新概念雙語：企業(yè)家成功的五大要素 喬布斯全都有

No one could have taught you more about starting a company than Steve Jobs, and I had the privilege and honor of working for him in the Macintosh division of Apple.

沒有人能夠比斯蒂夫·喬布斯給你更多關于創(chuàng)建公司的指導了，而筆者也有幸能夠與他曾經在蘋果的麥金塔電腦(Macintosh)開發(fā)部門共同工作。

Over the course of several years, and then watching him for another two decades, these are the five most important things that I learned about startups from him.

經過了這些年，再留意他近20年的成就，下面就是筆者從他身上所學到的5件創(chuàng)建公司最重要的經驗。

1. People cannot tell you what they need.

1. 人們無法告訴你他們的需求是什么。

They can tell you what they want, and it’s usually along the lines of a better, faster and cheaper status quo. For example, in the 1980s, Apple’s customers wanted a better, faster and cheaper Apple II. No one asked for a Macintosh. Truly successful entrepreneurs create what people cannot articulate.

他們能夠告訴你他們需要的是什么，并且它常常隨著現有產品更好，更快和更便宜而演變的。比如在20世紀80年代，蘋果的顧客希望得到的是更完善，更快速和更便宜的Apple II。而Macintosh則無人問津。真正成功的企業(yè)家能夠為人們創(chuàng)造出人們無法用言語描述的產品。

2. Experts cannot tell you what to do.

2. 老師無法告訴你該做什么。

Experts are good at telling you what’s wrong with the current state of the art. They cannot tell you how to fix what’s wrong, nor, like customers, tell you how to leapfrog the current leaders.

老師們都很擅長告訴你當前到底出現了什么問題。但是他們不能告訴你如何解決這些問題，顧客也一樣，他們無法告訴你如何超越你的主導產品。

3. The action is on the next curve.

3. 在下一個轉折點行動。

In the 1830s, ice harvesters were wiped out by ice factories. In the 1850s, ice factories were wiped out by refrigerator companies. Duking it out on the current curve can work, but true innovation and entrepreneurship occurs when you get to the next curve or create a new one.

在19世紀30年代，冰礦采集器徹底被冰工廠取代了。而在19世紀50年代，冰工廠也徹底被冰箱公司取代了。在當前的時代轉折點與其他的競爭者一絕高下，絕對能夠創(chuàng)出一番新天地，但當你處于下一個轉折點或創(chuàng)造新的轉折點的時候，真正的創(chuàng)新與相關企業(yè)才會出現。

4. Design counts.

4. 設計很重要。

It might not matter to everyone, but design matters to enough people to make a startup successful. Simple functionality isn’t enough any more. Now your product or service has to do the job in an elegant and pleasing way. Steve Jobs and Apple have raised people’s expectations forever.

也許這并不與每個人都有關系，不過產品的設計確實能夠讓某些人讓新建的公司獲得成功。基本的產品功能已經不足以迎合市場需求了。如今你的產品或服務應該以一種優(yōu)雅且怡人的方式贏得關注。喬布斯和蘋果公司就已經做到永遠地喚起人們的期待。

5. Value is not the same thing as price.

5. 價值與價格是兩回事。

Price is a number printed on a list. Value is the totality of the costs and benefits of a product. Something with a higher price can have a better value because it reduces costs, such as training, and produces better results. Don’t focus on price -- focus on providing and communicating value.

價格是標注在表單上的數字。價值是這件產品的成本與利潤的總和。某些價格更高的產品之所以價值更高，是因為它能夠降低成本，比如調試成本，并且還能創(chuàng)造更好的效果。但不要把焦點放在價格上——應該放在提供價值和溝通價值上。

One more thing: Steve Jobs taught me that some things need to be believed to be seen. Skeptics refuse to believe in something until they see it. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to believe in your idea. This is why Steve Jobs changed the world while most people waited for the world to change.

還有一件事：喬布斯教會了我某些事情要先相信才能看到。有懷疑主義者在真正看到一件事實之前拒絕相信它的可能性。如果你想要成為一名企業(yè)家，你必須相信自己的想法。這也是為什么喬布斯能夠在大多數人等待世界改變的時候，卻改變了世界。