400页浓缩MBA课程你信吗

    我不想说一切都是谎言，以免被人误解，但MBA有特定的目的，它并不适合所有人。

    你在前言中说，这本书的课程“毫不逊色于那些成熟的、耗时长久的、单调乏味的、长满常春藤的机构提供的耗时两年、花费250,000美元的课程……”你认为本书可以取代MBA吗？

    对有些人，我认为完全可以代替，但对有些人却不可以。例如，对于打算进入金融行业的人，这本书肯定不能取代MBA。但并不是所有的商学院学生都会进入金融行业：有些人会创业，或者只是为了找一份工作。这本书大部分的内容都是商业常识，还有看待事物的特定方式。

    我坚定地认为，和深入了解金融相比，“别犯傻”更加重要。除非我是审计官，否则我不需要了解金融的方方面面。我承认，知道每股收益率对于从股东的立场了解公司表现很有必要，你还需要了解一些专门术语——这是行使职责必须掌握的东西。

    但我可以告诉你的是，我所认识的高管，30%的时间都是在不懂装懂。他们大多数时间都是在事后再去查询，因为他们不想表现得无知。你可以问愚蠢的问题，但必须等到自己带上了智者的光环之后。我认为，这一点非常有价值。

    你在书中运用了幽默诙谐的表达方式。这种方法背后是一种什么策略？

    这本书非常有趣，但并不可笑。我们的社会有一种有意思的现象，人们认为以幽默的方式不可能传达真知灼见，或者说用它传达出的真相不够真实。曾几何时，一个人越是幽默风趣，人们对他越是深信不疑。很显然，如今的我们不得不通过非常严肃的、甚至有些无聊的方式给人们提供好的建议。

    对于目前和未来的MBA学生，你有什么最重要的建议？

    我认为，关于完善个人品牌与产品的章节对于初出茅庐的年轻人非常重要。我会问来找我的年轻人：“你想做什么？你有什么？”他们说：“我几乎什么都可以做。”然后我想：“你是地板蜡还是谷物早餐？你和别人的区别在哪里？你是一位出色的写手还是一位音乐家？你坚强吗？你有勇气吗？是什么让你独一无二？”

    我认为，在这个世界，成功的过程就是为这些问题找到答案的过程。你得知道自己是谁，自己擅长什么，而且有信心展示和利用自己的特长。

    听起来非常天真和盲目乐观，但我认为如果一个人有机会，能够接受清贫的生活，他就应该去做自己喜欢的事情。做自己想做的事情；不要做那些看起来是跳板、实际上却是死胡同的工作。如果你想成为一名吉他手，那就不要去做经纪人——做自己想做的事情。

    最初，人们对于自己想做的事情往往都会有一些古怪的想法，最终变成了实际的工作。我最初是一名演员和作家，表演事业从未让我失望。而关于写作，如果商业环境中有一种技能会让你不可取代，那就是写作。一个公司内可能有几千人能巧妙地处理数字，但可能只有三四个人真正能够通过写作传达复杂的观点。

    这本书能带给人们的关键收获是什么？

    无论是生活还是商业，都充满了情感、希望、友谊和背叛——你如何管理这些？你必须有一个应对策略，就算只是一个糟糕的策略，也好过毫无准备。但许多人都没有制定这样的策略；他们可能心怀某项使命，或者抱着某种价值观，但这些东西都太难落实了。人必须找到这样一个策略，就算只是理发这种小事。(财富中文网)

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    I don't want to be misunderstood as saying that the whole thing is a big fake, but it does have a very specific purpose, and it's not for everyone.

    In the foreword, you say that the book's course "will not take anywhere near the two years and up to $250,000 involved in those offered by well-established, time-consuming and tedious ivy-covered institutions..." Do you think the book could be a substitute for an MBA?

    For some people I think it would be, and for others it wouldn't. For instance, it wouldn't necessarily replace the MBA for someone going into finance. But not everyone going to business school is going to do that; they're going to be entrepreneurs or just looking for a job. A lot of what's in the book is common sense and a certain way of looking at things.

    I firmly believe that it's more important to not appear stupid than to have a deep understanding of finance. Unless I'm the comptroller, I don't need to know everything about finance. I fully recognize that you need to know what EPS [earnings per share] is so you can understand how your company is doing from a shareholder's perspective, and you've got to know certain jargon -- these are things you need to function.

    But I can also tell you that every senior officer I know is faking it about 30% of the time. A significant chunk of the time they're going to look it up later, and they don't want to appear ignorant. There is a time you can ask stupid questions, but that's after you've established an aura of intelligence. I think that's extremely valuable.

    You use humor in the book. What's the strategy behind your approach?

    The book is funny, but it's not silly. This idea that truth and insight can't be conveyed to someone if it's funny or that it's somehow less true is an interesting development in our society. There was a time when if someone was funny, that made it more true. Apparently now we've got to be dead serious and slightly boring to give people good advice.

    What's your best piece of advice for current or prospective MBA?

    I think that the chapter on perfecting your brand and your product, which is you, is really important when you're young and going into the world. Young people come and see me, and I say to them, "Well, what do you want to do and what have you got?" And they say, "Well, I can do pretty much anything." And I think, "Are you a floor wax or a breakfast cereal? What's the thing that differentiates you from other people? Are you a good writer or a musician? Are you sturdy or courageous? What is the thing that makes you unique?"

    I think the process of becoming successful in the world is finding the answers to those questions. You really have to know who you are and what you're good at and be confident in presenting that and executing on it.

    It sounds really naive and Pollyannaish, but I really think people should do what they love when they've got the chance and can live cheaply. Do the things that you want to do; don't take jobs that are supposedly stepping stones and are really dead ends. Don't go into being a broker if you really want to be guitar player -- do what you want to do.

    Very often people start out with a kooky idea of what they want to be and it mutates into an actual job. I began as an actor and writer and the acting has never let me down, and the writing, well, if there was one skill that makes you non-fungible in a business environment, it's being able to write. There are literally thousands of people who can manipulate numbers, but in any organization there are literally three or four people who can actually write, who can convey complicated ideas.

    What is the key takeaway from your book?

    There's a lot of emotion, hope, friendship, and betrayal in life and business -- how do you manage that? You have to have a strategy, even a bad one is better than none at all. A lot of people don't have one; they may have a mission or value statement but those are extremely difficult to put into action. You have to try to get one, even if it's for a haircut.