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

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: 易帆 余

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

我一直在想，要如何 向大家解釋這個概念，

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

我決定要從所有人 都了解的部分開始。

To achieve great heights or change the world,

如果要達到高成就或改變世界，

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

不論我們有多聰明， 我們都需要人。

And for conventional people,

對傳統守舊的人而言，

the universe seems to conspire to make them successful.

全宇宙似乎都在幫助他們成功。

For the unconventional,

但對想挑戰傳統的人而言， 我認為我們需要

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

我所謂的「共謀者」。

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

共謀者之所以與眾不同， 不僅因為他們自己本身，

but because of the people who need them.

也因為需要他們的人而有所不同。

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

他們通常是願意挑戰常規的人——

actually even break them sometimes --

有時甚至會打破規則——

and challenge the status quo

並挑戰現況，

to stand beside someone who is going against societal norms.

來支持那些與社會常態抗爭的人。

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

我打算要描述我的一段經歷，

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

這段經歷使我腦中形成了 對共謀者這個想法的雛型。

In 2014,

2014 年，

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

我是印度一家美國多國企業的主管，

and we were actually faced with an interesting problem:

我們當時面臨了一個有趣的問題：

we didn't have enough women in the workforce.

我們的勞動力中沒有足夠的女性。

And just to give you some context,

我先說明一下我們的背景，

27 percent of women work in India.

在印度，只有 27% 的女性就業。

If you look at most of Asia,

在亞洲大部分地區，

that number is around 48 percent.

這個比例是約 48%。

So we knew the numbers were deplorable,

所以我們知道這個數字很糟，

and it was manifesting itself in our own organization.

在我們自己的組織當中 就看得出這個問題。

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

我們決定——讓我快速舉個例子，

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

有一位年輕工程師， 二十五歲的女性，

who told us a great story about her daily life,

她跟我們說了一個關於 她的日常生活的好故事，

to just exemplify it for us.

來給我們參考。

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

她說：「我每天早上出門前，

I am running around doing a bunch of chores,

我都要忙裡忙外做一堆家務，

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

我的婆婆——我和公婆同住——

is starting to get a little bit irritated,

就會開始有點惱火，

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

因為接著所有的家務事 都會留給她做。

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

接著，晚上我回到家，

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

我已經超過該回家的時間 至少一到兩小時，

and by then, two of my biggest champions,

那時，我的兩位最佳擁護者，

my father-in-law and my husband,

我的公公和丈夫，

are also starting to get a little bit irritated.

也會開始有點惱火。

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

我婆婆很火大，因為所有 需要做的事都是她在處理。

that needs to be done.

And through the middle of the day,

整個白天，我身邊都是同齡的男性，

I'm actually surrounded by men my age,

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

社會對他們只有一個期望。

It's to achieve in their careers

那就是在職業上有所成就，

and provide for their families financially.

並提供家庭財務所需。

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

你怎麼能期待我會 帶著同等的熱情、

excitement and passion to the workplace?"

興奮感，和熱忱到工作場所？」

And she was right.

她是對的。

And I thought the women's network volunteers

我覺得女子志工網路

came up with a great idea.

想出了一個很棒的點子。

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

她們發起了一項活動， 「帶婆婆去上班」日。

So we heralded a group of mothers-in-law

我們會邀請一群婆婆

and a few mothers into the office,

和幾位母親們來辦公室，

and we took them to our R and D labs.

帶她們去我們的研發實驗室。

We took them to the medical equipment

我們帶她們去看她們的媳婦

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

創造和建造的醫療設備。

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

同時，我們向她們說明 她們的媳婦在做的是什麼：

they impacted maternal mortality rates and infant mortality rates.

她們的工作能 影響媽媽和嬰兒的死亡率。

They brought them down.

讓死亡率下降。

They identified complex diseases

她們要及早辨識出複雜的疾病，

early enough to be able to prevent and cure them.

以便於提前預防和有效治療。

And then we took them to lunch.

接著我們會帶她們去吃午餐。

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

我們提供她們豐富的午餐， 感謝她們扮演的角色，

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

讓年輕女性能出來 和我們並肩作戰，

to literally change the world.

真正改變世界。

There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

在房間的每個人都濕了眼睛。

Every one of these women were grateful and proud.

這些女性都十分感恩和驕傲。

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

她們為自己的媳婦感到驕傲，

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

她們感恩的則是能夠參與對談。

And I wondered at the time

那時，我很納悶，

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

我們所做的，是否只是 創造一個感人時刻，

and was cute

雖很窩心，

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

但其實不會有長期的影響？

幾天後，我輔導的一位職員 跑到我的辦公室，

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

and she was super excited.

她超級興奮。

She said, "I went home from work yesterday,

她說：「昨天我工作結束後回家，

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

我做好了心理準備， 因為我很晚才回去，

and I was bracing myself for a lecture,

我準備好要被教訓一頓，

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

而我岳母轉向我丈夫，說：

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

『你能不能站起來為她泡杯茶？

She's exhausted.

她累壞了。

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

她在拯救人命。 而你在銀行工作。』」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And there you had it.

就這樣。

You had the perfect co-conspirator,

你有一個完美的共謀者，

someone that we don't always recognize or value,

我們不見得會認出或珍惜這個人，

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

但卻在改變其他人 可以改變現狀的方式，

by standing beside her

做的就是站在她身邊，

and questioning the societal norms

質疑社會標準，

and making a difference.

並造成改變。

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

我要說的下一個例子， 會更貼近在座各位。

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

當我從商學院畢業， 開始在公司工作，

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

我們一伙人，我和同儕，

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

被要求為一家在過去十年表現不佳 且被忽視的企業制定戰略。

and was being neglected.

We put our hearts and souls into it,

我們全心全意投入，

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

我們做了好多分析， 晚上和週末都在奮戰，

and put together what we thought was a good strategy.

並整理出我們認為不錯的戰略。

And after presenting it to a number of people

在把戰略展示給

一部分支持我們的人之後，

that we were getting buy-in with,

we were actually asked to present to the global CEO

我們被要求在年度策略大會上

at his annual strategy meet that happened over a week.

對全球執行長做簡報，

時間是一週後。

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

我們飛到總部時，又興奮又憂慮。

We were excited because this was an opportunity

我們很興奮，因為這是個機會，

to show how much we had learned.

可以展現我們學到了多少。

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

但我們也很緊張，因為雖然 他是個聰明、有活力的人，

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

他的脾氣很暴躁， 向他簡報絕對不輕鬆。

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

在我們簡報前五、六個小時， 一位資深的同事把我們拉到一邊，

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

坐下來，讓我們清楚了解 整個星期發生的事。

We knew about people who had bombed their presentations.

我們得知哪些人的簡報搞砸了。

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

了解了這個房間 有哪些人直接被升職。

We knew what was keeping the CEO up at night

我們也得知哪些事 會讓執行長徹夜不眠，

and what he thought were tailwinds to the business.

得知他腦袋中有那些想法 是對公司有利的。

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

那天，後來我們進去做簡報時，

we actually got buy-in with both the CEO

實際上我們不但得到執行長的支持，

and his senior staff.

也獲得資深幕僚的讚賞。

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

這並不只是因為 我們的分析或我們的策略。

It was because we were prepped

而是因為有人幫我們準備，

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

讓我們能用那個團隊 能吸收的方式來溝通。

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

我們的這位資深同事 把我們拉到一旁

because he wanted to gossip.

並不是因為他想要說八卦。

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

他這麼做是因為他相信在這間 會議室中我們是不因循守舊的人。

That unconventionality was exactly why he wanted us to think about

正因為我們不因循守舊， 他才希望我們能

用這種全新的觀點來思考，

this new, fresh perspective

and provide a view on where this business should go.

並提供觀點建議企業的方向。

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

但他也知道，不因循守舊 對我們也明顯不利，

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

因為我們不知道如何 在那間房間中做簡報，

and we hadn't done it before,

我們以前沒有做過，

and they weren't used to receiving us.

且他們也不習慣接受我們。

And that again is an example, in my mind,

在我心中，那也是

of somebody bending the rules.

一個挑戰常規的例子。

Because he decided to co-conspire with us,

因為他決定要與我們共謀，

he not only changed the career trajectories

他不僅改變了這個組織中

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

六個年輕人的職涯軌跡， 他們在一瞬間變得非常引人注目。

but he actually changed the trajectory of a business

他也改變了公司的軌道，

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

讓公司裡的人不再被忽視、 不再提不出新點子。

The last example I want to share with you

我想要分享的最後一個例子，

is actually very far removed from the corporate world

其實和企業界非常遙遠，

and somewhat personal.

某種程度上很個人化。

This is the story of my mother.

這是我母親的故事。

In her early 20s, she lost her father.

她二十初頭時，失去了她的父親。

He had passed away in his late 40s,

她父親過世時還不到五十歲，

leaving behind six children,

留下六個孩子，

four younger siblings and one older sibling than her,

四個比她小，一個比她大，

and a widowed mother who had never worked.

他們的寡婦母親從來沒有工作過。

My mom and her older sister realized

我母親和她的姐姐知道，

that they actually needed to start earning an income --

她們必須要開始賺錢養家——

they were both in grad school --

他們都是研究生——

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

以保障弟妹們能讀完書

and start to work.

並開始工作。

So she shifted her law school classes to evening classes,

所以她把法學院的課 改成晚上的課，

and she started to work during the day as a schoolteacher

白天開始工作，擔任學校老師，

to bring home an income.

讓家中有收入。

And every day, she would actually get off a bus

每天，晚上結束法學院的課之後，

at the end of her evening law school classes

她會去搭公車， 在加爾各答街上下車。

on the streets of Calcutta.

Now, mind you,

提醒各位，這位女子完全 不習慣搭乘大眾交通工具，

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

更不用說晚上搭乘了。

let alone at night.

And as she would get off the bus,

在她下了公車之後，

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

她還要從公車站步行

七到八分鐘回家，

from the bus stop

on a street that was largely deserted,

她走的街道大部分很黑，

because it was a residential street

那是條住宅區的街道，

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

有些商店在晚上八點 或更早一點就已經關門。

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

有一天，一家店的店主 比平時晚一點關店，

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

因為有位客人比較晚離開。

And he saw my mother get off the bus.

他看見我母親下公車。

He waited for her.

他等著她。

He actually knew the family.

他認識這家人。

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

這家店在這個鄰坊 已經有二十年了，

so he knew her since she was a baby.

她還是嬰兒時他就認識她了。

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

他看著她，回到她家所在的那條街後，

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

才關燈關店回家。

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

隔天，他發現自己 每天都會等她回來，

until he she made her way to her own house.

等到她回到她自己的家中。

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

同一條街上的其他店主突然注意到

這家店開得比較晚，

that was open longer,

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

突然也開始看到有一群 一天結束時才出現的客人

to buy odds and ends that,

進店去買雜物，

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

這些人是經過漫長的工作 和通勤之後返家，

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

卻發現自己還沒買 明早要用的物品。

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

有些早上進店的客人 也開始改成前一晚進店。

A few of the storekeepers decided that actually what was happening

幾位店主事後才明白

was he was monopolizing a bunch of customers,

原來他在壟斷一群客人，

and they started to keep their store lights on

所以他們也開始不關掉店內的燈，

and keep their shop open till 9 o'clock.

一直到九點才關門。

From that time on, my mother had a lit street

從那之後，我母親 就能走在明亮的街上，

with plenty of activity on the street.

街上還有相當不少活動。

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

我相信那位店主 是我母親的共謀者。

Because of him,

因為他，

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

稍稍改變當時那條街上 因循守舊的慣例，

allowed for her and her family

讓她和她的家人

to do something that was completely unconventional.

能夠做到完全不因循守舊的事。

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

來自中上層階的同齡女子，

actually got married at that age

通常在她這年紀結婚，

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

或者在家人的蔽護下 攻讀研究所。

Because of that store owner,

因為那位店主，

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

我母親的弟妹們 全都成了工程師、

lawyers, accountants and teachers,

律師、會計師，和老師，

and my mother went on to become a lawyer.

而我母親接著成為律師。

The world needs co-conspirators.

這個世界需要共謀者。

當我們進入到

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

複雜的環境，有更多 複雜的問題存在，

and we need to find more solutions,

我們需要找到更多解決方案，

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

此時我們就需要在會議室中 有不因循守舊的人。

For that to happen,

我們需要共謀者， 才能實現這一點。

we need co-conspirators.

In my own life,

在我的人生中， 不論是因為我的性別、

whether it's because of my gender,

my ethnicity or sometimes,

我的人種，或者有時候我的口音，

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

儘管我在這生活了十多年，

I'm often perceived to be unconventional.

我經常被認為是不符合常規的。

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

是我的共謀者讓我 看到了前進的路，

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

事實上，是我的共謀者 讓我持續尋找

the unconventional paths to go down.

有哪些不因循守舊的路可以走。

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

所以，今天我想請大家

is that you look around and find the people

看看周圍，找到那些 激勵你們願意共同合作的人。

that inspire you to co-conspire.

I promise you that your empathy

我向各位保證，你的同理心

and your courage

及你的勇氣

will change someone's life

會改變某個人的生命，

and may even change the world.

甚至可能會改變世界。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）