有声英语故事连载：《名人传记》之乔布斯 第74期
故事连载
A computer expert will show you the system that’s right for you.
电脑专家将会为你展示真正适合你的系统
It was the opening shot of a battle that would rage for 15 years.
这为其后IBM跟苹果之间长达15年的激烈竞争拉开了序幕
Apple went from the leading personal computer company
苹果在个人电脑公司的排名
to the second-place company
掉到了第二位
and actually, was in a very precarious position in that
而且 形势还很危险
because the IBM system could be used in companies other than IBM
由于IBM的系统可以与其他公司兼容
and you could see where Apple would’ve just got to fall further and further back.
可以预见苹果的市场份额只会不断下降
Apple needed a seasoned Chief Executive to pilot the company
苹果急需一位经验丰富的首席执行官
through increasingly tough times.
在日益艰难的时局里 为其指明方向
Steve Jobs’ search took him to New York
乔布斯一路搜寻到了纽约
and to John Sculley, President of the soft drinks company, Pepsi.
找到了百事公司的首席执行官John Sculley
The two men began poles apart.
这两个人的背景有着天壤之别
The world I came from was hierarchical.
我所熟悉的世界充满了残酷的商业规则
It was big business. It was very competitive
大企业里都是等级森严 竞争激烈的
and the idea of building a company that was going to change the world
而这个通过建立公司去改变世界的想法
was completely foreign from anything that I'd ever been exposed to.
对我来说更是闻所未闻
How Jobs persuaded Sculley to take the job
乔布斯说服Sculley跳槽到苹果公司的过程
is the stuff of business legend.
是一个商业史上的神话
Steve had these deep penetrating, brown eyes
乔布斯有一双犀利的棕色眼睛
and he just stared right at me, probably, you know, 15 inches away.
他就这么从三四十公分外 直直地看入了我的眼睛
He said, “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life,
他说 "你真的想要一辈子都卖糖水吗?
or do you want to come with me and change the world?”
还是要来跟我一起改变这个世界?"
Kind of knocked the wind out of me,
这句话真的打动了我
because no-one had ever said anything like that to me before.
因为之前从来没有人这么跟我说过
Sculley was a pragmatic operator,
Sculley是个务实派
a marketing expert who knew exactly what Apple should do.
作为一个市场营销专家 他深知此时的苹果应该做些什么
What they needed was someone who could keep the Apple II
他们需要继续苹果机二代的宣传
commercially alive and generating cash for about another three years.
保证它在三年之内能维持盈利
