TED演讲:怎样让企业持续运行100年(4)

 Let's come back to our tech CEO's question.  再来说说科技公司老板的问题

Where better to turn for advice than nature,  哪里有向比大自然求教更好的呢？

that's been in the business of life and death for longer than any company? 大自然已经在生死轮回的游戏中比任何公司存活得都要久了

As a lapsed¹ biologist, I decided² to immediately call a real biologist, 作为一个不务正业的生物学家，我马上联系了一个更专业的生物学者

my friend Simon Levin, Professor of Biology and Mathematics at Princeton University. 我朋友赛门·莱文，普林斯顿大学的生物学和数学教授

Together, we looked at a variety of biological systems,  我们共同研究了许多生态系统

ranging from natural tropical rainforests through to managed forests and fisheries. 从自然热带雨林到人造森林和鱼塘

And we asked ourselves the question: What makes these systems resilient and enduring? 我们问了自己一个问题：是什么使这些系统具有抗压能力和持续性

And what we found was that the same six principles that we saw underpinning³ the miracle of the human immune system 我们发现恰恰是支撑着人体免疫系统的六条规律，

actually cropped up again and again, from redundancy through to embeddedness. 从庞大性到镶嵌性一次又一次地表现出来。

In fact, we saw these principles not only in biologically enduring systems,  事实上，我们不只是在生物持久的系统中发现这些规律

we also found them being very characteristic of long-lived social systems, 我们还发现它们在寿命长久的社会系统中也表现得十分突出

like the Roman Empire and the Catholic Church, believe it or not. 就像在罗马帝国和天主教堂中的表现，信不信由你。

We also went on to look at business,  我们还研究了商界

and found that these very same properties also characterized businesses that were resilient and long-lived, 也发现它们在坚韧且长久的企业中表现的非常明显

and we noted⁴ their absence from ones which were short-lived.  并且发现了短命的企业中这种品质的缺失

Let's first take a look at what happens when the corporate⁵ immune system collapses⁶. 先来看看当企业的免疫机制失效时会发生什么

1 lapsed   

adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He had lapsed into unconsciousness. 他陷入了昏迷状态。
• He soon lapsed into his previous bad habits. 他很快陷入以前的恶习中去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。