The four marks of leadership
領袖的四種品質
Address by John Engler, Governor of Michigan Delivered to Stephen F. Austin State University, Commencement Address, Nacogdoches, Texas, May 15, 1999.
密歇根州州長約翰.恩格勒1999年5月15日在得克薩斯州納科多契斯市斯蒂芬.F.奧斯汀州立大學畢業典禮上的演說。
When I first received the invitation to speak at your commencement ceremony, I thought back to my own graduation many, many years ago and you know what? I can remember neither the speaker nor what he or she said. The only thing I remember is that we all wanted it to be short. So I will try to keep my message short, recalling from my own days at Michigan State University that the person who lectures is sometimes the one who talks in other people's sleep.
當我最初接到在貴校畢業典禮上講話的邀請時，我回想起了許多年前自己畢業時的情景。你們知道嗎？我既記不得是誰作的演講，也記不得講了些什麼。我惟一能記起的是我們都希望聽到簡短的演講。回想起我在密歇根州立大學的日子裏，有時候演講者的長篇大論竟成爲許多人的催眠曲。因此我將盡量縮短我的講話。
What I'd like to do this morning is say a few words about leadership. Here's why. Each one of you, by choosing to come to college and sticking it out and earning a degree, is saying something important to society. You are saying that you want to lead.
You want to be leaders in the workforce, in your profession, and in your communities.
今天上午，我想就領導才能說幾句。爲什麼呢？你們中的每一個人，既然選擇上大學而且堅持到底獲得學位，你們其實是在向社會宣佈某種重要的事--你們想成爲領袖。
你們想成爲僱員職工的領袖，想成爲專業中的佼佼者，想成爲自己社區中的領導人物。
An admirable goal. But how does one learn to lead? The Greek philosopher Aristotle told us that we learn to lead by leading, by practicing the skills that are required to move men and women in concert toward a common goal. The ancient historian Plutarch taught us that we also learn to lead by reading---reading about great leaders from the past, as he showed in his Parallel Lives.
這是令人欽佩的目標。但一個人如何學會領導藝術呢？古希臘大哲學家亞里士多德告訴我們應該通過領導學會領導，即在實踐中培養自己具有讓不同的人朝同一目標合作的才能。古歷史學家普魯塔克則教導我們通過閱讀來學會領導，正如他在《比較列傳》中描述的那樣，去閱讀歷代偉大領袖的生平和領導才能。
As I was preparing these remarks and thinking about the topic, an obvious leader come to mind---the namesake of this school, a great American hero---Stephen Fuller Austin. To my delight, I discovered that Professor Gregg Cantrell at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene has just finished a superb biography of the Father of Texas. Titled Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas, it will be released this October by Yale University Press. I had the opportunity to see the page proofs.
當我在準備這些講話醞釀主題時，我的腦海中立即浮現出一個大家公認的領袖。他就是與貴校同名的人，一個偉大的美國英雄--斯蒂芬·富勒·奧斯汀。讓我高興的是，我發現哈丁--西蒙斯大學阿比林分院的格雷格·坎特雷爾教授新近完成了一本這位得克薩斯之父的絕妙傳記。這本傳記的書名爲《斯蒂芬·F·奧斯訂：得克薩斯州的創業者》。這本書將於今年10月由耶魯大學出版社出版。我有幸先睹了此書的校樣。
Central to the author's thesis are Austin's great qualities as a leader. The Father of Texas had four qualities that enabled him to turn a bunch of rugged individualists on the frontier into a cohesive community. This morning, I want to share those qualities with you. I recommend them because they are in accord with what I've experienced in my three decades of public service. These qualities are timeless, and if you embrace them, you will become better leaders.
作者以奧斯汀的偉大領袖才能作爲中心主題。這位得克薩斯之父具備了四種品質，使得他能把邊緣上一羣一盤散沙似的個體轉變成一個有強大凝聚力的集體。今天上午，我想與你們一起談談這些品質。我之所以大力推薦這些品質，是因爲它們與我30年公務生涯得出的經驗是一致的。這些品質可以跨越時間的長河，是終生受用的精神資源。如果你們擁有它們，你們定能成爲優秀的領袖。
First is vision. Have a vision. Austin certainly had a clear vision of what he wanted to achieve. In a letter written in 1829, he said. "My ambition has been to succeed in redeeming Texas from its wilderness state by… spreading over it…enterprise and intelligence. In doing this I hope to make the fortune of thousands and my own amongst the rest." His vision was of a prosperous, progressive Texas, and he stayed absolutely true to that goal. He never wavered---and look at Texas today! You Texans are blessed more than ever with prosperity and progress.
第一種品質是要有前景目標。奧斯汀對他想要取得的成就有明確的前景目標。他在1829年的一封信中寫道："我的目標是成功地改造荒蕪的得克薩斯……讓它到處充滿進取精神和聰明才智。我希望以此來造福千萬人民同時實現我的價值。"他的目標是一個繁榮進步的得克薩斯，而且，他始終不渝地堅信他的目標。他從不動搖--看看今天的得克薩斯州吧！你們得克薩斯人從未享有過像今天這樣的繁榮與進步。
Second, know how to tell others about your vision. Austin is a great example of how to communicate vision with great force and clarity. He knew how to enlist others in his great mission in the wilderness. He wrote and spoke every chance he had---even learned Spanish so that he could communicate with the many Tejanos here, as well as with the government in Mexico City. By sharing his vision in powerful, compelling language, Austin helped unite rugged individualists into a colony where people from different backgrounds joined together for a greater cause. As we approach the 21st century, the idea of cooperating for the sake of a greater cause is surely as necessary today.
第二種品質是懂得如何讓你的目標爲人知曉。奧斯汀在這方面是個很好的典範，他明白如何以強有力的、清晰的方式把目標傳達給他人。奧斯汀懂得怎樣把他人召集起來投入到荒野中的偉大事業中去。他利用一切機會寫作、發言，甚至去學西班牙語以便不但能同墨西哥城政府協商，而且能與許多當地的特吉諾人交流。奧斯汀用他強勁的、鼓舞人心的話語，使得他的目標成爲大家共同的目標。他幫助這些人團結在一起，在這塊土地上，不同背景的人齊心協力爲一項偉大的事業而奮鬥。在我們向21世紀邁進的今天，這種爲偉大事業而合作的思想是萬萬不可缺少的。
The third leadership quality Austin had was an unshakable confidence in himself, and in the rightness of what he was doing. According to Professor Cantrell, he never even considered the possibility of failure. He learned to recognize his strengths and compensate for his weaknesses. Criticism bounced off. Austin viewed mistakes simply as an opportunity for learning.
奧斯汀具有的第三種品質是毫不動搖地堅信自己和自己所做事業的正義性。根據坎特雷爾教授的描述，奧斯汀從不認爲自己會失敗。他知道什麼是自己的長項，並知道如何彌補自己的弱項。儘管會遭遇到批評意見，但奧斯汀卻把任何錯誤都看作是學習的機會。
If you are held in leadership, accept that you will make mistakes. I can tell you from personal experience: Sometimes mistakes are excellent tutors. So learn from your mistakes, keep a clear conscience, and go forward---always forward---confident of achieving your dreams.
如果你們具備顯著的領導才能，但同時要記住你們是會犯錯的。從我個人的經歷中我可以告訴你們：錯誤有時是極好的老師。因此要學會從錯誤中汲取教訓，問心無愧地、滿懷信心地朝着自己夢寐以求的目標前進，再前進。
Fourth, lead by example---be men and women of character. By his own character and integrity, Austin knew how to gain the people's trust. Texans knew from the way he lived his life that he was an honorable person, true to his word and to the people around him. He always put the interests of Texas above his own.
第四種品質是以身作則--做個有道德的人。奧斯汀懂得如何以個性魅力和誠實正直的品質去贏得衆人的信任。從他的生活方式中，得克薩斯人看出他是值得尊敬的人。他信守諾言，對周圍的人忠心耿耿。他總是把整個州的利益放在自己利益之上。
My friends, America in the 21st century will need that kind of leadership. Much of it may come from you, the Class of '99!
朋友們，21世紀的美國就需要這樣的領導才能。99屆的同學們，衆多的領導人可能就將從你們中產生！
It is because of these four qualities of leadership---vision, the ability to communicate that vision, confidence, and integrity---that Stephen F. Austin accomplished so much in the seedtime of Texas history. He is justly called the Father of Texas. There are many valuable lessons to be drawn from his life and his example. That's why you can forever be proud to be a graduate of the fine university that bears his name.
正是因爲這四種領袖的品質--有前景目標，讓自己的目標爲人知曉的能力，信心和誠實正直的品質--奧斯汀爲得克薩斯的歷史寫下了創業的輝煌篇章。他被譽爲得克薩斯之父是當之無愧的。從他的生活經歷中，我們可以獲取很多有價值的東西。你們畢業於以他的英名著稱的大學，可以永遠地爲此而感到驕傲。
So to the last CLAsS of the 20th century, to the leaders of the 21st century, I offer congratulations, and wish you Godspeed.
最後，謹獻上我對20世紀最後一屆畢業生，對21世紀未來領袖們的衷心祝福，祝願你們夢想成真、前程似錦。
The four marks of leadership
領袖的四種品質
Address by John Engler, Governor of Michigan Delivered to Stephen F. Austin State University, Commencement Address, Nacogdoches, Texas, May 15, 1999.
密歇根州州長約翰.恩格勒1999年5月15日在得克薩斯州納科多契斯市斯蒂芬.F.奧斯汀州立大學畢業典禮上的演說。
When I first received the invitation to speak at your commencement ceremony, I thought back to my own graduation many, many years ago and you know what? I can remember neither the speaker nor what he or she said. The only thing I remember is that we all wanted it to be short. So I will try to keep my message short, recalling from my own days at Michigan State University that the person who lectures is sometimes the one who talks in other people's sleep.
當我最初接到在貴校畢業典禮上講話的邀請時，我回想起了許多年前自己畢業時的情景。你們知道嗎？我既記不得是誰作的演講，也記不得講了些什麼。我惟一能記起的是我們都希望聽到簡短的演講。回想起我在密歇根州立大學的日子裏，有時候演講者的長篇大論竟成爲許多人的催眠曲。因此我將盡量縮短我的講話。
What I'd like to do this morning is say a few words about leadership. Here's why. Each one of you, by choosing to come to college and sticking it out and earning a degree, is saying something important to society. You are saying that you want to lead.
You want to be leaders in the workforce, in your profession, and in your communities.
今天上午，我想就領導才能說幾句。爲什麼呢？你們中的每一個人，既然選擇上大學而且堅持到底獲得學位，你們其實是在向社會宣佈某種重要的事--你們想成爲領袖。
你們想成爲僱員職工的領袖，想成爲專業中的佼佼者，想成爲自己社區中的領導人物。
An admirable goal. But how does one learn to lead? The Greek philosopher Aristotle told us that we learn to lead by leading, by practicing the skills that are required to move men and women in concert toward a common goal. The ancient historian Plutarch taught us that we also learn to lead by reading---reading about great leaders from the past, as he showed in his Parallel Lives.
這是令人欽佩的目標。但一個人如何學會領導藝術呢？古希臘大哲學家亞里士多德告訴我們應該通過領導學會領導，即在實踐中培養自己具有讓不同的人朝同一目標合作的才能。古歷史學家普魯塔克則教導我們通過閱讀來學會領導，正如他在《比較列傳》中描述的那樣，去閱讀歷代偉大領袖的生平和領導才能。
As I was preparing these remarks and thinking about the topic, an obvious leader come to mind---the namesake of this school, a great American hero---Stephen Fuller Austin. To my delight, I discovered that Professor Gregg Cantrell at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene has just finished a superb biography of the Father of Texas. Titled Stephen F. Austin: Empresario of Texas, it will be released this October by Yale University Press. I had the opportunity to see the page proofs.
當我在準備這些講話醞釀主題時，我的腦海中立即浮現出一個大家公認的領袖。他就是與貴校同名的人，一個偉大的美國英雄--斯蒂芬·富勒·奧斯汀。讓我高興的是，我發現哈丁--西蒙斯大學阿比林分院的格雷格·坎特雷爾教授新近完成了一本這位得克薩斯之父的絕妙傳記。這本傳記的書名爲《斯蒂芬·F·奧斯訂：得克薩斯州的創業者》。這本書將於今年10月由耶魯大學出版社出版。我有幸先睹了此書的校樣。