书城外语那些来自华尔街的赚钱经(每天读一点英文)
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第31章 Search No Further: (2)

“Contributing to society”is another career goal that scores highly with its employees,and the Google culture is geared toward individuals who want to use innovation and creativity to make a tangible difference in the organization:“We’re looking for people who are really thinking differently and out of the box,who want to do something that will have an impact on the world.”Every Google employee is encouraged to spend 20% of his or her time developing a new project,a practice that has already resulted in such Google innovations as Google News,G-mail,Google Talk and Froogle.

Google never lets its success rest on a reputation for being innovative alone,“Frankly,one of our biggest issues at Google is how we continue to attract the most talented people in the world and make this an engaging place for them to build their careers.”

当埃里克·施密特加盟谷歌这一非常成功的网络搜索引擎并任首席执行官时,他的举措震撼了互联网界。谷歌因其界面简洁、搜索迅速吸引了大批追随者,而且成为基于高新技术获得巨大经济效益的成功典范。人们认为,在计算机制造商——太阳计算机系统公司和制作软件的诺勒有限公司均有建树的施密特,是引领谷歌成长壮大的理想人选。

施密特生于1955年,1976年获得普林斯顿大学电子电气工程学学士学位,随后在加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校取得工程学硕士学位及计算机科学博士学位。1983年,他受雇于太阳计算机系统公司——硅谷的一家新兴计算机制造公司。

太阳计算机系统公司很快发展成为该行业的引领者。在那里,施密特最初任软件制造经理。1991年,他成为公司分支企业——主攻新技术开发的太阳科技企业的领导。1994年,他回到太阳公司,任技术总监。同时,他参与了流行于20世纪90年代末期的Java语言的设计。

施密特1997年离开太阳,加盟诺勒。作为首席执行官,施密特面临着严峻的挑战:他必须扭转这个软件制造公司的亏损局面。

1997年3月施密特加盟时,诺勒的股票价格一路走低,但施密特认为核心领导阶层依然可以为企业带来活力。“我努力做好我的分内工作,其实公司在技术上是很有实力的,我们只需尽快将这种实力展现出来就可以了”,他说,“对我而言,这是个千载难逢的机会。”施密特喜欢亲自将诺勒的软件向全球的首席执行官们推广,并在上任的第一年就飞往全球各地,总航程达25万英里。1998年中期,施密特通过帮助诺勒恢复其核心业务而使其资产扭亏为盈。

200l年3月,施密特就任总部设在加州的网络搜索引擎谷歌集团董事长,这令很多人感到惊奇。施密特回忆道:“我只是很喜欢这个公司,就这么简单!”5个月后,他走马上任谷歌的首席执行官。谷歌成立于1998年,创始人是斯坦福的两个博士生拉里·佩奇和谢尔盖·布林。谷歌最初只是为内部技术人员提供搜索服务,但它简洁的界面和快捷的搜索吸引了越来越多的使用者。不久,它就成为15个访客最多的网站之一。一位摩根斯坦利分析人士在接受《财富》采访时说:“谷歌是信息交流的平台,就像易趣网一样。在易趣网上你能找到别处找不到的东西,同理,在谷歌上你可以找到别处找不到的信息。”

施密特继佩奇之后成为谷歌第二任首席执行官,人们都认为在他的带领下,谷歌能够发展壮大成为第二个雅虎或亚马逊。施密特视公司如家,公司里400多名员工中有50名拥有博士学位。“打破传统”是谷歌的不二信条。从谷歌主页不设标幅式广告到总部内部职员们骑的便捷电动滑行车,这一理念无处不在。

在接下来的几个月中,谷歌资产一路飙升。其实搜索引擎尽管应用广泛,也还是很难获得巨额利润,这是网络本身的特点。而谷歌每天搜索量达1亿5千万次(平均每秒1,800次),这么大的搜索量需要一个超强的计算系统。谷歌推出一个“点击进入”的广告项目(如输入关键字“网球鞋”,点击后就会出现一个耐克鞋广告),这些小广告只有文字,没有图片,大大节省了下载页面的时间。

有施密特掌舵,谷歌在开发新技术、新客户的道路上昂首阔步。施密特说,他们的终极目标就是“让大家在谷歌找到在别处找不到的任何信息”。

周五下午,全球各地的谷歌员工都可以向创始人谢尔·盖布林和拉里·佩奇提问。人力资源部主任、首席文化官丝德西·沙利雯说:“大家的问题多种多样,比如‘在这一地区我们将实行什么特别计划?’或‘(食品供应区的)苏打水怎么换了?’”谷歌力求在与员工对话时创造一个“平台”,使得员工可以每周都有机会与谷歌的共同创办者对话。

谷歌有着优厚的福利待遇和精英文化,还特别注重使员工生活与工作达到平衡。公司总部有网上医生和牙医为大家排忧解难,员工们甚至可以把狗带到工作间。

“贡献社会”是谷歌员工的另一个奋斗目标。谷歌文化旨在调动每一位员工的积极性,让他们用革新与创造力使企业呈现全新的面貌。“我们需要的员工要能跳出固定模式,追求新异思维。他们要做的是能够影响全世界的事。”谷歌鼓励每位员工抽出20%的时间开发新项目。这一举措已成就了新开发的谷歌新闻、G-mail、Google Talk和Froogle。

创新绝非谷歌成功的唯一法宝。“坦白地说,谷歌最关心的问题之一是如何吸引世界各地人才,如何让他们来这里一展才华。”

核心单词

garner [5^B:nE] v. 收集,积累

maturation [7mAtju5reiFEn] n. 成熟

engine [5endVin] n.引擎;发动机

immensely [i5mensli] adv. 极大地;广大地;无限地

tangible [5tAndVEbl] adj. 非想象的;实际的

财经知识一点通

搜索引擎(search engine)

是指根据一定的策略、运用特定的计算机程序搜集互联网上的信息,在对信息进行组织和处理后,并将处理后的信息显示给用户,是为用户提供检索服务的系统。

首席执行官(Chief Executive Officer,缩写CEO)

是在一个企业中负责日常经营管理的最高级管理人员,又称为行政总裁。

翻译行不行

It began as a search service for the techie insiders,but quickly caught on with more and more web users for its uncluttered look and impressively quick search results.

With Schmidt at the helm,Google is aggressively trying to leverage its reach technology,and advertiser base.

In addition to its perks and meritocratic culture,Google is in tune with the increasing importance people place on work-life balance.

第一章 Ron Meyer: The President of Universal Studios

坚韧、品质、天赋

——环球影城总裁罗恩·梅耶尔

Gumption and Guts

Ron Meyer was l4 when a friend gave him his first tattoo,a crude design done with ink and a needle. Like many of the guys he hung out with in West Los Angeles,Meyer was a high school dropout,a kid quick with his fists who seemed to get into fights somewhat regularly.

Today,Meyer is the president and COO of Universal Studios. As one of the most successful business leaders in Hollywood,he heads up Universal Pictures and Universal Parks & Resorts. He’s the guy who oversees the production of multimillion-dollar extravaganzas like“King Kong”and“Cinderella Man”.

Even though Meyer could easilly afford it,he has no interest in getting his tattoos removed. They symbolize just how far he has come,and they remind him of the choices he made—good and bad—along the way.

Meyer’s story sounds like the plot of one of his motion pictures. The son of German immigrants,he grew up in a modest home where there was little disposable income. It was a big deal to go to a restaurant. At l5,he quit high school and spent his time shooting pool,boxing at a nearby gym and hanging out with the neighborhood toughs. With little education or direction and few options,he figured he’d be drafted. So when he heard about a boxing program in the Marine Corps,he signed up.

At one point,he was quarantined with the measles,with no TV and nothing to do. His mother sent him two books. One was The Amboy Dukes,a novel about kids in street gangs. The other was The Flesh Peddlers,now out of print,about a guy in the talent-agency business who was living a glamorous life.“I realized,”he says,“that I was no longer that idiot kid Ihad been,and I wanted to change my life.”