It sure used to be a lot easier to be from Iceland, because until a couple of years ago, people knew hardly anything about us, and I could basically come out here and say only good things about us. But in the last couple of years we've become infamous for a couple of things. First, of course, the economic meltdown. It actually got so bad that somebody put our country up for sale on eBay. (Laughter) Ninety-nine pence was the starting price and no reserve. Then there was the volcano that interrupted the travel plans of almost all of you and many of your friends, including President Obama. By the way, the pronunciation is "Eyjafjallajokull." None of your media got it right.
我可以肯定倘若從冰島到來現在是比較方便的, 因為,直到幾年之前, 幾乎沒有人知道任何關於我們的事情, 我來到這裡,基本上 只說對我們好的東西。 但在過去數年 我們發生了一連串臭名昭著的事情。 首先,當然是經濟崩潰。 它實在糟得 以至有人把我們的國家註冊在eBay上出售。 (笑聲) 99便士是起拍價 沒有保留. 然後有火山爆發 打斷了你的旅行 和朋友所計劃的一切 包括美國總統奧巴馬。 順便說一下,發音的方式 是"Eyjafjallajokull." 你們的媒體沒有一個能發音正確。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But I'm not here to share these stories about these two things exactly. I'm here to tell you the story of Audur Capital, which is a financial firm founded by me and Kristin -- who you see in the picture -- in the spring of 2007, just over a year before the economic collapse hit. Why would two women who were enjoying successful careers in investment banking in the corporate sector leave to found a financial services firm? Well let it suffice to say that we felt a bit overwhelmed with testosterone. And I'm not here to say that men are to blame for the crisis and what happened in my country. But I can surely tell you that in my country, much like on Wall Street and the city of London and elsewhere, men were at the helm of the game of the financial sector, and that kind of lack of diversity and sameness leads to disastrous problems.
但我在這裡並不是為了 分享這兩個故事; 我要告訴你關於Audur Capital的故事; 一家由我和 Kristin成立的金融公司 --正如您在圖片中看到的-- 在2007 年,春天 於經濟崩潰前的僅僅一年多。 為什麼兩個婦女, 在投資銀行 的企業部門有成功事業 選擇離開公司去創立一個金融服務公司? 足以讓我們說: 我們覺得有能力征服 那些睪丸酮(男人). 這並非代表 男人是金融危機 和我們國家發生的事情的罪魁禍首. 但我可以肯定告訴你,在我的國家, 就像在華爾街和倫敦金融城或其他地方, 男人都是 金融部門的遊戲掌舵人. 而這種缺乏多樣性 和單調 導致災難性的問題發生.
(Applause)
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So we decided, a bit fed-up with this world and also with the strong feeling in our stomach that this wasn't sustainable, to found a financial services firm based on our values, and we decided to incorporate feminine values into the world of finance. Raised quite a few eyebrows in Iceland. We weren't known as the typical "women" women in Iceland up until then. So it was almost like coming out of the closet to actually talk about the fact that we were women and that we believed that we had a set of values and a way of doing business that would be more sustainable than what we had experienced until then. And we got a great group of people to join us -- principled people with great skills, and investors with a vision and values to match ours. And together we got through the eye of the financial storm in Iceland without taking any direct losses to our equity or to the funds of our clients. And although I want to thank the talented people of our company foremost for that -- and also there's a factor of luck and timing -- we are absolutely convinced that we did this because of our values.
所以我們決定,有點背道而馳 及我們心底也強烈的感到 這是不可持續的, 對創立一個金融服務公司, 基於我們的價值觀. 所以我們決定把女性的價值觀 融入金融的世界. 在冰島甚小數人贊同的. 我們不知道 應否作為典型的婦女, 直到那時為止. 所以這些都是公開承認秘密 其實談談我們是婦女的事實 而且我們相信,我們有一組價值觀 和經營方式 去令我們相比過往的經驗 而發展得更為持續的. 而且有一個偉大的團隊加入了我們 -- 有原則以及極大的技能的人, 和具有遠見和價值觀 的投資者以配合我們。 和我們一起通過了金融風暴 我們的股票或基金的客戶在冰島 沒有任何直接損失. 雖然我要感謝 我們公司的人才 最重要的是-- 也有運氣和時機的因素-- 我們完全相信, 我們這樣做是因為這是我們的價值觀。
So let me share with you our values. We believe in risk awareness. What does that mean? We believe that you should always understand the risks that you're taking, and we will not invest in things we don't understand. Not a complicated thing. But in 2007, at the height of the sub-prime and all the complicated financial structures, it was quite opposite to the reckless risk-taking behaviors that we saw on the market. We also believe in straight-talking, telling it as it is, using simple language that people understand, telling people about the downsides as well as the potential upsides, and even telling the bad news that no one wants to utter, like our lack of belief in the sustainability of the Icelandic financial sector that already we had months before the collapse hit us. And, although we do work in the financial sector, where Excel is king, we believe in emotional capital. And we believe that doing emotional due diligence is just as important as doing financial due diligence. It is actually people that make money and lose money, not Excel spreadsheets.
因此,讓我與你分享我們的價值觀。 我們相信風險意識。 這是什麼意思? 我們相信您始終了解你所承受的風險, 和我們不會投資 於我們不了解的事情上。 這並不是一個複雜的事情。 不過於2007年, 它是在高度的次貸 和所有複雜的財務結構, 這是截然相反的 我們在市場看到 魯莽的冒險行為。 我們相信有話直說, 告訴它,它是, 使用簡單被人瞭解的語言, 告訴人們談論的缺點 以及潛在的不相上下, 甚至講沒有人願意說出的壞消息, 就像我們對於冰島的金融業務 持續的失去信任. 這已經 就在崩潰的幾個月前 而且,我們工作的金融部門, 是以Excel為王, 我們相信情緒資本。 我們相信 情緒和勤奮 是同樣重要 因為做財務須要盡職。 實際上是人們 賺錢和賠錢, 而不是一張Excel電子表格。
(Applause)
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Last, but not least, we believe in profit with principles. We care how we make our profit. So while we want to make economic profit for ourselves and our customers, we are willing to do it with a long-term view, and we like to have a wider definition of profits than just the economic profit in the next quarter. So we like to see profits, plus positive social and environmental benefits, when we invest.
最後,但並非最不重要, 我們相信利潤與原則; 我們關心如何賺取我們的利潤。 所以當我們想為我們和我們的客戶賺取經濟利潤, 我們需要有長遠眼光。 而且我們希望對利潤有一個更廣泛的定義 不只是在下一季度的經濟利潤。 因此當我們投資,我們希望看到利潤, 加上積極的社會 和環境效益。
But it wasn't just about the values, although we are convinced that they matter. It was also about a business opportunity. It's the female trend, and it's the sustainability trend, that are going to create some of the most interesting investment opportunities in the years to come. The whole thing about the female trend is not about women being better than men; it is actually about women being different from men, bringing different values and different ways to the table. So what do you get? You get better decision-making, and you get less herd behavior, and both of those things hit your bottom line with very positive results.
但它不只是價值, 雖然我們深信這是很重要。 它也是一個商機。 這是女性的趨勢,它也是可持續發展的趨勢, 這將創建 這將創造出一些最有趣的投資機會, 在未來的日子。 關於女性的趨勢的整件事 不是說女人比男人更好, 它實際上是 對婦女與男子不同的是, 表現出不同的價值觀和不同的方式。 所以你得到了什麼?您得到更好的決策。 你會得到更少的從眾行為。 那些東西都達到您的底線 和帶著非常積極的成果。
But one has to wonder, now that we've had this financial sector collapse upon us in Iceland -- and by the way, Europe looks pretty bad right now, and many would say that you in America are heading for some more trouble as well. Now that we've had all that happen, and we have all this data out there telling us that it's much better to have diversity around the decision-making tables, will we see business and finance change? Will government change?
但是人們想知道, 在冰島已經有這樣的金融機構倒閉後-- 另一方面,歐洲現在看起來非常糟糕。 且有許多人說美國 正在同樣走向一些問題。 我們已經發生了這種情況, 所有數據, 都告訴我們 作多樣性的決策是比較好的, 我們將看到業務和財務改變嗎? 政府是否會改變?
Well I'll give you my straight talk about this. I have days that I believe, but I have days that I'm full of doubt. Have you seen the incredible urge out there to rebuild the very things that failed us? (Applause) Einstein said that this was the definition of insanity -- to do the same things over and over again, hoping for a different outcome. So I guess the world is insane, because I see entirely too much of doing the same things over and over again, hoping that this time it's not going to collapse upon us. I want to see more revolutionary thinking, and I remain hopeful. Like TED, I believe in people. And I know that consumers are becoming more conscious, and they are going to start voting with their wallets, and they are going to change the face of business and finance from the outside, if they don't do it from the inside.
我會給你我的直接談論這一點。 我有相信的日子, 但我也有充滿疑問的一天。 你見過令人難以置信的衝動 去重建失敗的事物嗎? (掌聲) 愛因斯坦說 瘋狂的定義是 -- 做同樣的事 一遍又一遍, 希望能得出不同的結果。 所以我猜這個世界是瘋狂的, 完全是因為我看到太多 一遍又一遍的做同樣的事情, 希望這一次它不會使我們崩潰。 我希望看到更多革命性的思想。 而我仍然抱有希望。 像 TED,我相信人。 我知道消費者 變得更加自覺, 他們將開始用錢包投票, 他們將從外改變 商業和金融, 如果他們不從內部改變。
But I'm more of the revolutionary, and I should be; I'm from Iceland. We have a long history of strong, courageous, independent women, ever since the Viking age. And I want to tell you when I first realized that women matter to the economy and to the society, I was seven -- it happened to be my mother's birthday -- October 24, 1975. Women in Iceland took the day off. From work or from home, they took the day off, and nothing worked in Iceland. (Laughter) They marched into the center of Reykjavik, and they put women's issues onto the agenda. And some say this was the start of a global movement. For me it was the start of a long journey, but I decided that day to matter. Five years later, Iceland elected Vigdis Finnbogadottir as their president -- first female to become head of state, single mom, a breast cancer survivor who had had one of her breasts removed. And at one of the campaign sessions, she had one of her male contenders allude to the fact that she couldn't become president -- she was a woman, and even half a woman. That night she won the election, because she came back -- not just because of his crappy behavior -- but she came back and said, "Well, I'm actually not going to breastfeed the Icelandic nation; I'm going to lead it."
但是我相比改革者 做得更多;因為我來自冰島。 我們有一個歷史悠久 強而有力的、 勇敢的、 獨立的婦女團, 自從維京時代起。 我還要告訴你 當我第一次意識到經濟 和社會上的婦女問題。 我當時七歲 -- 恰好是我母親的生日 -- 1975年10月24日。 冰島的婦女放了一天假期。 從工作或從家裡,她們都在休假, 而冰島什麼都運作不了。 (笑聲) 他們遊行到 Reykjavik 的中心, 他們把婦女的問題放上了議事日程。 有人說這是全球性的運動的一個開始。 對我來說這是一個漫長旅程的開始, 但我決定做這一天的事。 五年之後, Vigdis Finnbogadottir 當選為冰島人的總統-- 成為第一位女性國家元首, 單身母親, 乳癌倖存者, 她有一邊乳房被切除。 並在一個會議上, 她被一位男性競爭者 暗示她不能成為總統; 她是個女人,甚至是半個女人。 那天晚上她在大選中獲勝, 因為她回來了 -- 不僅僅是因為他卑劣的行為 -- 但她回來,還說, “嗯,我其實不打算哺乳冰島國會, 我要領導他們。“
(Applause)
(掌聲)
So I've had incredibly many women role models that have influenced who I am and where I am today. But in spite of that, I went through the first 10 or 15 years of my career mostly in denial of being a woman. Started in corporate America, and I was absolutely convinced that it was just about the individual, that women and men would have just the same opportunities. But I've come to conclude lately that it isn't like that. We are not the same, and it's great. Because of our differences, we create and sustain life. So we should embrace our difference and aim for challenge.
所以有許多令人難以置信的 女性角色模式 從過去到今天在影響我。 但雖然如此, 我的第一個10年或15年 的職業生涯是經常拒絕做女人的。 從美國公司開始, 我是絕對相信 這只是關於個人, 婦女和男人會有平等的機會。 但我來最近得出結論, 它不是那樣。 我們是不一樣的。 而這很好 -- 因為我們的不同, 使我們創建和維持生命。 因此,我們應該接受自己的差異與及瞄準挑戰。
The final thought I want to leave with you is that I'm fed up with this tyranny of either/or choices in life -- either it's men or it's women. We need to start embracing the beauty of balance. So let's move away from thinking about business here and philanthropy there, and let's start thinking about doing good business. That's how we change the world. That's the only sustainable future.
最後我想留給你們的 是我已經受夠了這種 對於生活選擇非一即二的專橫 -- 不管它是男人,或是婦女。 我們需要開始擁抱平衡之美。 因此讓我們擺脫, 在這裡做生意和在那裡搞慈善, 而讓我們開始思考 做一門好生意。 這是我們如何改變世界。這是唯一可持續的未來。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)