黑石的成功开始于1985年的某一天，苏世民飞往波士顿，为首只投资基金募集资金。
Blackstone’s success begins one day in 1985 when Stephen A· Schwarzman flew to Boston to raise capital for the firm’s first fund.
他和另一名黑石创始人彼得·彼得森最初错过与潜在投资者见面的机会。扫兴离开时，他们冒着大雨，努力寻找一辆空出租车。他们举着20美元钞票，敲打着已经坐有乘客的出租车，最终提高报价至30美元，才得以拼车成功。
He and co-founder Pete Peterson did not even get a chance to meet the potential investor. They left, defeate, in the pouring rain. Struggling to find an empty taxi, they banged on the back window of a taxi that already had a passenger in it, holding a 20-dollar bill. The passenger finally agreed to share a ride after Schwarzman raised his offer to $30.
“这是我几个星期以来最接近成功的一次交易。”他在书中写道，“就在不久之前，我们两个还可以打电话给世界各地的人。我们也从来没有想象过会在周五晚上的洛根机场，浑身湿透地坐在座位上暗自神伤，而我们的努力却没有换来一分钱的回报.”
“It was the closest to a deal I had gotten in weeks,” he writes in the book.“It hadn’t been that long ago that Pete and I could call anyone around the world. Never did we imagine being slumped in our seats at Logan Airport on a Friday night, soaked to our skins, without a dollar to show for our efforts.”
在这本名为《苏世民：我的经验与教训》的自传中，苏世民，这名华尔街最知名的领袖人物之一，诚实的记载了不少自己在华尔街打拼过程中令人沮丧的经历，这些时刻都化成了宝贵的教训，他想分享给同样在打拼的年轻人们。
In this autobiography, entitled What It Takes： Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence， Schwarzman, one of Wall Street‘s most recognizable leaders, honestly chronicles a number of frustrating moments he experienced during his time on Wall Street, which have been turned into valuable lessons that he wants to share with the next generation, who are now facing similar difficulties and uncertainties.
浪潮对话|黑石CEO苏世民
经验与教训：“我只是非常非常努力”
What It Takes： “I just tried really hard”
刚进华尔街时，苏世民雄心壮志，意气风发。但第一天上班，就被客户的公司年报狠狠地浇了一头冷水：报告充满了资产负债表、损益表、优先股、可转换优先股、次级债和可转换次级债等陌生术语，让他“好像在读一份外语报告”。尽管今天的他，一眼就能读出这家公司当时一片混乱的财务状况。
When he was new on Wall Street, Schwarzman was ambitious and enthusiastic. But even on his first day at work, he was hit hard by the reality of a client‘s annual report, which was full of unfamiliar terms such as balance sheet, income statement, preferred stock, convertible preferred stock, subordinated and convertible subordinated debt, making him “feel like he may as well have been reading a foreign language”. Reading it today， he could have seen in an instant that it was a company in financial disarray.
黑石创业之初尤为艰难。他曾遭到关系很好的权威人士的拒绝。“挫折似乎无穷无尽。”他清晰的记得在各种融资失败后，独自一人坐在一家日本餐馆里，突然感到一阵眩晕，好像整个身体都要垮了。“我觉得自己各个方面都失败了，自怨自哀的情绪将我淹没。”他对自己说，不能失败，必须找到一种成功的方法。
When starting Blackstone, he faced many challenges. People he knew well in positions of authority rejected him. “The setbacks seemed endless.” He vividly remembers sitting alone in a Japanese restaurant after various financing failures and beginning to feel dizzy, as if his whole body was about to collapse. “I felt I was failing on every count. I was overwhelmed by self-pity.” He then told himself that he could not fail and that he had to find a way to succeed.
他写道，此时他尚未知道，此前所做的所有工作，用铅笔和直尺建立金融模型所耗费的职业生涯，从同事那里学到的所有与金融有关的知识与技能，最终都将显现其宝贵价值。
At this point, he writes, he did not know that all the work, the hours he had spent in his career building his own financial models with a pencil and ruler, learning the craft of finance from his colleagues, would become so valuable.
他甚至曾经经历过无法偿还债务的时刻。当时黑石打算以3.3亿美元收购一家钢铁公司，结果就在交易完成几个月后，钢铁价格开始急转直下，导致债务无法偿还。当时投资人对他劈头盖脸地训斥：“你得白痴到什么程度，才会把钱浪费在这种毫无价值的东西上？我怎么能把钱交给你这种低能儿呢？“
But there was a time he was even unable to pay his debts. On one occasion, Blackstone decided to invest $330 million to purchase a steel company, but just a few months after the deal was completed, the price of steel began to plummet, making the debt unpayable. The investors at the time were displeased to say the least： “What kind of an idiot would squander his money on something so worthless？ How could he have given a dime to someone as inept as I was？”
“这一刻是我今生最羞愧的一刻”，苏世民写道，“坐在客户的办公室里，我感觉自己的眼泪不由自主地涌来出来，双颊变得通红。我不得不努力控制自己不能哭出来。走在去停车场的路上，我对自己发誓，这样的事情以后永远都不能再发生在我身上。“
“I don’t think I have been as ashamed as that in my life,” he writes. “I felt tears welling up and my face turning red and hot. I had to force myself not to cry. As I found my way to the parking lot, I vowed to myself, this is never, ever going to happen to me again.”
书中对这个事件经验教训的分析和总结长达数页，现实中，这个事件也直接促成了黑石此后在投资上延续多年的重要决策过程，有着充分而激烈辩论的集体民主决策，而非“单人决策”。
The book then focuses on the analysis of the lessons learned from this incident， which in reality directly contributed to the decision-making process at Blackstone that has continued for many years – a tradition of full and vigorous debate and collective democratic decision-making， rather than “one-man decisions”.
“在我上过的任何一堂课中，我都不是最聪明的那个人。”苏世民对@微天下说，“我只是非常非常努力。”他说，在金融界，学好一些基础学科是相当重要的，必须精通这些技能，为未来打好知识基础。年轻人要善于求问，不要不懂装懂，不会有人因为你寻求解答而责备你。
“I wasn’t the smartest person in any class I was ever in，” said Schwarzman to @MicroWorld， “I just tried really hard.” He says that in the financial world， it is quite important to master certain basic subjects and be proficient in these skills to build a good knowledge base for the future. Young people should be good at asking questions and not pretending to understand， noting that “there is usually no penalty for asking others for help”.
他坚信团队的力量。“你必须得信任一起共事的人，因为团队一起来做事，比单单一个聪明的人单打独斗要强大的多。”他对@微天下说。
He is a firm believer in the power of the team. “You have to be able to trust the people you‘re working with， because people working together are more powerful than just one person who’s smart working alone，” he told @MicroWorld.
人才：是否有追求成功的决心最重要
Talent： The will to win is most important
一路走来，作者见证了“最好和最糟糕的华尔街”，对人才的判断有着独特见解。
Having witnessed both the “best and worst of Wall Street”， the author has a unique insight into the judgement of talent.
对苏世民来说，一个简单有效的判断方式是“机场测试”，“如果我们乘坐的航班延误，我是否愿意跟这个人一起在机场等候？”
For Schwarzman， a simple and effective way of judging this is the “airport test”： Would I want to be stuck waiting at the airport with you if our flight were delayed？
商界里的领袖人物中，通常有两种性格，一种有着极强的个性，高瞻远瞩，感染力十足，很多首席执行官们具备了这种性格。另一种则是细致入微的实务派。
Amongst the leaders in the business world there are usually two types of characters， those with strong personalities， visionary and charismatic， which many chief executives possess， and those who are more meticulous and practical.
苏世民的自传显示他更具备前者的特质：胆大、自信，充满人格魅力，但有时过于自信，这样强的性格，曾经让他在早年被高盛拒绝了录用，但此后却造就了他的成功。在很多关键时刻，无论是组建公司、筹集资金还是招拢人才，他都是靠自己的人格魅力和敏锐的洞察力，取得成功。
Schwarzman‘s autobiography presents him with more of the former traits： bold， assured， and full of charisma but sometimes over-confident， a strong personality trait that once got him turned down for a job at Goldman Sachs in his early years， but has since contributed to his success. At many crucial moments， whether it was founding a company， raising capital or recruiting talent， he managed to excel thanks to his charisma and keen insight.
在书中，苏世民说黑石极为重视人才，而且竭力招聘“10分人才”。
In the book， Schwarzman says that Blackstone places great importance on talent and focuses on hiring exceptional people who are “10 out of 10s”.
今天的华尔街，有着太多拥有近乎完美简历的MBA毕业生，如何在这些高学历人才和有着更多元化背景的人才中进行选择？对此，苏世民给出了聪明的回答：不同的职位需要不同背景的人才，销售类岗位和分析类岗位对学历的要求就不太一样，但无论学历背景，最重要的是看应聘者是否有追求成功的决心，是否正直诚实。
Today there are too many MBA graduates with perfect CVs on Wall Street， so how do you choose between these highly educated people and those with more diverse backgrounds？ To this question， Schwarzman gives a savvy answer： different positions require people with different backgrounds. Sales positions and analytical positions require different qualifications， but regardless of academic background， the most important thing to look for is whether the candidate has the determination to pursue success and whether they possess integrity and honesty.
在书中，他也同样强调了对人才性格的重视。特别是对于小企业，通常无法获得最优秀的人才，但他们至少要问一个简单的问题：这个人是否像你一样，对壮大企业的使命抱有同样的热忱，愿意付出同样的努力？
In the book， he also emphasizes the importance of character. For smaller companies that might not have access to a wide range of talent， they must at a minimum ask the question： Does this person have the same passion and commitment to growing this business as I do？
仍亲自致电苏世民学者项目入围者
Schwarzman still calls scholar finalists in person
中国很多年轻人正面临着行业内激烈竞争和加班的工作文化，这让他们常常压力巨大，充满了焦虑、疲惫和困惑。
Many young people in China are facing corporate cultures with fierce competition and long working hours， which often leaves them stressed， anxious， tired and confused.
对于面临着各种人生挑战的年轻人来说，苏世民的忠告是：把一切都做到完美是不可能的，要应对短处和困难的方法，就是打起精神来，从失败中吸取教训，纠正错误，下不为例。
For young people facing various challenges in life， Schwarzman‘s advice is that it is impossible to make everything perfect， and that the way to deal with shortcomings and difficulties is to buck up， learn from failures， correct mistakes and never let that mistake happen again.
对于企业，他在书中也提出了自己杜绝办公室政治的坚决态度：“黑石永远不能出现办公室政治，这一点对我来说非常重要。所以如果你天生爱争权夺势，黑石不欢迎你。”
In his book， he also sets out his firm stance against internal politics. “It‘s very important to me that Blackstone remains free of internal politics， so if jockeying for position is part of your nature， we don’t want you.“
黑石多年来已在中国建立了强大的市场。事实上，中国政府自二战以来的首笔外国股权投资就投给了黑石。苏世民在书中记载了2007年之后黑石首次真正进入中国市场，以及与当时的总理朱镕基数次见面的经历。
Over the years， Blackstone has built a strong presence in China. In fact， Blackstone was the Chinese government’s first foreign equity investment since World War II. Schwarzman chronicles Blackstone’s first real entry into the Chinese market after 2007 and his several meetings with the former premier Zhu Rongji.
他在书中花了很多篇幅详细回忆了创建苏世民学者项目的过程。为了创建项目，他和同事们在5年内撰写了近2000封信件，每一份都根据潜在捐赠者而量身撰写。
He spends much of the book recalling in detail the process of establishing Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University. To create the program， he and his colleagues wrote nearly 2，000 letters over five years， tailored to each potential donor.
他写道： “等到书院建成时，我往中国已经跑了30次，以确保我们把控所有细节。”
“By the time the program was completed， I had made 30 trips to China to ensure we got all the details right”， he writes.
苏世民之所以如此重视这个项目，是因为他坚信，理解中国，不再是一门选修课，而是一门必修的核心课程，而苏世民学者项目就是学习这课程的最好课堂。
Schwarzman believes this program is so important because understanding China is no longer an elective course， but rather a compulsory core curriculum， and the Schwarzman Scholars program is the best classroom to learn this.
他还在书中写道，自己会亲自打电话给苏世民学者项目的入围者，说服他们加入这个项目。苏世民学者项目目前已经全球知名度很高了，现在的他还这么做吗？对于这个问题，他的回答是：是的，他还在这么做。
He also writes in his book that he would personally call Schwarzman Scholars finalists to convince them to say yes to the program. Now， the program is well known worldwide， does he still do that？ The answer to this question： Yes， he still does it.
与苏世民对话：每个想干大事的人，都必须懂中国
Conversation with Stephen Schwarzman： “Anyone who wants to do big things must know about China”
@微天下：你在书中记录了很多你职业生涯中犯下的教训、经验和一些沮丧的时刻。对于那些正面临着各种不确定性和感到失落的年轻人，你会对他说什么？
@MicroWorld： In your book， you wrote about many mistakes， lessons and moments of frustration in your career. What would you say to a young professional who is now facing uncertainty or disappointment？
苏世民：当你开始职业生涯时，你可能会想努力把一切都做到完美，但事实是你可能会感到不如意。而你处理不足或困难的方式很重要，你必须要振作起来，从失败中吸取教训，纠正错误，确保以后不会再犯。
Schwarzman： I think it‘s important when you start out your career that you try and do everything right but realize you probably won't. And the way you deal with that kind of shortfall or difficulty is you have to do it with good cheer and you have to learn what you did wrong, correct it and never let that happen again.
@微天下：教育对你的影响非常大，你觉得年轻人可以从你的教育经历中得到哪些启发？
@MicroWorld： You mentioned how important education was in your life. What can young people learn from your educational experience？
苏世民：我书中写的一点，教育是通向更好生活的护照。所以，将你所学知识精通并善于运用，这才是至关重要的。我在任何一个班上都不是最聪明的学生，但我只是非常努力。当你学习数学之类的科目时，努力是非常重要的。如果你不理解某个知识点，它会一直困扰你，在你的余生中，你也永远无法真正搞懂它。
Schwarzman： What I wrote about in “What It Takes” is education is the passport to a better life. And so it‘s really important that you apply yourself and master what’s being taught. I wasn‘t the smartest person in any class I was ever in. I just tried really hard. And that’s an important thing when you‘re learning certain types of subjects like mathematics. If you don’t understand something， it‘ll haunt you the whole rest of your life. You’ll never get it right.
你必须为未来打好知识基础，所以你要掌握好这些基本的技能，要善于求问。
And you need to make a good foundation for the future. So you have to master those basic skills and ask other people.
不要不懂装懂，多提问总是对的，不会有人为此责备你。你要多向别人、老师，或者问其他比你早一两年完成学业而且优异的学长，直到你也精通为止。这就是领先他人的秘诀，重要的并不是你学了什么，而是在于你学习的方式。
Don‘t make pretend you have it right. There’s usually no penalty for asking others， the teacher， a student that‘s a year or two ahead of you， who’s more accomplished， to make sure you‘ve mastered things. And that’s the way you get ahead， not just because of what you‘re learning， but your style of learning. That’s the most important thing.
@微天下：你提到黑石公司会招聘“10分人才”。你觉得在招募人才方面，企业如何在多元化或非传统背景与有着完美简历的MBA毕业生之间取得平衡？
@MicroWorld： You mentioned that Blackstone only recruits ten out of tens. How should companies balance hiring candidates from diverse or untraditional backgrounds vs MBA graduates with the perfect resumes？
苏世民：招聘员工与懂得正确的经商之道同等重要。人才前来应聘时，每个人都有不同的背景，而同一个公司里，不同的职位也需要不同背景的人才，不是每个人都适应所有岗位的。所以弄清楚你需要哪些人才的背景、资质和性格来胜任一个岗位。有一些岗位，比如销售，可能不需要像一些分析类职位那样的高等教育水平，但重要的是，应聘者必须要有好胜心和追求成功的决心。应聘者是否正直、诚实，也很重要，因为当你在一个组织中，不管是什么组织，你都必须有一群值得信任的同事，因为一个团队一起来做事，比单单一个聪明的人单打独斗要强大的多。
Schwarzman： Hiring people is always the most important thing in business， as well as having the right concept for what the business is doing. People come in with a lot of different packages and not everybody with a certain background is perfect for a different task in the same company. So it‘s important to figure out what background， qualifications and character you need to do a job well. Some people in sales， for example， don’t need the same amount of advanced education as you do for certain analytic functions. But what‘s very important is having the will to win and the will to succeed. It’s important to have high integrity， and to be honest， because when you work in an organization， and it doesn‘t matter what the organization is， you have to be able to trust the people you’re working with because people working together are more powerful than just one person who‘s smart working alone.
@微天下：你在书中写道曾亲自打电话说服苏世民学者入选者加入项目，你现在还这么做吗？
@MicroWorld： It was impressive to read that you personally called Schwarzman Scholars candidates to encourage them to accept the offer. Do you still do that？
苏世民：如果我们想要组建一个全是杰出人士的班级，我会做一切必要的事情。在人生中，如果你认定哪件事特别值得做，那也同样要走出去，努力说服别人来做事。所以这个问题的回答是，“是的，我还是会这么做”。
Schwarzman： We‘re trying to build a class of remarkable people， I’ll do whatever is necessary. In life， you should also reach out and convince somebody to do something that you think is very worthwhile. So the answer is yes， I do do that.
当然，现在因为苏世民学者项目在全球都非常知名，所以需要我亲自打电话的需求没有那么大了，但总是有人会犹豫不决，在纠结着是来还是不来，而我坚信我们所做的事，所以我就会去跟他们分享我的理念，让他们欣然答应。
It‘s not as necessary now because the Schwarzman Scholars program is so well recognized around the world， but we always get the case of somebody who might be on the fence in terms of saying yes or no. And I believe in what we’re doing， so I want to share that to make them a yes.
@微天下：你为什么那么看重苏世民学者项目？它目前进展如何？
@MicroWorld： Why do you put so much focus on the Schwarzman Scholars program？ How is it progressing so far？
苏世民：这个项目很重要，因为有来自中国和全球的学生在学习中国，也因为中国是主要经济体中增长速度最快，所以了解中国不是一门选修课，而是一门核心课。
Schwarzman： The program is important because it involves students from around the world and within China learning about China， and because China has the fastest growth rate for any major country， understanding China is not， as we say， an elective course. It’s a core curriculum.
任何人如果想大展身手，比如想开公司，想把生意做大，或在政府部门中工作，都必须懂得中国。而要了解中国，没有比亲自在中国更好的方式了。在这儿你可以和中国人交流，可以会见国家官员，可以在这个国家中去各地访问，也可以从业界导师那里了解到中国运作方面的知识。所以这个项目现在非常的成功，而且在世界各地受到广泛认可。
Every person around the world who‘s interested in doing things， running a company， growing a company， or serving in a government has to know about China. There’s no better way to do that than being in China in person. They‘re interacting with the Chinese， meeting the leaders of the country， taking trips around the country， having a mentor from society that explains the way China works. So the program itself has become exceptionally successful and very widely regarded everywhere.
@微天下：我们在书中读到了你在华尔街打拼的多年经历，也读到了你之后在华盛顿从事的肯尼迪中心主席，以及参与政治及慈善事业的经历。那么你现在的兴趣点在哪里？更愿意在哪儿花更多的时间？
@MicroWorld： We read in the book about your years of experience on Wall Street and your subsequent work in （Washington） DC as President of the Kennedy Center， as well as your involvement in politics and philanthropy. Where do your interests lie now？ Where would you prefer to spend more time？
苏世民：这本书的写作过程很有趣，阅读更为如此，书中的内容非常有趣。在西方有一个谚语，描述一本书令人欲罢不能，就像书自己会翻页一样。
Schwarzman： This book was fun to write and apparently even more fun to read， because it‘s pretty funny. It’s also what we call in the West – a page turner – the pages almost turned themselves because it‘s a great adventure to read.
我花费一生去建立黑石，而企业一直保持快速增长；我也从事慈善事业，赠予和帮助世界各地人们过上更好生活的事；另外也参与政治活动，以推动事情朝更好的方向发展。
The divisions in my life involves our firm Blackstone， which is rapidly growing； my not-for-profit activities to give back and help other people around the world have better lives； and the political dimension – participating in the political processes to help create outcomes we think are better.
这三件事我现在依然花很多时间在做。当然我也懂得享受生活，我推荐你也这么做。
Those are still three things that I spend a lot of time on. I also spend some time having fun – and I recommend that to you as well.
（文/金煜）
