乔布斯传 第460期:蒂姆·库克(1)

 　　Tim Cook 蒂姆·库克

　　When Steve Jobs returned to Apple and produced the "Think Different" ads and the iMac in his first year, 在重返苹果公司之后的第一年，史蒂夫·乔布斯推出了“非同凡想”广告和iMac，

　　it confirmed what most people already knew: that he could be creative and a visionary. 再一次向世人展现了他的创意和远见。

　　He had shown that during his first round at Apple. 这一点，他在苹果公司的第一阶段就表现出来了。

　　What was less clear was whether he could run a company. 但大家都没有把握他是否能运营好一家公司。

　　He had definitely not shown that during his first round. 在此之前，他在这方面的能力未曾表现出来。

　　Jobs threw himself into the task with a detail-oriented realism 乔布斯开始投入到一些以细节为导向的很现实的工作里，

　　that astonished those who were used to his fantasy that the rules of this universe need not apply to him. 这让曾经和他共事过的人很惊讶，之前的他是那样桀骜不驯，世间的条条框框似乎在他身上毫无约束作用。

　　"He became a manager, which is different from being an executive or visionary, “他成为了一个经理人，而非之前的身份--高管或愿景师。

　　and that pleasantly surprised me," recalled Ed Woolard, the board chair who lured¹ him back. 他的改变确实让我又惊又喜。”董事长埃德·伍拉德回忆道，是他诱使乔布斯回来的。

　　His management mantra was "Focus." 他的管理准则是“专注”。

　　He eliminated excess product lines and cut extraneous² features in the new operating system software that Apple was developing. 他取消了多余的生产线，去除了正在开发的操作系统中无关紧要的功能。

　　He let go of his control-freak desire to manufacture products in his own factories 他还放下了对产品制造过程的控制欲，

　　and instead outsourced the making of everything from the circuit boards to the finished computers. 把从电路板到成品计算机的制造全部外包了出去。

　　And he enforced on Apple's suppliers a rigorous discipline. 他对供应商的要求极其严苛。

　　When he took over, Apple had more than two months' worth of inventory³ sitting in warehouses⁴, more than any other tech company. 当他开始接管苹果公司的时候，产品的库存期已超过两个月，这比任何一家科技公司都要长。

　　Like eggs and milk, computers have a short shelf life, so this amounted to at least a $500 million hit to profits. 就像鸡蛋和牛奶一样，计算机的贮存期限也很短，这么长的库存周期对利润造成的潜在损失威胁高达5亿美元。

　　By early 1998 he had halved⁵ that to a month. 到1998年初，乔布斯把库存期缩短为一个月。

1 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

2 extraneous   

adj.体外的；外来的；外部的

参考例句：

• I can choose to ignore these extraneous thoughts.我可以选择无视这些外来的想法。
• Reductant from an extraneous source is introduced.外来的还原剂被引进来。

3 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

4 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

5 halved   

v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 )；把…减半；对分；平摊

参考例句：

• The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
• Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半，降至2，400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》