A cold January day of 2005, I took one of my most important drives of my life. I was on this road in upstate New York, trying to find this old factory. The day before, I received a flyer in the mail that said, "Fully equipped yogurt plant for sale." I threw it in the garbage can. And 20 minutes later, I picked it up and called the number. The plant was 85 years old, and it was closing. So I decided to go see it.
2005 年一個寒冷的一月天, 我踏上了今生最重要的路程之一。 在紐約州北部一條路上, 找尋一家老工廠。 在那前一天,我信箱裡 收到了一張廣告單, 上面寫著「設備齊全的 優酪工廠出售」。 我把它扔進了垃圾桶。 20 分鐘後,我又將它撿起來, 並打了電話過去。 那家工廠廠齡 85, 即將關閉。 所以,我決定去看看。
At this time, I wasn't sure where this road or my life was going. I owned a small cheese shop but really hated business. But the hills and the roads and the smells are all familiar. I grew up in Turkey, in a similar environment, near the Kurdish mountains. My family made cheese and yogurt; I grew up listening to shepherd's stories. We didn't have much, but we had the moon and the stars, simple food, each other. Eventually, I came to America. I didn't even know New York had farms. I made it to upstate, and I never left. Now I'm lost.
那時候, 我不知道那條路會通到哪裡, 也不確定我人生要走向哪裡。 我開一家小乳酪店, 然而我很討厭做生意。 但這山丘、道路和氣味都很熟悉。 我在土耳其類似的環境裡長大, 靠近庫德族山區。 我家人做乳酪和優酪; 我從小聽著牧羊人的故事長大。 我們沒多少資產, 但我們有星星月亮, 有簡單的食物,有彼此的陪伴。 後來,我來到美國。 我甚至不知道紐約有農場。 我到了紐約州北部, 之後便沒再離開。 現在,我迷路了。
I passed the road sign that said "Dead end." Then soon after, there it was: the factory. The smell hit me first. It was a like a milk container left out in the sun. The walls were so thick, paints were peeling, there were cracks everywhere. The factory was so old, the owners thought it was worthless. I thought they left a zero off, I couldn't believe the price. As I entered in, I stopped noticing things. All I could see were the people. There were 55 of them. Just quiet. Their only job was to break the plant apart and close it forever.
經過了「死胡同」的路標, 隨後不久, 在眼前的 便是那工廠。 那氣味先撲了過來。 聞起來像是牛奶桶被曝曬在陽光下。 厚厚的牆, 油漆剝離,滿是裂紋。 工廠這麼老,業主認為不值錢。 我還以為少寫了個 0, 因為要價低得讓我難以置信。 進去之後, 我注意的不再是東西。 而是人。 總共 55 名員工。 一片沉寂。 他們唯一要做的事就是拆了工廠, 永久歇業。
I was met with a guy named Rich, the production manager. He offered to take me around, show me around. He didn't say much, but around every corner, he would point out some stories. Rich worked there for 20 years. His father made yogurt before him, and his grandfather made cream cheese before that. You could tell that Rich felt guilty that this factory was closing on his watch.
我遇到瑞奇, 他是生產部經理。 他主動要帶我到處走走看看。 他話不多, 但每到一處,他都會指出一些典故。 瑞奇在那裡已經做了 20 年。 在他之前,他父親便是做優酪的, 而他祖父在那之前, 又是做奶油乳酪的。 你看得出瑞奇深感內疚, 因為這個工廠將在他手上被關了。
What hit me the hardest at that time was that this wasn't just an old factory. This was a time machine. This is where people built lives, they left for wars, they bragged about home runs and report cards. But now, it was closing. And the company wasn't just giving up on yogurt, it was giving up on them. As if they were not good enough. And I was shocked how these people were behaving. There was no anger, there were no tears. Just silence. With grace, they were closing this factory. I was so angry that the CEO was far away, in a tower or somewhere, looking at the spreadsheets and closing the factory. Spreadsheets are lazy. They don't tell you about people, they don't tell you about communities. But unfortunately, this is how too many business decisions are made today.
當時最打動我的是 這不只是一家老工廠。 這是一個時間機器。 在這裡曾有許多人建立了人生, 戰時他們出征, 他們相互炫耀打了全壘打 或在學校拿了好成績。 但現在,這個地方要關門了。 這公司放棄的不僅是優酪, 更是放棄了他們這些人。 彷彿他們不夠好。 這些人的表現讓我震驚。 沒有憤怒,沒有眼淚。 只是沉默。 他們以優雅的態度執行關廠的任務。 我很生氣 在遠方的一位 CEO, 他在高樓之類的地方, 看著業務報表 決定關閉這家工廠。 報表是懶的。 他們不會告訴你關於人、 關於社區的情形。 但不幸的是, 這是太多企業決策的方式。
I was never the same person after what I saw. On my way back home, I called Mario, my lawyer. I called Mario, I said, "Mario, I want to buy this place." Mario said, "Hamdi, one of the largest food companies in the world is closing this place, and they're getting out of the yogurt business. Who the hell are you to make it work?" I said, "You're right." But the next day, I called him again, and I said, "Mario, really, I really want to buy this place." He said, "Hamdi, you have no money.
目睹那個情況之後,我變了一個人。 在回家的路上,我打電話 給我的律師馬里奧。 我打給馬里奧說: 「馬里奧,我要買這個地方。」 馬里奧說: 「哈穆迪,全球最大的 食品公司之一要關掉這個地方, 而且他們要退出優酪的行業。 你以為你是誰,能讓它起死回生?」 我說:「你說得對。」 然而第二天,我又打電話給他, 我說:「馬里奧,真的, 我真的想買這個地方。」 他說:「哈穆迪,你沒錢。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
You haven't even paid me in six months."
你甚至已經積欠了我六個月。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Which was true.
那倒是真的。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But I got a loan, another loan. By August 2005, I had the keys for this factory. The first thing I did was to hire four of the original 55 people. I had Maria, the office manager. I had Frank, the wastewater guy. I had Mike, the maintenance guy. And Rich, who showed me the plant, the production guy. And we had our first board meeting. Mike says, "Hamdi, what are we going to do now?" They look at me as if I have the magic answer. So I said, "Mike, we're going to go to Ace Hardware store, and we're going to get some paints. And we're going to paint the walls outside." Mike wasn't impressed. He looked at me. He said, "Hamdi, that's fine, we’ll do that, but tell me you have more ideas than that."
但我取得一筆貸款,另一筆貸款。 到 2005 年 8 月, 我拿到了這個工廠的鑰匙。 我做的第一件事就是聘回 原來 55 人中的四位。 我有瑪麗亞,辦公室經理。 我有法蘭克,廢水處理員。 我有麥克,他管維修。 還有當時帶我參觀廠房的 瑞奇,他負責生產。 我們召開了第一次董事會議。 麥克說:「哈穆迪, 我們現在要做什麼?」 他們看著我,好像我有 什麼神奇的答案。 於是我說:「麥克, 我們打算去 Ace 五金行, 買一些油漆。 把外面的牆粉刷粉刷。」 麥克顯然不滿意。 他看著我。 他說:「哈穆迪, 這很好,我們會去做。 但請告訴我除此之外 你還有更多的主意。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
I said, "I do. We'll paint the walls white."
我說:「有。 我們將牆面漆成白色。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Honest to God, that was the only idea I had.
老實說,除此我還 真的沒別的主意了。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But we painted those walls that summer. I sometimes wonder what they would have said to me if I told them, "See these walls we're painting? In two years, we're going to launch a yogurt here that Americans have never seen and never tasted before. It will be delicious, it will be natural. And we're going to call it 'Chobani' -- it means 'shepherd' in Turkish." And if I said, "We are going to hire all of the 55 employees back, or most of them back. And then 100 more after, and then 100 more after, and then 1,000 more after that." But if I told them, "You see that town over there? Every person we hire, 10 more local jobs will be created. The town will come back to life, the trucks will be all over the roads. And the first money we make, we're going to build one of the best Little League baseball fields for our children. And five years after that, we're going to be the number one Greek yogurt brand in the country." Would they have believed me? Of course not. But that's exactly what happened.
但那個夏天我們把牆都漆好了。 我有時會想, 如果我這麼說,他們會作何反應: 「看到我們漆的這些牆沒? 在兩年內, 我們將在此推出一種優酪, 是美國人從來沒見過也沒吃過的。 不但美味而且全天然。 我們要稱它為 Chobani ——土耳其語的「牧羊人」。 如果我說: 「我們會將所有 55 名員工, 或大多數人請回來。 之後又僱用 100 人, 再僱用 100 人, 然後又再僱用 1000 人。」 但如果我告訴他們: 「看到那個小鎮嗎? 我們每僱用一個人,會 創造 10 個當地就業機會。 該鎮將起死回生, 路上也會跑滿了卡車。 而我們賺的第一筆錢, 要拿來為我們的孩子建造 最好的少棒球場。 五年之後, 我們將成為全國第一的 希臘優酪品牌。」 他們會相信我嗎? 當然不會。 但那確實在其後成真了。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
In painting those walls, we got to know each other. We believed in each other. And we figured it out together. Five years, me and all my colleagues, we never left the factory. We worked day and night, through the holidays, to fix that plant. The best part of Chobani for me is this: the same exact people who were given up on were the ones who built it back 100 times better than before. And they all have a financial stake in the company today.
在漆牆的過程中, 我們增進了彼此的認識。 我們互相信任。 我們一起籌畫出策略。 有五年,我和所有的同事, 我們從來沒離開工廠。 我們夜以繼日,過節也沒停下, 將工廠整修完成。 對我來說 Chobani 最好的部分是: 當年那群被拋棄了的人 正是將它重建得比以前 好 100 倍的人。 他們今天也都有公司股權。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
And all this time, I kept wondering -- you see, I'm not a businessman, I don't come from that tradition -- I just kept wondering: What is this all about? Corporate America says it's about profits. Mainstream business says it's about money. The CEO playbook says it's about shareholders. And so much is sacrificed for it -- it's factories, communities, jobs. But not by CEOs. CEOs have their employees suffer for them. But yet, the CEOs's pay goes up and up and up. And so many people are left behind.
而我一直在想—— 我不是生意人,沒有企業界傳統—— 我一直在想:這一切的 目的究竟是什麼呢? 美國大公司說:這攸關利潤。 主流企業說:這是錢的問題。 CEO 的手冊說:這是為了股東。 為了它可以犧牲的太多了—— 包括工廠、社區、工作等。 但 CEO 們不必做犧牲。 CEO 們有員工代他們受罪。 CEO 們的薪酬一再上升上升上升。 而有太多人被拋在後頭。
I'm here to tell you: no more. It's not right, it's never been right. It's time to admit that the playbook that guided businesses and CEOs for the last 40 years is broken.
我在這裡要告訴大家: 不能再這樣了。 這是不對的,這一直都是不對的。 現在應該承認 過去 40 年來企業 和 CEO 們遵循的手冊 是不對的。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
It tells you everything about business except how to be a noble leader. We need a new playbook. We need a new playbook that sees people again. That sees above and beyond profits. In the movies, they have a name for people who take a different path to do things right. They call them "antiheroes." I think we need the same idea in business. We need anti-CEOs, and we need an anti-CEO playbook.
它告訴你有關業務的一切 但沒告訴你如何成為 一個高尚的領導者。 我們需要新手冊。 我們需要會考慮到人的新手冊。 它要能看到利潤之外之上的因素。 電影裡有那些不依循傳統路子 做正確事情的人。 他們被稱為「反英雄」。 我認為在企業經營上 我們需要同樣的想法。 我們需要反 CEO, 也需要反 CEO 手冊。
So let me tell you about what this anti-CEO playbook is all about. An anti-CEO playbook is about gratitude. Today's business book says: business exists to maximize profit for the shareholders. I think that's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life.
讓我來告訴你 反 CEO 手冊是怎麼一回事。 反 CEO 手冊是關於感恩。 今日的企管書上說: 企業存在是為了 幫股東賺最大的利潤。 我認為那是我這輩子 所聽過最愚蠢的想法。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
In reality, business should take care of their employees first.
在現實中,企業應該先 照顧好自己的員工。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
You know, a few years ago, when we announced that we are giving shares to all our 2,000 employees, some people said it's PR, some said it's a gift. I said, it's not a gift. I watched it, I've been part of it. They earned it with their talent and with their hard work, and I don't see any other way. The new way of business -- it's your employees you take care of first. Not the profits.
幾年前, 當我們宣布發股票給 所有 2,000 名員工, 有些人說這是公關技倆, 也有人說這是個禮物。 我說,這不是禮物。 我看著,也參與過它的執行。 這是他們用自己的才華 與辛勤工作賺來的, 我所見的就是這樣。 企業的新途徑—— 首先顧到你的員工, 而不是利潤。
The new anti-CEO playbook is about community. Today, the businesses that have it all ask communities, "What kind of tax breaks and incentives can you give me?" The reality is, businesses should go to the struggling communities and ask, "How can I help you?"
新的反 CEO 手冊著眼於社區。 如今,擁有一切的企業, 只會問社區:「你可以給我 什麼樣的稅收優惠和獎勵?」 而現實是,企業應該要 走入有需要的社區 並問:「我怎樣可以幫你?」
(Applause)
(掌聲)
When we wanted to build our second yogurt plant, Idaho was on nobody's radar screen. It was too rural, too far away, didn't have much incentives. So I went there. I met with the local people, I met with the farmers. We shook hands, we broke bread. I said, "I want to build it right here." I don't need to see financial studies. And the result -- its community is thriving. There's new schools that open every year. New food companies are coming up every year. And they told me, "You're not going to find any trained workers here." I said, "It's OK, we'll teach them." We partnered with the local community college, and while we were building the plant, we trained hundreds of hundreds of people for advanced manufacturing. And today, our factory is one of the largest yogurt plants in the world.
當我們要蓋第二座優酪工廠時, 沒人會考慮愛達荷州。 因為它太鄉下,距離太遠, 又沒提供多少優惠獎勵。 於是,我去了那裡。 我和當地人碰面,也會見了農民。 我們握手,一起用餐。 我說:「我要蓋在這裡。」 我不需要看到財務研究報告。 而結果是—— 那個社區正在蓬勃發展。 每年都有新學校成立。 每年都有新的食品公司開張。 當時他們告訴我: 「在這裡你找不到有經驗的工人。」 我說:「沒關係,我們會教他們。」 我們與當地社區學院合作, 還在興建廠房的時候, 培養了數百人的先進製造技術。 今日我們的工廠是世界上 最大的優酪工廠之一。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
The new way of business -- communities. Go search for communities that you can be part of. Ask for permission. And be with them, open the walls and succeed together.
企業的新途徑—— 社區。 去找你可以成為其中一分子的社區。 請求許可。 與他們一起,拆除藩籬, 共享成功。
The anti-CEO playbook is about responsibility. Today's playbook says, the businesses should stay out of politics. The reality is businesses, as citizens, must take a side. When we were growing in New York and looking for more people to hire, I remembered that in Utica, an hour away, there were refugees from Southeast Asia and Africa, who were looking for a place to work. "They don't speak English," someone told me. I said, "I don't really, either. Let's get translators."
反 CEO 手冊是關於「責任」。 今天的手冊說企業不要涉入政治。 而現實情況是 企業,作為公民,必須選邊站。 當我們在紐約擴展, 需要聘用更多員工的時候, 我記得在一個小時 路程之遙的 Utica, 有來自東南亞及非洲的難民, 他們正在找地方工作。 有人告訴我:「他們不會說英語。」 我說:「其實我也不會。 我們找人翻譯吧。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
"They don't have transportation." I said, "Let's get buses, it's not a rocket science." Today, in one of America's rural areas, 30 percent of the Chobani workforce are immigrants and refugees.
「他們沒交通工具。」 我說:「我們準備巴士。這不難。」 今天, 在美國一個農村地區, Chobani 的員工有 30% 是移民和難民。
(Applause) (Cheers)
(鼓掌)(歡呼)
And it changed us for better.
它讓我們變得更好。
The new way of business -- it's business, not government, in the best position to make a change in today's world: in gun violence, in climate change, in income inequality, in refugees, in race. It's business that must take a side.
企業的新途徑—— 當今是企業,而不是政府, 最能改變這個世界: 在槍支暴力,在氣候變化, 在收入不平等、 難民與種族問題等方面。 企業必須要採取立場。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
And lastly, an anti-CEO playbook is about accountability. Today's playbook says, the CEO reports to the corporate boards. In my opinion, CEO reports to consumer. In the first few years of Chobani, the 1-800 number on the cup was my personal number.
最後,反 CEO 手冊是關於問責。 今天的手冊裡, CEO 向公司董事會負責。 依我之見,CEO 應該向消費者負責。 在 Chobani 的頭幾年, 優酪杯上的客服 電話是我的個人號碼。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
When somebody called and wrote, I responded personally. Sometimes I made changes based on what I heard, because consumer is in power. That's the reason the business exists. It's you -- every single one of you is in power to make changes today. If you don't like the brand and the companies, what they are doing with their business, you can throw them into the garbage can. And if you see the ones that are doing it right, you can reward them. In the end, this is all in our responsibility.
每當有人打電話或寫信來, 我都親自回應。 我有時候會基於那些意見而做改變, 因為消費者握有權力。 那是企業存在的理由。 就是你們——今天你們 每一位都有做改變的權力。 如果你不喜歡某品牌和企業, 如果你不喜歡他們經營方式, 你可以把他們扔進垃圾筒。 如果你看到做得正確的, 你可以獎勵他們。 最終,這一切都是我們的責任。
The new way of business -- it's the consumer we report to, not to the corporate boards. You see, if you are right with your people, if you are right with your community, if you are right with your product, you will be more profitable, you will be more innovative, you will have more passionate people working for you and a community that supports you. And that's what the anti-CEO playbook is all about.
企業的新途徑—— 它向消費者,而不是 向公司董事會負責。 你看, 如果你善待你的員工, 如果你善待你的社區, 如果你善待你的產品, 你的利潤會增加, 你會有更多的創新, 你會有更多充滿激情的人為你工作, 並有整個社區支持你。 這就是反 CEO 手冊的內容。
The treasure that I found in that factory -- dignity of work, strength of character, human spirit -- is what we need to unleash all across the world.
我在那家工廠發現的寶藏—— 工作的尊嚴, 性格的力量, 人類的精神—— 我們需要將這些散播到全世界。
Brothers and sisters, there are people and places all around the world left out and left behind. But their spirit is still strong. They just want another chance, they want someone to give them a chance again, not to just build it back, but build it better than before. And this is the difference between return on investment and return on kindness. This is the difference between profit and true wealth. And if it can happen in a small town in upstate New York and Idaho, it can happen in every city and town and village across the world.
各位兄弟姐妹們, 世界上到處有被忽略、被遺忘的 人群和地方。 但他們的精神依然強勁。 他們只是想要另一個機會, 他們要有人再給他們一個機會, 不只是要重建, 而是要構建得比以前更好。 這是投資回報率 和善意回報率之間的差異。 這是利潤和真正財富之間的區別。 如果它可以發生在 紐約州北部和愛達荷州的小鎮, 它也能發生在世界上每一個 城市、鄉鎮,和村里。
This is not the time to build walls, this is a time to start painting the walls. I leave the colors all up to you.
現在不是建牆的時候, 而是開始粉刷牆壁的時候。 用什麼顏色,你們自己決定。
Thank you so much.
萬分感謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)