Competition
?亨利·福特 / Henry Ford
Take competition; I found that competition was supposed to be a menace and that a good manager circumvented his competitors by getting a monopoly through artificial means. The idea was that there were only a certain number of people who could buy and that it was necessary to get their trade ahead of someone else.
Some will remember that later many of the automobile manufacturers entered into an association under the Selden Patent just so that it might be legally possible to control the price and the output of automobiles. They had the same idea that so many trades unions have—the ridiculous notion that more profit can be had doing less work than more. The plan, I believe, is a very antiquated one. I could not see then and am still unable to see that there is not always enough for the man who does his work; time spent in fighting competition is wasted; it had better be spent in doing the work.
There are always enough people ready and anxious to buy, provided you supply what they want and at the proper price—and this applies to personal services as well as to goods.
During this time of reflection I was far from idle. We were going ahead with a four-cylinder motor and the building of a pair of big racing cars. I had plenty of time, for I never left my business. I do not believe a man can ever leave his business. He ought to think of it by day and dream of it by night. It is nice to plan to do one’s work in office hours, to take up the work in the morning, to drop it in the evening—and not have a care until the next morning. It is perfectly possible to do that if one is so constituted as to be willing through all of his life to accept direction, to be an employee, possibly a responsible employee, but not a director or manager of anything.
A manual labourer must have a limit on his hours, otherwise he will wear himself out. If he intends to remain always a manual labourer, then he should forget about his work when the whistle blows, but if he intends to go forward and do anything, the whistle is only a signal to start thinking over the day’s work in order to discover how it might be done better.
The man who has the largest capacity for work and thought is the man who is bound to succeed. I cannot pretend to say, because I do not know, whether the man who works always, who never leaves his business, who is absolutely intent upon getting ahead, and who therefore does get ahead—is happier than the man who keeps office hours, both for his brain and his hands. It is not necessary for any one to decide the question. A ten-horsepower engine will not pull as much as a twenty. The man who keeps brain office hours limits his horsepower. If he is satisfied to pull only the load that he has, well and good, that is his affair—but he must not complain if another who has increased his horsepower pulls more than he does. Leisure and work bring different results. If a man wants leisure and gets it—then he has no cause to complain. But he cannot have both leisure and the results of work.
Concretely, what I most realized about business in that year—and I have been learning more each year without finding it necessary to change my first conclusions—is this:
1.That finance is given a place ahead of work and therefore tends to kill the work and destroy the fundamental of service.
2.That thinking first of money instead of work brings on fear of failure and this fear blocks every avenue of business—it makes a man afraid of competition, of changing his methods, or of doing anything which might change his condition.
3.That the way is clear for any one who thinks first of service—of doing the work in the best possible way.
让我们来说说竞争。我发现竞争常常被人们视为一种威胁。竞争是一位出色的管理者凭借实力对某一个行业的垄断。这种观念源于这样一种想法：购买人群毕竟有限，因此做生意一定要抢夺先机。
有人也许还记得，许多汽车厂商联合签订了“塞尔登专利法”—— 一项利用合法手段来控制汽车价格和产量的立法。他们的想法与其他许多想联合的企业的愿望相同——以为有了法律屏障，提供少量服务也能获得更多的利润。多么荒谬啊！我相信，这种想法相当过时。我现在不明白，将来也不会明白，为什么人们不肯埋头苦干，却作无谓的竞争。
只要你能够给顾客提供一个价格合理的必需品，就总会有一些人准备或急于购买你的商品，这种方法几乎在所有服务行业都行得通。
在思考商界现状的那段日子里，我并非无所事事。我们研发了一台四缸发动机和两辆大型赛车。我有充裕的时间，因为我从没有放弃我的事业。我不相信有人会对他的事业置之不理。无论白天黑夜，我们应该对工作多一分关注，不应停止思考。在工作时间内合理规划工作内容，是一件令人愉悦的事情。每天早上我们开始工作，晚上停止工作，这其间还要不断思考思考，直到第二天早上。如果你认为接受他人的指导是最好的选择，那么你可以成为一个好员工或一名优秀的雇员，但你绝不会成为主管或经理。
体力劳动后一定要有休息的时间，否则就会疲惫不堪。如果一个人仅仅想当体力劳动者，那么只要收工号吹响，他就应该将工作抛至脑后。相反，如果他想有所改进，有所成就，那么号声就成了他积极思考的信号，思考刚刚过去的一整天的工作，思考如何才能更加出色。
拥有强大的工作能力以及思考能力的人必定会取得成功。我不能妄下结论，因为我不知道是否那些一心想超越他人并达到目标的人，一定会比在精神上与身体上都只在工作时间开动脑筋的人更幸福。无须回答。正如10马力的发动机与20马力的发动机的作用是无法相比的。只在工作时间开动脑筋的人，限制了自己的能力。如果他们对自己所承担的工作十分满意，那完全是他自己的事情。如果别人承担了比他更艰巨的工作而提升了能力，他连抱怨的资格都没有。赋闲与工作会让人得到截然相反的结果。如果一个人喜欢悠闲的生活，并过上了这样的生活，他便没有任何借口抱怨了。不过，悠闲的生活与丰厚的劳动成果是不可能同时拥有的。
之后的每一年里，我都能学到许多商业知识。我最为重视的几点商界知识是永远不会改变的。具体如下：
第一，没工作前就考虑金钱，这等于毁掉了你的事业，甚至毁掉了服务的基础。
第二，认为金钱至上，而不考虑工作带来失败的恐惧。这种恐惧会阻碍企业向前发展的可行之路——它惧怕与人竞争，拒绝创新，甚至惧怕面对任何环境的变迁。
第三，服务至上的人所拥有的至理名言——不惜一切代价把工作做到最好！
1. The_______, I believe, is a very antiquated one. I could not see_______and am still unable to see that there is not always_______for the man who does his work; time in fighting competition is wasted; it had_______be spent in doing the work.
2. If he is satisfied to_______only the load that he has, well and_______, that is his affair—but he must not complain if_______who has increased his horsepower pulls_______than he does. Leisure and_______bring different results. If a man ______leisure and gets it—then he has no cause to complain. But he_______have both leisure and the results of work.
1. 在工作时间内合理规划工作内容，是一件令人愉悦的事情。
2. 悠闲的生活与丰厚的劳动成果是不可能同时拥有的。
3. 没工作前就考虑金钱，这等于毁掉了你的事业，甚至毁掉了服务的基础。
1. It is nice to plan to do one’s work in office hours, to take up the work in the morning.
take up：开始从事
2. If he intends to go forward and do anything...
intend to：打算做……；想要……
