创业者应该自问的10个问题

 　　10 Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask Themselves

　　创业者应该自问的10个问题

　　This is a summary of some comments I made at the American Chamber¹ of Commerce in Hong Kong’s SME Forum² on October 16, 2014.

　　What’s the most important thing when you’re starting up?

　　Many people would say “capital”, but I think the founder³’s passion far outweighs⁴ the value of their assets.

　　That passion must be contagious⁵, consistent, and convincing, and communicated effectively to key employees, customers, partners and potential investors⁶.

　　With passion and a business idea which has a decent chance of being monetized, you can obtain capital. On the contrary, no amount of capital can buy you passion.

　　Do you want to have partners, or to go it alone?

　　You need to know yourself — and be brutally⁷ honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses — in order to answer this question.

　　Bringing partners in because they are nice folks with time on their hands is most likely not a winning strategy. This may only become clear after you either start making, or losing, a lot of money.

　　If potential partners are friends or family, that adds pluses as well as minuses.

　　If you do have partners, spend money at an early stage on sound legal counsel to draft a shareholders’ agreement. This should define — among other things — the share valuation formula applicable if one partner chooses to depart at some stage, for whatever reason. It is a very common mistake to overlook this step, which often leads to disastrous⁸ and costly⁹ results.

　　Further down the road, when other companies approach you with joint¹⁰ equity¹¹ partnership¹² proposals, take a long, hard look at each. Consider whether a better and simpler approach might be a contractual partnership. Joint equity ventures in business make marriage look simple by comparison.

　　What are you most preoccupied¹³ with at the starting gate?

　　Getting the business up and running, right?

　　Right. That’s normal and good, but one thing you need to think through early on are the potential exit scenarios¹⁴. There are two parts to this question: your personal exit scenario¹⁵, and that of the company.

　　Sometimes they are different facets¹⁶ of the same question; but sometimes not. This can also change over time.

　　Potential future opportunities to sell the business in whole or part should be considered when building your longer term strategic plan. Maybe you have offspring or other family willing to step in, if and when you decide to go do something else. Maybe not, or maybe you’re not sure yet. Better think about this carefully. Never assume that start-up partners will hang in forever, including you.

　　Are you easily swayed by the “conventional wisdom”?

　　I reckon I’ve made some brilliant business decisions in the past 40 years, as well as some really boneheaded ones.

　　The great decisions often flew in the face of the conventional wisdom of “the leading experts” at the time. Sometimes, they involved saying “no” to a newly proposed business deal rather than saying “yes”.

　　Both good and bad decisions were often based as much on gut¹⁷ feel as on empirical data. Even with all the market research data available, you need to trust your gut feel.

　　Don’t be daunted¹⁸ when people say your ideas are crazy. That’s often an indicator¹⁹ you’re onto something innovative²⁰ and promising²¹.

　　Are you too mainstream²²?

　　To be a visionary and anticipate the customers’ needs before even they are aware of them, you need to be an outlier; sometimes a loner, a wanderer, an explorer. Don’t be afraid of that. And be prepared for the reality that being an entrepreneur involves a lot of lonely moments.

　　How well topped up is your optimism tank?

　　Relentlessly²³ refill your optimism and self-confidence tanks because they will be essential to your success, and they will be sucked nearly dry repeatedly along the way. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking, and remember that it needs recharging frequently.

　　Will you be able to pay key employees better than your top, big competitors?

　　Probably not, so you as a leader will need to inspire them better than the competition does. Think carefully about how you are going to do that, day in and day out. This is critical to your success.

　　How arrogant²⁴ are you capable of becoming?

　　Jim Collins writes in “How The Mighty²⁵ Fall” about the numerous examples of companies which fall from sustained greatness to dismal²⁶ failure, because of “hubris²⁷” creeping into the leadership suite²⁸ following prolonged periods of great success. Hubris is the kind of bold arrogance²⁹ which makes leaders feel invincible³⁰, creating big blind spots, and deafening³¹ them to the intensity³² of the competitive drumbeat.

　　Hubris covers our rear view mirror with duct tape, so that as leaders we lose the ability to keep a vigilant³³ watch on approaching competition. Whatever you do, don’t get big-headed.

　　Are ethical³⁴ business practices and core values a tactical choice?

　　No. They represent a strategic decision, of the sort you need to consider at the outset.

　　Having well-enunciated core values and principles, even when they differ from those of key competitors, provides clarity, confidence, pride, and a sense of differentiation³⁵ to key employees. They also help insulate you from a corrosive³⁶, self-depreciating, less predictable and slippery environment.

　　As the founder and leader, you have clear choices and alternatives. Taking the high road and communicating effectively about it has a positive impact on the bottom line, even though it may cost some lost business along the way. It will help attract better quality managers, as well as investors and partners.

　　How much time are you personally planning to spend on mentoring³⁷ key staff?

　　You may not have given it much thought, but I suggest you do.

　　There are many aspects to total employee compensation, and in an entrepreneurial environment, exposure to mentoring from the boss can be a huge and persuasive³⁸ bonus.

　　Paychecks to staff are not issued on a random³⁹ basis. Mentoring should not be random or occasional either. Mentoring is not micro-managing. Teach them well, and let them get on with their jobs.

　　2014年10月16日，我在香港美国商会的中小企业论坛发表了一些观点，在此摘要如下：

　　当你开始创业时最重要的东西是什么？

　　很多人可能会说是“资本”，但我认为创业者的“激情”应该远远高于财物资产。

　　这种激情必须具有感染力、持之以恒、令人信服，并能有效地传达给骨干员工、消费者、合作伙伴以及潜在的投资者。

　　拥有激情和适合货币化的商业理念，就会获得资本支持。相反，无论有多少资本，都买不来你的激情。

　　你想与人合伙，还是单打独斗？

　　你必须了解自己——要勇敢而诚实地面对自己的强项和弱点——才能回答这个问题。

　　因为对方人好又有时间就拉他们入伙是最不靠谱的做法，这一点，可能只有在开始赚大钱或亏本的时候，你才能看清。

　　如果潜在的合伙人是朋友或家人，情况就有好有坏。

　　假如你有合伙人，创业初期阶段就多花钱找个好律师，起草一份股东协议。协议除规定其他事项外，还应明确如果某个合伙人在某阶段因任何理由离开，股份估值应怎么计算。忽略这一步是极其普遍的错误，后果往往具有灾难性，且代价不菲。

　　更远一点的阶段，当有其他公司向你提出股权合作时，一定要审慎对待。考虑一下签约合作的方式是否更好更简单，因为股权合作的难度让婚姻都相形见绌。

　　起步阶段最该专注于什么？

　　业务启动和运营，对吗？

　　对，这很正常，也很好。但有件事你需要及早考虑，就是可能的退出方案。这个问题包含两个部分，即个人和公司的退出。

　　有时候这是同一个问题的两个侧面，但有时并非如此，也有可能会随时间而变化。

　　在拟定长期战略计划时，应考虑未来整体或部分出售公司的可能。当你打算转行时，也许会有子女或其他家人愿意接手，但也许没有，或者你也不能确定。最好仔细考虑好这些，千万不要以为创业伙伴，包括你自己会永远做下去。

　　你容易屈从于“传统观点”吗？

　　我承认过去40年曾做过很多出色的商业决策，但也做过一些愚蠢的决定。

　　卓越的决策常常违背当时“权威专家”的传统观点。有时，他们会对新出现的生意持否定而非肯定看法。

　　决策无论好坏，常常建立在直觉而非经验数据的基础上。尽管拥有全部市场数据，但你仍需信任自己的直觉。

　　不要怕人说你的想法疯狂，因为这往往表明你正在做有创新、有前途的事。

　　你太主流吗？

　　想要具备远见卓识，甚至在客户自己意识到之前就能预测出他们的需求，你必须置身局外，有时还要当个孤家寡人、流浪者和探险者。不要害怕，创业者很多时候都是孤独的，准备好面对这一现实。

　　你的“乐观油箱”有多满？

　　不断地加满自己的“乐观自信油箱”，因为这对你的成功至关重要。在前进的道路上，这个油箱会被反复吸干。千万不要低估积极思考的力量，记住它也需要时常充电。

　　你能给骨干员工提供超过其他顶级竞争对手的待遇吗？

　　也许不能，所以作为领导，你需要比竞争对手更会激励员工。好好想想如何做到这一点，日复一日。这对你的成功十分关键。

　　你会变得多傲慢？

　　吉姆?柯林斯在《巨人如何倒下》一书中列举了几家企业从商界巨无霸沦落到惨淡经营的例证，其背后原因就是企业领导在获得长期巨大成功后，滋生了“狂妄自大”的念头。这是一种异常的傲慢，让领导们自觉战无不胜，产生了巨大的盲区，让他们对激烈的竞争充耳不闻。

　　狂妄自大就像黑胶布，遮住了我们的后视镜，让作为领导的我们不能警觉地发现竞争已迫在眉睫。无论你做什么，都不要自以为是。

　　商业道德和核心价值是战术选择吗？

　　不是。它们是战略决策，需要从一开始就加以考虑。

　　拥有确切的核心价值和原则，即使不同于主要竞争者，也会给骨干员工带来清晰、自信、自豪和差异感，让你远离腐蚀、自我贬低、不可预测和不稳定的环境。

　　作为创始人和领导者，你有明确的选择和取舍。选择光明大道并有效地沟通，即使在过程中可能会丢掉一些生意，也会对损益表带来积极的影响，并有助于吸引更高素质的管理者、投资方和合作伙伴。

　　你打算花多少时间培养骨干员工？

　　你可能还没怎么想过这个问题，但我建议你想一下。

　　员工的福利待遇有很多种，在初创企业，能得到老板的栽培可算是一种巨大而有说服力的奖励。

　　给员工发薪水不可能随心所欲，培养员工也不能时断时续。做导师并不意味着微观管理。要悉心教导员工，使他们能在工作上取得成功。

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 outweighs   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的第三人称单数 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• Her need to save money outweighs her desire to spend it on fun. 她省钱的需要比她花钱娱乐的愿望更重要。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Its clarity in algebraic and analytical operations far outweighs any drawbacks. 文化代数和解析运算中的清晰性远远胜过任何缺点。 来自辞典例句

5 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

6 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

7 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

8 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

9 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

13 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

15 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

16 facets   

n.（宝石或首饰的）小平面( facet的名词复数 )；（事物的）面；方面

参考例句：

• The question had many facets. 这个问题是多方面的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fully cut brilliant diamond has 68 facets. 经过充分切刻的光彩夺目的钻石有68个小平面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

18 daunted   

使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was a brave woman but she felt daunted by the task ahead. 她是一个勇敢的女人，但对面前的任务却感到信心不足。
• He was daunted by the high quality of work they expected. 他被他们对工作的高品质的要求吓倒了。

19 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

20 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

21 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

22 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

23 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

24 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

25 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

26 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

27 hubris   

n.傲慢，骄傲

参考例句：

• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。
• The very hubris of French claims alarmed the other powers.法国贪婪的胃口使其他大国惊恐不安。

28 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

29 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

30 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

31 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

32 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

33 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

34 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

35 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。

36 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

37 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

38 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

39 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。