In my first week as chief of staff at Treasury, I had the chance to work directly with the heads of the department bureaus. 在美国财政部做首席幕僚的头几个星期里，我有机会直接和各部门负责人一起工作。

　　There is a right and a wrong way to start a working relationship. I chose the wrong way. 一个人的工作方式难免有对有错，当时我恰恰选择了错误的方式。

　　My first call was to Ray Kelly, who was then commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service and now serves as New York City's police commissioner. 我的第一个电话打给了雷·凯利，他那时任美国海关总署署长，现任纽约警察局局长。

　　The impression I made was that my job was to demand and his job was to listen. It was a mistake. 我的电话给他的印象是，我的工作就是提要求，他的工作则是听从要求。我显然犯了大错误。

　　Ray's response was quick and clear. 从凯利那头传来的回答快速又干脆：

　　"(Expletive), Sheryl," he explained. "Just because I'm not in Larry Summers's (expletive) thirty-year-old brain trust doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm doing! “（咒骂语）谢丽尔，我不在拉里·萨默斯（咒骂语）的30岁智囊团里，并不代表我不知道自己在干什么！

　　If Secretary Summers wants something from me, tell him to (expletive) call me himself!" 如果萨默斯部长想从我这里知道什么，让他（咒骂语）自己打电话给我！”

　　Then he hung up the phone. 随后他便挂了电话。

　　I thought, This is not going well. My first week on the job and I'd angered a man who knows a thing or two about firearms. 我心想这可不太妙，工作刚一个星期就惹恼了一个对枪支略知一二的男人。

　　After I stopped shaking, I realized that Commissioner Kelly had done me a huge favor. 镇定下来后，我意识到凯利署长其实帮了我很大的忙：

　　His "feedback" was extremely helpful and delivered in a way that I would never forget. 他的“反馈”非常有用，而且他用了一种我绝对不可能忘记的方式传达出来。

　　I reassessed my outreach strategy. 我重新评估了自己的外联策略。