2019年经济学人 熊彼特企业管理专栏--联邦快递的难题(1)

 

Business

来源于《商业》版块

Schumpeter

熊彼特企业管理专栏

The FredEx conundrum 

联邦快递的难题

FedEx’s visionary founder¹ is an old-style disrupter in danger of being disrupted 

联邦快递富有远见的创始人是一位老派的破坏者，有被颠覆的危险

For outsiders, FedEx is synonymous with the business it pioneered: the overnight delivery of packages. For insiders, it might just as well be called FredEx. It is virtually indistinguishable from its founder, Fred Smith, who has been boss since 1971. The 75- year-old, who came up with his idea for air freighting packages at Yale University, is the stuff of folklore². Some of it is apocryphal³, such as the story that he got a C at Yale for a paper outlining his idea (he can’t recall the grade). But one tale is, if anything, too good to check. In its early days, as the firm flirted⁴ with bankruptcy⁵, he saved it with a lucky wager⁶ at a blackjack table in Las Vegas.

站在局外人的角度来看，联邦快递是其首创业务的同义词：快递隔天送达。而对于内部人士来说，不妨称其为弗雷德快递。该公司的创始人弗雷德?史密斯自1971年以来一直担任该公司的老板。这位75岁的老人在耶鲁大学提出了空运包裹的想法，这个故事广为流传。其中一些是杜撰的，比如他在耶鲁大学得C的一篇论文，这篇论文概述了他的想法(他记不起分数了)。但有一个故事（若存在的话）太好了以至于不知真假。早期，当公司濒临破产时，他在拉斯维加斯的21点赌桌下了一个幸运的赌注，挽救了公司。

Mr Smith is an entrepreneur of the old school. The ex-marine dispatched his first 14 planes in 1973—on the first day they carried 186 packages. FedEx is now the biggest cargo⁷ airline in the world, with 681 aircraft and an average volume of 15m packages a day. He has played politics as he plays cards, be that securing deregulation of the air-cargo industry in the 1970s, winning protection from American unions or schmoozing congressmen at the FedEx Field, home to the Washington Redskins. Among American firms, FedEx has long been one of the most recognisable, admired and popular to work for. In January the board in effect gave Mr Smith tenure⁸ for life, by waiving⁹ the firm’s retirement¹⁰ age of 75 for executives. “Like a Supreme¹¹ Court judge,” chuckles¹² one admirer.

史密斯先生是一位老派的企业家。1973年，这位前海军陆战队员派出了第一批14架飞机，第一天就运送了186个包裹。如今，联邦快递是全球最大的货运航空公司，拥有681架飞机，平均每天运送1500万件包裹。他一边玩牌，一边玩弄政治，比如在上世纪70年代确保放松对航空货运行业的管制，赢得美国工会的保护，或者在联邦快递的地盘上（华盛顿红皮球队的主场）与国会议员拉关系。在美国公司中，联邦快递一直是最受认可、最受尊敬、最受欢迎的公司之一。今年1月，董事会通过免除公司高管75岁的退休年龄，实际上给予了史密斯终身职位。“就像最高法院的法官，”一位仰慕者笑道。

1 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。

2 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

3 apocryphal   

adj.假冒的，虚假的

参考例句：

• Most of the story about his private life was probably apocryphal.有关他私生活的事可能大部分都是虚构的。
• This may well be an apocryphal story.这很可能是个杜撰的故事。

4 flirted   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She flirted her fan. 她急速挥动着扇子。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• During his four months in Egypt he flirted with religious emotions. 在埃及逗留的这四个月期间，他又玩弄起宗教情绪来了。 来自辞典例句

5 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

6 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

7 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

8 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

9 waiving   

v.宣布放弃( waive的现在分词 )；搁置；推迟；放弃（权利、要求等）

参考例句：

• Other steps suggested included waiving late payment charges, making quicker loan decisions and easing loan terms. 其他测试还包括免去滞纳金，尽快做出贷款决定和放宽贷款条件。 来自互联网
• Stuyvesant Town offers the same perk on some apartments, along waiving the broker's fee. StuyvesantTown对于他们出租的某些房子也提供同样的好处，顺带还省略了中介费。 来自互联网

10 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 chuckles   

轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Father always chuckles when he reads the funny papers. 父亲在读幽默报纸时总是低声发笑。
• [Chuckles] You thought he was being poisoned by hemlock? 你觉得他中的会是芹叶钩吻毒吗？