter in 1976.

都放到了一架小小的 红色玩具直升机上。

And in the way that he did it,

通过这种方式，

it created a real asset called goodwill.

他创造了一种实际资产， 叫做商誉。

And that goodwill compounded quietly for decades

这种商誉在几十年里悄然累积

and then ultimately helped save a company,

最终帮助拯救了一家公司，

around a thousand jobs,

保留了 大约 1000 个工作岗位，

a safe place for a really deserving group of women,

为一群受之无愧的女性 提供了一个有保障的工作地点，

and over 1 billion dollars in overall economic productivity.

为社会带来了 超过 10 亿美元的经济生产力。

And in doing so, he taught an enduring lesson

在这样做的过程中， 他传授了一个道理，

that helped this grown man regain his balance,

帮助这个已然成长的人 重新获得平衡，

a true balance,

一种真正的平衡，

by remembering to slow down

使他记得慢下来，

and to see the world through the eyes of a five-year-old child

用一个 5 岁孩子的眼睛看世界，

who knows unequivocally

而这个孩子清楚地知道，

that there is one and only one definition of goodwill

商誉有且只有一种定义，

that creates real value in life

它能在生活中创造真正的价值，

and yeah, in business, too.

是的，在生意中也是如此。

Thank you very much for listening.

感谢您的倾听。

(Applause)

（掌声）