异类之不一样的成功启示录 第84期:时间会证明你的选择

 Then came the 1970s. The old aversion to lawsuits¹ fell by the wayside.

接着20世纪70年代来临了。原来人们对诉讼案件的鄙视态度被弃置一旁。

It became easier to borrow money. Federal regulations were relaxed. Markets became internationalized.

联邦条例放宽了贷款限制，借钱变得很容易，市场变得越来越国际化，

Investors² became more aggressive, and the result was a boom in the number and size of corporate³ takeovers.

投资者变得更加有侵略性，结果就是无论是公司兼并接管的事例无论在规模上还是在数量上，都有了前所未有的增长。

"In 1980, if you went to the Business roundtable and took surveys about whether hostile takeovers should be allowed, two-thirds would have said no," Flom remembers.

“在1980年，假如你参加商务圆桌会议（那些美国公司的管理层经常组织的社交会议）调查恶意兼并是否允许，他们中三分之二的人会说不允许。”弗洛姆说，

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"Now, the vote would be almost unanimously yes."

“如果现在表决的话，全部人都会说当然可以。”

Companies needed to be defended against lawsuits from rivals. Hostile suitors needed to be beaten back.

公司需要在同对手的法律诉讼中得到保护，需要打败那些带有敌意的原告。

Investors who wanted to devour⁴ unwilling⁵ targets needed help with their legal strategy, and shareholders⁶ needed formal representation.

投资人要是想吞食不甘心被吞并的目标，就需要法律策略方面的帮助，股东需要看到正式的法律陈述。

The dollar figures involved were enormous.

其中所需的美元数目是巨大的。

From the mid-1970 to the end of the 1980s, the amount of money involved in mergers⁷ and acquisitions every year in Wall Street increased 2,000 percent, peaking at almost a quarter of a trillion dollars.

从20世纪70年代中期到20世纪80年代末期，华尔街每年用于达到兼并目标的费用增长了2000%，最高的费用达到了2500亿。

All of a sudden the things that the old-line law firms didn't want to do-hostile takeovers and litigation-were the things that every law firm wanted to do.

眨眼之间，原先那些老牌法律公司不愿意做的——恶意兼并和诉讼业务——现在成为公司都抢着做的事情。

And who was the expert in these two suddenly critical areas of law?

那么谁是这个突然变得很关键的法律领域的专家呢？

The once marginal, second-tier law firms started by the people who couldn't get jobs at the downtown forms ten and fifteen years earlier.

是那些15年前，在中心城区法律公司没法找到工作的人开的二流法律公司。

"They, the whit-shoe-firms, thought hostile takeovers were beneath contempt until relatively⁸ late in the game, until they decided⁹ that, hey, maybe we ought to be in that business, they left me alone," Flom said.

那些‘白鞋’公司）一度认为恶意兼并不值得尝试，现在他们却在在这场游戏中落伍了，嗨，他们这才下定决心，认为自己应该参与到这种业务中，此前，他们一直让我陷入孤立的境地，”弗洛姆说，

"And once you get the reputation for doing that kind of work, the business comes to you first."

“一旦你有着处理这类案子的好的口碑，生意最先考虑的自然是你。

Think of how similar this is to the stories of Bill Joy and Bill Gates.

想想这跟比尔·乔伊和比尔·盖茨的故事是多么相似。

Both of them toiled¹⁰ away in a relatively obscure fields without any great hopes for worldly success.

他们同样在相关的领域被摒弃，使得干一番事业的前景陷入黯淡之中。

But then, boom! The personal computer revolution happened, and they had their ten thousand hours in.

但——突然——个人电脑革命爆发了，而他们已经在这方面倾注了上万个小时的心血。

They were ready.

他们已经准备好了。

1 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

2 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

3 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。

4 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

7 mergers   

n.（两个公司的）合并( merger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Mergers fall into three categories: horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate. 合并分为以下三种：横向合并，纵向合并和混合合并。 来自辞典例句
• Many recent mergers are concentrated within specific industries, particularly in retailing, airlines and communications. 现代许多合并企业集中进行某些特定业务，在零售业、民航和通讯业中更是如此。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 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。

10 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。