2021年经济学人 从披头士乐队看团队合作

（单词翻译）

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Bartleby -- Teamwork and The Beatles

巴托比专栏——团队合作与披头士乐队

A new documentary on the Fab Four is a must-watch for managers, too.

一部管理者们也该看看的关于披头士四人组的新纪录片

Paul is strumming his guitar in a studio in London.

保罗在伦敦的录音室里漫不经心地弹拨着吉他。

George yawns and Ringo looks on listlessly.

乔治打了个哈欠，林戈无精打采地看着这一切。

John is late, as usual.

约翰和往常一样迟到了。

Suddenly, magic.

突然间，魔法降临。

A melody starts to take shape; George joins in on his guitar; Ringo claps out a beat.

旋律开始成形；乔治弹起吉他加入；林戈打出节奏。

By the time John arrives, The Beatles’ next single, “Get Back”, is thrillingly recognisable.

等到约翰来的时候，披头士的新单曲《Get Back》已经令人激动地初具模样了。

“Get Back” provides both the standout moment and the title of a glorious new documentary by Peter Jackson, charting the days that the band spent together in January 1969, writing and recording¹ songs for a new album.

《Get Back》不仅成就了这个非凡的时刻，它也成为了彼得·杰克逊这部值得称道的的新纪录片的名字。这部纪录片记录了1969年1月乐队成员在一起创作和录制新专辑歌曲的日子。

For anyone interested in music, pop culture or creativity, the film is a stocking filled with treats.

对于任何对音乐、流行文化或创意感兴趣的人来说，这部电影就是装满礼物的圣诞长袜。

When George is struggling for a line to follow “Something in the way she moves”, John has advice.

当乔治绞尽脑汁地创作“她移动的方式”的下一句时，约翰给出了建议。

“Just say whatever comes into your head each time—‘attracts me like a cauliflower’—until you get the right words.”

“每次脑海中想到什么就直接写什么——‘像花椰菜一样吸引我’——直到你找到合适的词为止。”

Executives should watch it, too.

高管们也应该看一看。

The question of what makes a team sing is a staple² of management research, and the Beatles documentary is a rare chance to watch a truly world-class team at work.

是什么让一个团队和鸣，这是管理研究的一个主要问题，而这部披头士乐队的纪录片提供了一个难得的机会，让人们看到一个真正的世界级团队是怎样工作的。

It reinforces known principles, and adds some of its own.

它强化了一些我们已知的准则，也添加了一些他们自己的准则。

Take the role of Ringo, for example.

以林戈的角色为例。

When he is not actually playing, the band’s drummer spends most of his time either asleep or looking bewildered.

这位乐队的鼓手不演奏的时候，大部分时间要么在睡觉，要么处于迷迷糊糊的状态。

When the other three musicians bicker³, Ringo smiles beatifically⁴.

而当其他三位音乐家争吵时，林戈乐开了花。

To a casual observer, he might appear dispensable.

在无心的旁观者看来，他似乎可有可无。

But musically, nothing works without him, and as a team member he softens⁵ conflict and bridges divides.

但在音乐上，没有他，一切都无法运转，作为这个团队的一员，他缓和冲突，弥合分歧。

Psychological make-up matters to how teams come together.

心理方面的组合对团队融合很重要。

Academics at Carnegie Mellon University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that the performance of groups is not correlated with their members’ average intelligence, but with characteristics such as sensitivity and how good teams are at giving everyone time to speak.

卡耐基梅隆大学和麻省理工学院的学者发现，团队的表现与其成员的平均智力无关，而是与其它一些特质相关，比如敏感性以及团队有多善于给予每个人发言机会。

Ringo provides backing; the band would be less cohesive⁶ without him.

林格是后盾；没有他，乐队就没有这般凝聚力。

Another principle reinforced by the film: look here, there and everywhere for inspiration.

影片还强调了另一个准则：随处寻找灵感。

In a study from McKinsey, more than 5,000 executives were asked to describe the environment in which they had their own best experiences of being in a team.

在麦肯锡的一项研究中，5000多名高管被要求描述他们是在何种环境下获得了最愉快的团队经历。

Among other things, the consultancy identified the importance of “renewal”, the habit of keeping staleness at bay by taking risks, by learning from others and by innovating⁷.

在得到的结果中，这家咨询公司指出了“焕新”的重要性，通过冒险、向他人学习和创新以把陈腐拒之门外。

“Get Back” shows a team of superstars embracing exactly that ethos: playing the songs of other bands, grabbing ideas like magpies⁸ and happily taking the advice and help of outsiders.

《Get Back》展示了这一巨星团队全情拥抱这一理念的样子：演奏其他乐队的歌曲，像喜鹊一样及时抓住灵感，乐于接受外人的建议和帮助。

It is the introduction of a pianist called Billy Preston, known to the group from their early days playing in Hamburg, which really makes the recording sessions start to click.

一位名叫比利·普雷斯顿的钢琴家的加入才让录制变得真正顺畅起来，乐队成员早期在汉堡演奏时就认识他了。

(Let’s make him the fifth Beatle, suggests John. “It’s bad enough with four,” sighs Paul.)

（约翰建议让他加入成为第五名披头士成员。“四个人就已经够烦的了，”保罗叹了口气说道。)

A third message of the film concerns when and how to let it be.

影片传递的第三个讯息是关于何时以及如何成立一个团队。

In an effort in 2016 called Project Aristotle, Google tried to define the characteristics of its most effective teams.

在2016年一项名为“亚里士多德计划”的尝试中，谷歌试图阐明其最有效团队的特征。

One of its findings was that goals ought to be “specific, challenging and attainable”.

研究结果之一是，目标应该是“具体的、具有挑战性的和可实现的”。

When they first meet up, on the second day of 1969, the band has a task that fits these criteria⁹ snugly¹⁰: to write an album’s worth of new songs in just a matter of days and perform them on a TV special.

当他们在1969年的第二天第一次见面时，乐队面临的一项任务恰好符合这些标准：在短短几天内写出一张专辑的新歌，并在一个电视特别节目中演奏这些歌。

But how they get there is left largely to them.

但如何实现这一目标在很大程度上取决于他们自己。

That doesn’t always work out.

这件事也不总是行得通。

At one point Paul yearns¹¹ for a “central daddy figure” to set them straight on their scheduling.

其中有段时间，保罗特别希望能有一位“父亲般的中心人物”来使他们的日程安排更加明确。

But the combination of a deadline and autonomy yields remarkable¹² results.

但是，最后期限和自主性结合起来产生了非凡的效果。

There are limits to what can be learned from “Get Back”.

从《Get Back》中能学到的东西是有限的。

The Beatles are not always supportive of each other—George, feeling disregarded by John and Paul, briefly¹³ quits the band.

披头士乐队并不总是互相支持——乔治因为感到被约翰和保罗忽视，短暂地退出了乐队。

Drugs played a part in their output: LSD may be a red line for some managers.

药物在他们的产出中起到了一定的作用：对一些管理者来说，致幻药可能是不可跨越红线。

Although technical ability is not the only determinant of success, sheer talent helped.

然而，技术能力并不是成功的唯一决定因素，十足的天赋也有助益。

Any band with a Lennon, a McCartney and a Harrison in it would have an advantage.

任何乐队，只要有了列侬、麦卡特尼和哈里森的加入，它就有了一定优势。

But one wider lesson comes through loud and clear.

但有一个更广泛的启示是显而易见的。

The Beatles love what they do for a living.

披头士热爱他们的谋生之道。

When they are not playing music, they are talking about it or thinking about it.

他们不演奏音乐的时候，就在谈论音乐或思考音乐。

They do take after take of their own songs, and jam constantly.

他们确实会一首接一首地唱他们自己的歌，而且经常即兴演奏。

Managers who think that building esprit de corps¹⁴ requires a separate activity from work—here-comes-the-fun time, set aside for axe-throwing or gif battles or something equally ghastly—are missing a fundamental point.

那些认为团建需要做些和工作不一样的事的管理者们——接下来进入娱乐时间，专门用来玩飞斧、动图大战或其他同样令人讨厌的事情——忽略了一个基本要点。

The highest-performing teams derive¹⁵ the greatest satisfaction not from each other, but from the work they do together.

表现最好的团队获得的最大满足感不是来自彼此，而是来自他们共同完成的工作。