9. David L. Calhoun大卫·卡尔霍恩

　　Businessman 商人

　　Virginia Tech 弗吉尼亚理工大学

　　May 13, 2005 2005年5月13日

　　I worked for a guy named Jack Welch for twenty years at GE. He was, and is, a great mentor as much as a great leader. If I had to isolate the subject he spoke most passionately to me about, over all those years, it is that SELF CONFIDENCE is the most important, the indispensable characteristic of success, the common characteristic shared by great leaders whose talents may have varied widely in most other respects.

　　So, how do you get it? What is the secret to developing your own brand of self-confidence?

　　First, you must resolve to grow intellectually, morally, technically, and professionally every day through your entire work and family life. You need to ask yourself every day: Am I really up to speed or falling behind? Am I still learning? Or am I just doing the same stuff on a different day or as Otis Redding sings, “Sitting on the dock of the bay... watching the tide roll away?”

　　The lust for learning is age-independent.

　　Another important way to build your confidence is to seek out the toughest jobs, the most daunting scientific, engineering or management challenges.

　　我在通用公司为一个名叫杰克·韦尔奇的家伙工作了20年。他既是一位伟大的领导者，也是一位伟大的导师，过去是，现在也是。如果我必须找出那些年里他充满激情地对我说的最主要的话，那就是：自信是最重要的，它是成功必不可少的，是所有在其他多数方面才能也许大相径庭的伟大领导者的共同特征。

　　如何获得自信?培养你特有的自信的秘诀是什么?

　　首先，你必须下决心每天都通过你的工作和家庭生活去获得智力、道德、技术与专业上的提高。你需要每天问自己：我是在加速前进还是在后退?我还在学习吗?我是在每天重复做同样的事情或就像奥蒂斯·瑞汀所唱的那样，“坐在海湾的码头上，看潮起潮落”?

　　对学习的渴望是不受年龄限制的。

　　培养自信的另一个重要途径是寻找最难做的工作，最棘手的科学、工程或管理方面的难题。