【翻譯練習】工時V.S.成效，不該劃上等號
They Work Long Hours, but What About Results?
日期：October 6, 2012
作者：ROBERT C. POZEN
來源：http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/business/measure-results-not-hours-to-improve-work-efficiency.html
IT’S 5 p.m. at the office. Working fast, you’ve finished your tasks for the day and want to go home. But none of your colleagues have left yet, so you stay another hour or two, surfing the Web and reading your e-mails again, so you don’t come off as a slacker.
辦公室時鐘指著下午五點。你動作迅速，已完成當日工作，想下班回家。可是其他同事都還黏在座位上，你也不敢輕舉妄動，怕因為準時下班而被當成沒事做的人。結果你又在公司多待了一、二個小時，當然也沒事做，只是上網和重看幾次郵件。
It’s an unfortunate reality that efficiency often goes unrewarded in the workplace. I had that feeling a lot when I was a partner in a Washington law firm. Because of my expertise, I could often answer a client’s questions quickly, saving both of us time. But because my firm billed by the hour, as most law firms do, my efficiency worked against me.
效率往往不受重視，這真是職場上可悲的現實。之前在華盛頓一家律師事務所工作時，尤其對此感觸頗深。我能力卓越，快速答覆當事人的疑問，雙方皆省下交涉時間。然而，由於律師事務所多採取時薪制，我待的這家也不例外，結果我的高效率卻在計薪方面幫了倒忙。
From the law firm’s perspective, billing by the hour has a certain appeal: it shifts risk from the firm to the client in case the work takes longer than expected. But from a client’s perspective, it doesn’t work so well. It gives lawyers an incentive to overstaff and to overresearch cases. And for me, hourly billing was a raw deal. I ran the risk of being underpaid because I answered questions too quickly and billed a smaller number of hours.
站在律師事務所的角度來看，時薪制有其可取之處：如果案件處理時間比預期費時更久，時薪制可將風險從事務所轉嫁到案件當事人。但從當事人角度觀之，時薪制會使律師投入更多不必要的人力與心力在案件上，不是個好做法。就我而言，時薪制帶來的是不公平待遇。只因我能力好，答覆問題太迅速，使得工時變少，薪水也不得不變少嗎？
Firms that bill by the hour are not alone in emphasizing hours over results. For a study published most recently in 2010, three researchers, led by Kimberly D. Elsbach, a professor at the University of California, Davis, interviewed 39 corporate managers about their perceptions of their employees. The managers viewed employees who were seen at the office during business hours as highly “dependable” and “reliable.” Employees who came in over the weekend or stayed late in the evening were seen as “committed” and “dedicated” to their work.
時薪制公司，注重工時大於注重成效。此外，在一份2010年發表的研究中，以加州大學教授金柏利‧D‧艾斯巴赫為首的三位研究人員，訪談39位公司負責人，了解他們對於員工的觀感。對於上班時間一直待在辦公室的員工，公司負責人認為他們極為「可信可靠」。週末仍來上班、或是加班到很晚的員工，公司負責人則評以「熱忱投入工作」。
One manager said: “So this one guy, he’s in the room at every meeting. Lots of times he doesn’t say anything, but he’s there on time and people notice that. He definitely is seen as a hard-working and dependable guy.” Another said: “Working on the weekends makes a very good impression. It sends a signal that you’re contributing to your team and that you’re putting in that extra commitment to get the work done.”
一位負責人談到：「如果有個人每次開會都出席，雖然幾乎不發言，但還是準時抵達會場，大家也注意到了。我會認為他確實勤奮工作，值得信賴。」另一位負責人說：「週末仍來上班的話，人家對你印象真的會很好，代表你對團隊有所貢獻，付出額外精力完成工作。」
The reactions of these managers are understandable remnants of the industrial age, harking back to the standardized nature of work on an assembly line. But a measurement system based on hours makes no sense for knowledge workers. Their contribution should be measured by the value they create through applying their ideas and skills.
公司負責人對員工會有這些看法，是可以理解的，畢竟工業時代的餘毒還未全滅，讓人想起生產線上標準作業的樣態。但是對於勞心而非勞力的員工，若還採用工時評判工作能力，未免也太不合情理。應該以員工發揮想法及施展專技所創造的價值，來衡量他們對工作的付出程度。
By applying an industrial-age mind-set to 21st-century professionals, many organizations are undermining incentives for workers to be efficient. If employees need to stay late in order to curry favor with the boss, what motivation do they have to get work done during normal business hours? After all, they can put in the requisite “face time” whether they are surfing the Internet or analyzing customer data. It’s no surprise, then, that so many professionals find it easy to procrastinate and hard to stay on a task.
許多公司把工業時代的心態拿來對待21世紀的優秀人才，無形中減損了員工追求效率的動力。如果員工必須拖延下班時間以迎合主管，那麼員工何必在正常工作時段之內完成業務呢？反正那段時間員工只要有出現在辦公室就好，管你是在打混上網，還是真的在分析客戶資料。如此一來，員工不免覺得拖延工作比專注上班還來得容易了。
There is an obvious solution here: Instead of counting the hours you work, judge your success by the results you produce. Did you clear a backlog of customer orders? Did you come up with a new idea to solve a tricky problem? Did you write a first draft of an article that is due next week? Clearly, these accomplishments — not the hours that you log — are what ultimately drive your organization’s success.
解決方法很簡單，就是不採時薪制，而由工作成效評斷效能。成堆的客戶訂單都處理完了嗎？有想出任何好點子來處理燙手山芋嗎？下週交稿的文章，先打好草稿了嗎？引領公司邁向成功的因素，很明顯地是這些工作成效，而不是制式的工時。
Many of your results-oriented strategies will be specific to your job and your company, but here are a few general ways that professionals across all industries can improve their efficiency.
多數注重成效的策略，使用範圍限定於個人所負責的工作本身及其公司。不過以下提供幾個提升效能的原則，各行各業皆可參考。
LIMIT MEETINGS Internal meetings can be a huge waste of time. A short meeting can be useful for discussing a controversial issue, but long meetings — beyond 60 to 90 minutes — are usually unproductive. Leaders often spend too much time reciting introductory material, and participants eventually stop paying attention.
限制會議次數：內部會議可能非常浪費時間。簡短開會，討論爭議性話題頗有成效；但舉辦長達一小時到一小時半的冗長會議，通常是白費心力。主持人往往在引言就花太多時間，與會者到後來都沒在專心聽。
Try very hard to avoid meetings that you suspect will be long and unproductive. When possible, politely decline meeting invitations from your peers by pointing to your impending deadlines. If that’s not an option, make clear that you can stay for only the first 60 minutes, and will then have to deal with more pressing obligations. And be hesitant to call meetings yourself; you can deal with most issues through e-mail or a quick phone call.
盡力避免參加你覺得冗長無用的會議。如果可以，向同事告知自己需盡快完成的工作項目，婉拒會議邀請。但要是這招失效，不得不去開會，就明確表示自己只能參加會議的前一小時，因為還需處理其他急迫要務。能不開會，就不開會。大部分事務可利用電郵通信或通話來洽談的。
If you’re involved in calling or planning a necessary meeting, make sure it’s productive. Create an agenda that organizes the meeting and keeps it moving briskly. Distribute that agenda, along with any advance materials, at least a day in advance. Appoint a “devil’s advocate” for every meeting, whose job is to make sure that the potential negatives are discussed. At the end of the meeting, make sure that everyone agrees on the next steps, with each step assigned to one participant and with a specific deadline.
如果你負責召開或規畫一場必要會議，就要辦得有成效。掌控議程，快速進行。至少會議的一天前先發送議程表及其他講義。每場會議中，安排一位「魔鬼代言人」（吹毛求疵、有意唱反調的人），負責確認會議中有討論到可能的負面因素。會議結束，每個人都確實同意之後的工作步驟，而每個工作步驟皆分派給與會者之一，並訂定完成期限。
REDUCE READING You don’t need to read the full text of everything you come across in the course of your work, even if it comes directly from the boss. Though reading a long article from cover to cover might make you feel productive, it might not be the best use of your time. Most likely, only a very small part of that article is vital to your work. Maybe you need to remember the big ideas, not the intricate details. Or maybe you need only to find one or two examples that illustrate a particular larger point. Once you start reading a text, make it a point to search for what’s important, while skipping sections that are less relevant.
減少閱讀內容：工作的每項資料，不必都得全文一字不漏地看過，就算是上級給的資料也一樣。雖然把文本一項一項讀完，可能會覺得吸收很多，但這不是善用時間的良方。大多數情形下，與工作息息相關的文本內容，其實只有一小部份。我想你該記住的，是大原則，而非瑣碎細節。要不然你頂多在文本尋找一兩則解釋大原則的案例就好。閱讀文本時，注意找重點，並跳過無關緊要的段落。
Of course, some materials call for you to become totally immersed in the details. If you are reading an article directly related to the company’s newest blockbuster product, for instance, it probably makes sense to go over every word. But for less important tasks, this level of detail is often unnecessary. If you’re not careful, these tasks can take over your entire schedule.
一定會有某些文本需要你仔細閱讀細節。舉例來說，如果看的是公司最新熱銷產品的相關文本，這樣的話，逐字細讀是需要的。但如果文本有關較次要的業務，便不必花費等同精力在閱讀上。如果不善掌握時間，光是閱讀就占滿你的待辦事項。
And avoid rereading your e-mails. I am a great believer in the OHIO principle: Only handle it once. When you read an e-mail, decide whether or not to reply to it, and, if you need to reply, do so right then and there. I have found that about 80 percent of all e-mails, whether internal or external, do not require a response. Don’t let these extraneous communications clog your in-box and waste your time.
避免重複去讀電子郵件。我極崇信OHIO原則：只處理一次(Only handle it once)。一邊讀電子郵件，一邊就要決定是否需回信；如需回信，當場就回。我認為百分之八十的內部、外部電子郵件是不需回信的。別讓多餘的魚雁往來，塞爆你的收件匣以及寶貴光陰。
WRITE FASTER Even if you need to create A-plus work for a project, it needn’t be perfect right off the bat. When some people sit down to write a long memo, they insist on perfecting each sentence before moving to the next one. They want to complete all the stages of the writing process at the same time — a most difficult task. In my experience, this leads to very slow writing.
迅速寫成：即便你得擬一份絕佳計劃，也無須要求計畫一寫出來即臻絕佳境界。幾個人一同寫著長篇章程，結果堅持這句一定要改到完美無瑕才可以繼續再寫下一句。其實應該經過多道流程才能完成整套書寫，但他們想要一蹴可幾，同時達成所有程序，這實在是件困難差事。個人經驗中，這種做法會讓書寫變得慢之又慢。
A better approach separates the main steps in the writing process. First, compose an outline for what you are going to say, and in what order. Then write a rough draft, knowing it will be highly imperfect. Then go back over your work and revise as needed. This is the time to perfect the phrasing of those sentences.
建議拆開書寫流程的主要部分。首先擬定大綱，順序列出將表達的事項。再寫下大概的草稿，草稿很粗略也無妨。然後回頭重新檢視，進行修改，此時才是修飾字詞的恰當時機。
In general, don’t waste your time creating A-plus work when B-plus is good enough. Use the extra time to create A-plus work where it matters most.
總之，如果「不錯」的程度，已經夠好了，就別浪費時間追求「絕佳」境界。省下的時間，好好利用在真正需要達到「絕佳」程度的工作上。
AS you try these and other results-oriented strategies, you may well find yourself spending less time at the office — and that can make some bosses nervous. The traditional emphasis on face time, after all, is easy for managers: it takes much less effort to count hours than it does to measure results. That’s why you may need to forge a new relationship with your boss.
嘗試採用這些注重成效的策略時，你會發現自己耗在辦公室的時間變少了，只是有些長官可能因此感到不自在；畢竟公司負責人認為以工時審視員工表現，很單純輕鬆，但以實質成效來考核員工，可就複雜得多。所以，你該和長官培養另一種的互動關係了。
You must earn your boss’s trust that you can accomplish your work in less time. In part, you can do this by thinking about your organization and watching your boss. Ask yourself: What are the most important goals of your unit? What sort of pressure is your boss under — to expand globally, to introduce new products, to cut costs, or something else? How might the boss’s personality and management style shape these considerations?
必須取信長官，即使花費時間較少，但你一樣能完成工作。如何著手？思考所處組織，並站在長官的角度，自問：單位最重要的目標？長官處於何種壓力之下？例如向海外拓展組織、推出新產品、節省成本、或其他因素？長官的個人格局與管理作風，將會如何打造他的構想呢？
But it’s not enough to think and observe. You need to communicate — often. Every week, write down a list of your assigned tasks — short-term assignments and long-term goals — and rank them by importance, from your perspective. Then ask your boss to weigh in on the list.
不過光是思考與觀察還是不夠的。你還需要溝通，而且是「經常」溝通。每週都寫下你受分派的工作項目表，包括短期任務與長期目標，並以你心目中認為的重要性，替工作排優先順序。再請長官評估你的工作表。
You and your boss should come to a consensus about the metrics for every project. If your boss doesn’t establish any, suggest them yourself. Metrics can include both qualitative and quantitative results. They provide objective measures for judging final results — and move your boss away from the crutch of face time. And the process of establishing these metrics can help you and your boss clarify how best to accomplish a project.
對各計畫的衡量指標，你與長官應要達成共識。如果長官還沒有任何想法，就自己規畫。衡量指標可含括質與量的最終成效，這些客觀因素除可評量表現，也可讓長官不以工時取人。而制定指標的過程中，你與長官對於達成計畫的最佳方法，都將擁有明確概念。
Once the boss is confident that you know what to do and how to do it, show that you can consistently create high-quality results on high-priority projects. There’s no particular secret here: you need to do your best to achieve the established goals. And remember that most projects run into potholes or even roadblocks on the way. Be quick to report problems to the boss and to suggest possible solutions, including a revision the project metrics themselves.
一旦長官相信，你是真正明白該做什麼，以及如何去做，那你就要證明自己的能力，證明你始終能在首要計劃上，達到高水準成效。這沒什麼祕訣；你要做的，就是設定目標，盡力達成。多半計劃是會面對重重障礙的，因此若遇到問題，就要盡快告知，並提出解決之道，像是修改計劃本身的衡量指標。
I KNOW that a change in focus from hours to results may be a challenge in some organizations. But your boss is likely to be receptive if you politely raise the question of productivity and show you’re willing to be held accountable for results, rather than hours worked. You may also be able to do more work from home, if that’s what you prefer.
把評判員工生產力的標準，從「工時」轉換為「成效」，我想有些公司應該一時很難接受這個觀念。但是如果你客氣地提出有關生產力的疑問，並表示你願意對結果負責，而不是在辦公室混時間虛做樣子，長官仍不無可能採納你的意見。假使你喜愛在家工作的工作型態，說不定你確實可以得到這個機會。
Even in a culture oriented toward results, however, you sometimes will need to be physically present in the office to do your work. And some jobs absolutely depend on it. In almost all workplaces, colleagues need to get together to brainstorm ideas, solve tough problems or build communal bonds. But there’s no reason for these interactions to take up large amounts of time.
不過，就算處在注重成效的公司，有時仍須實地到辦公室上班，有些職務甚至一定要你現身辦公室。同事們必須一起集思廣益、解決難題、或是起個老鼠會，各個工作場合幾乎都如此。不過這些活動應不至於令你耗太多時間在辦公室中。
By emphasizing results rather than hours, I’m able to get home at 7 p.m. for dinner with my family nearly every night — except when there are true emergencies. This has greatly enhanced my family life, and has given me a secondary benefit: a fruitful mental break. I’ve solved some of the thorniest problems in my home office at 10 p.m. — after a refreshing few hours chatting with my wife and children.
自從注重成效多於工時之後，我每晚7點都能回家陪小孩吃飯，除非確有急事。我的家庭生活品質大幅提升，而我也獲得了另一層面的好處：心靈充分休息。和太太與小孩聊了數小時，心靈能量飽足，竟然晚上10點在家又解決了公司的一些棘手難題。
Focusing on results rather than hours will help you accomplish more at work and leave more time for the rest of your life. And don’t be afraid to talk to your boss about these issues. To paraphrase the management guru Peter Drucker, although you don’t have to like your boss, you have to manage him or her so you can have a successful career.
注重成效大於工時，你可以做完更多事，騰出更多個人時間。勇敢與長官討論有關工時／成效的議題。用管理大師彼得杜拉克的話來說：雖然沒有要你一定得喜歡主管，但是你必須善用他，使他成為你成功職涯的墊腳石。
日期：October 6, 2012
作者：ROBERT C. POZEN
來源：http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/business/measure-results-not-hours-to-improve-work-efficiency.html
IT’S 5 p.m. at the office. Working fast, you’ve finished your tasks for the day and want to go home. But none of your colleagues have left yet, so you stay another hour or two, surfing the Web and reading your e-mails again, so you don’t come off as a slacker.
辦公室時鐘指著下午五點。你動作迅速，已完成當日工作，想下班回家。可是其他同事都還黏在座位上，你也不敢輕舉妄動，怕因為準時下班而被當成沒事做的人。結果你又在公司多待了一、二個小時，當然也沒事做，只是上網和重看幾次郵件。
It’s an unfortunate reality that efficiency often goes unrewarded in the workplace. I had that feeling a lot when I was a partner in a Washington law firm. Because of my expertise, I could often answer a client’s questions quickly, saving both of us time. But because my firm billed by the hour, as most law firms do, my efficiency worked against me.
效率往往不受重視，這真是職場上可悲的現實。之前在華盛頓一家律師事務所工作時，尤其對此感觸頗深。我能力卓越，快速答覆當事人的疑問，雙方皆省下交涉時間。然而，由於律師事務所多採取時薪制，我待的這家也不例外，結果我的高效率卻在計薪方面幫了倒忙。
From the law firm’s perspective, billing by the hour has a certain appeal: it shifts risk from the firm to the client in case the work takes longer than expected. But from a client’s perspective, it doesn’t work so well. It gives lawyers an incentive to overstaff and to overresearch cases. And for me, hourly billing was a raw deal. I ran the risk of being underpaid because I answered questions too quickly and billed a smaller number of hours.
站在律師事務所的角度來看，時薪制有其可取之處：如果案件處理時間比預期費時更久，時薪制可將風險從事務所轉嫁到案件當事人。但從當事人角度觀之，時薪制會使律師投入更多不必要的人力與心力在案件上，不是個好做法。就我而言，時薪制帶來的是不公平待遇。只因我能力好，答覆問題太迅速，使得工時變少，薪水也不得不變少嗎？
Firms that bill by the hour are not alone in emphasizing hours over results. For a study published most recently in 2010, three researchers, led by Kimberly D. Elsbach, a professor at the University of California, Davis, interviewed 39 corporate managers about their perceptions of their employees. The managers viewed employees who were seen at the office during business hours as highly “dependable” and “reliable.” Employees who came in over the weekend or stayed late in the evening were seen as “committed” and “dedicated” to their work.
時薪制公司，注重工時大於注重成效。此外，在一份2010年發表的研究中，以加州大學教授金柏利‧D‧艾斯巴赫為首的三位研究人員，訪談39位公司負責人，了解他們對於員工的觀感。對於上班時間一直待在辦公室的員工，公司負責人認為他們極為「可信可靠」。週末仍來上班、或是加班到很晚的員工，公司負責人則評以「熱忱投入工作」。
One manager said: “So this one guy, he’s in the room at every meeting. Lots of times he doesn’t say anything, but he’s there on time and people notice that. He definitely is seen as a hard-working and dependable guy.” Another said: “Working on the weekends makes a very good impression. It sends a signal that you’re contributing to your team and that you’re putting in that extra commitment to get the work done.”
一位負責人談到：「如果有個人每次開會都出席，雖然幾乎不發言，但還是準時抵達會場，大家也注意到了。我會認為他確實勤奮工作，值得信賴。」另一位負責人說：「週末仍來上班的話，人家對你印象真的會很好，代表你對團隊有所貢獻，付出額外精力完成工作。」
The reactions of these managers are understandable remnants of the industrial age, harking back to the standardized nature of work on an assembly line. But a measurement system based on hours makes no sense for knowledge workers. Their contribution should be measured by the value they create through applying their ideas and skills.
公司負責人對員工會有這些看法，是可以理解的，畢竟工業時代的餘毒還未全滅，讓人想起生產線上標準作業的樣態。但是對於勞心而非勞力的員工，若還採用工時評判工作能力，未免也太不合情理。應該以員工發揮想法及施展專技所創造的價值，來衡量他們對工作的付出程度。
By applying an industrial-age mind-set to 21st-century professionals, many organizations are undermining incentives for workers to be efficient. If employees need to stay late in order to curry favor with the boss, what motivation do they have to get work done during normal business hours? After all, they can put in the requisite “face time” whether they are surfing the Internet or analyzing customer data. It’s no surprise, then, that so many professionals find it easy to procrastinate and hard to stay on a task.
許多公司把工業時代的心態拿來對待21世紀的優秀人才，無形中減損了員工追求效率的動力。如果員工必須拖延下班時間以迎合主管，那麼員工何必在正常工作時段之內完成業務呢？反正那段時間員工只要有出現在辦公室就好，管你是在打混上網，還是真的在分析客戶資料。如此一來，員工不免覺得拖延工作比專注上班還來得容易了。
There is an obvious solution here: Instead of counting the hours you work, judge your success by the results you produce. Did you clear a backlog of customer orders? Did you come up with a new idea to solve a tricky problem? Did you write a first draft of an article that is due next week? Clearly, these accomplishments — not the hours that you log — are what ultimately drive your organization’s success.
解決方法很簡單，就是不採時薪制，而由工作成效評斷效能。成堆的客戶訂單都處理完了嗎？有想出任何好點子來處理燙手山芋嗎？下週交稿的文章，先打好草稿了嗎？引領公司邁向成功的因素，很明顯地是這些工作成效，而不是制式的工時。
Many of your results-oriented strategies will be specific to your job and your company, but here are a few general ways that professionals across all industries can improve their efficiency.
多數注重成效的策略，使用範圍限定於個人所負責的工作本身及其公司。不過以下提供幾個提升效能的原則，各行各業皆可參考。
LIMIT MEETINGS Internal meetings can be a huge waste of time. A short meeting can be useful for discussing a controversial issue, but long meetings — beyond 60 to 90 minutes — are usually unproductive. Leaders often spend too much time reciting introductory material, and participants eventually stop paying attention.
限制會議次數：內部會議可能非常浪費時間。簡短開會，討論爭議性話題頗有成效；但舉辦長達一小時到一小時半的冗長會議，通常是白費心力。主持人往往在引言就花太多時間，與會者到後來都沒在專心聽。
Try very hard to avoid meetings that you suspect will be long and unproductive. When possible, politely decline meeting invitations from your peers by pointing to your impending deadlines. If that’s not an option, make clear that you can stay for only the first 60 minutes, and will then have to deal with more pressing obligations. And be hesitant to call meetings yourself; you can deal with most issues through e-mail or a quick phone call.
盡力避免參加你覺得冗長無用的會議。如果可以，向同事告知自己需盡快完成的工作項目，婉拒會議邀請。但要是這招失效，不得不去開會，就明確表示自己只能參加會議的前一小時，因為還需處理其他急迫要務。能不開會，就不開會。大部分事務可利用電郵通信或通話來洽談的。
If you’re involved in calling or planning a necessary meeting, make sure it’s productive. Create an agenda that organizes the meeting and keeps it moving briskly. Distribute that agenda, along with any advance materials, at least a day in advance. Appoint a “devil’s advocate” for every meeting, whose job is to make sure that the potential negatives are discussed. At the end of the meeting, make sure that everyone agrees on the next steps, with each step assigned to one participant and with a specific deadline.
如果你負責召開或規畫一場必要會議，就要辦得有成效。掌控議程，快速進行。至少會議的一天前先發送議程表及其他講義。每場會議中，安排一位「魔鬼代言人」（吹毛求疵、有意唱反調的人），負責確認會議中有討論到可能的負面因素。會議結束，每個人都確實同意之後的工作步驟，而每個工作步驟皆分派給與會者之一，並訂定完成期限。
REDUCE READING You don’t need to read the full text of everything you come across in the course of your work, even if it comes directly from the boss. Though reading a long article from cover to cover might make you feel productive, it might not be the best use of your time. Most likely, only a very small part of that article is vital to your work. Maybe you need to remember the big ideas, not the intricate details. Or maybe you need only to find one or two examples that illustrate a particular larger point. Once you start reading a text, make it a point to search for what’s important, while skipping sections that are less relevant.
減少閱讀內容：工作的每項資料，不必都得全文一字不漏地看過，就算是上級給的資料也一樣。雖然把文本一項一項讀完，可能會覺得吸收很多，但這不是善用時間的良方。大多數情形下，與工作息息相關的文本內容，其實只有一小部份。我想你該記住的，是大原則，而非瑣碎細節。要不然你頂多在文本尋找一兩則解釋大原則的案例就好。閱讀文本時，注意找重點，並跳過無關緊要的段落。
Of course, some materials call for you to become totally immersed in the details. If you are reading an article directly related to the company’s newest blockbuster product, for instance, it probably makes sense to go over every word. But for less important tasks, this level of detail is often unnecessary. If you’re not careful, these tasks can take over your entire schedule.
一定會有某些文本需要你仔細閱讀細節。舉例來說，如果看的是公司最新熱銷產品的相關文本，這樣的話，逐字細讀是需要的。但如果文本有關較次要的業務，便不必花費等同精力在閱讀上。如果不善掌握時間，光是閱讀就占滿你的待辦事項。
And avoid rereading your e-mails. I am a great believer in the OHIO principle: Only handle it once. When you read an e-mail, decide whether or not to reply to it, and, if you need to reply, do so right then and there. I have found that about 80 percent of all e-mails, whether internal or external, do not require a response. Don’t let these extraneous communications clog your in-box and waste your time.
避免重複去讀電子郵件。我極崇信OHIO原則：只處理一次(Only handle it once)。一邊讀電子郵件，一邊就要決定是否需回信；如需回信，當場就回。我認為百分之八十的內部、外部電子郵件是不需回信的。別讓多餘的魚雁往來，塞爆你的收件匣以及寶貴光陰。
WRITE FASTER Even if you need to create A-plus work for a project, it needn’t be perfect right off the bat. When some people sit down to write a long memo, they insist on perfecting each sentence before moving to the next one. They want to complete all the stages of the writing process at the same time — a most difficult task. In my experience, this leads to very slow writing.
迅速寫成：即便你得擬一份絕佳計劃，也無須要求計畫一寫出來即臻絕佳境界。幾個人一同寫著長篇章程，結果堅持這句一定要改到完美無瑕才可以繼續再寫下一句。其實應該經過多道流程才能完成整套書寫，但他們想要一蹴可幾，同時達成所有程序，這實在是件困難差事。個人經驗中，這種做法會讓書寫變得慢之又慢。
A better approach separates the main steps in the writing process. First, compose an outline for what you are going to say, and in what order. Then write a rough draft, knowing it will be highly imperfect. Then go back over your work and revise as needed. This is the time to perfect the phrasing of those sentences.
建議拆開書寫流程的主要部分。首先擬定大綱，順序列出將表達的事項。再寫下大概的草稿，草稿很粗略也無妨。然後回頭重新檢視，進行修改，此時才是修飾字詞的恰當時機。
In general, don’t waste your time creating A-plus work when B-plus is good enough. Use the extra time to create A-plus work where it matters most.
總之，如果「不錯」的程度，已經夠好了，就別浪費時間追求「絕佳」境界。省下的時間，好好利用在真正需要達到「絕佳」程度的工作上。
AS you try these and other results-oriented strategies, you may well find yourself spending less time at the office — and that can make some bosses nervous. The traditional emphasis on face time, after all, is easy for managers: it takes much less effort to count hours than it does to measure results. That’s why you may need to forge a new relationship with your boss.
嘗試採用這些注重成效的策略時，你會發現自己耗在辦公室的時間變少了，只是有些長官可能因此感到不自在；畢竟公司負責人認為以工時審視員工表現，很單純輕鬆，但以實質成效來考核員工，可就複雜得多。所以，你該和長官培養另一種的互動關係了。
You must earn your boss’s trust that you can accomplish your work in less time. In part, you can do this by thinking about your organization and watching your boss. Ask yourself: What are the most important goals of your unit? What sort of pressure is your boss under — to expand globally, to introduce new products, to cut costs, or something else? How might the boss’s personality and management style shape these considerations?
必須取信長官，即使花費時間較少，但你一樣能完成工作。如何著手？思考所處組織，並站在長官的角度，自問：單位最重要的目標？長官處於何種壓力之下？例如向海外拓展組織、推出新產品、節省成本、或其他因素？長官的個人格局與管理作風，將會如何打造他的構想呢？
But it’s not enough to think and observe. You need to communicate — often. Every week, write down a list of your assigned tasks — short-term assignments and long-term goals — and rank them by importance, from your perspective. Then ask your boss to weigh in on the list.
不過光是思考與觀察還是不夠的。你還需要溝通，而且是「經常」溝通。每週都寫下你受分派的工作項目表，包括短期任務與長期目標，並以你心目中認為的重要性，替工作排優先順序。再請長官評估你的工作表。
You and your boss should come to a consensus about the metrics for every project. If your boss doesn’t establish any, suggest them yourself. Metrics can include both qualitative and quantitative results. They provide objective measures for judging final results — and move your boss away from the crutch of face time. And the process of establishing these metrics can help you and your boss clarify how best to accomplish a project.
對各計畫的衡量指標，你與長官應要達成共識。如果長官還沒有任何想法，就自己規畫。衡量指標可含括質與量的最終成效，這些客觀因素除可評量表現，也可讓長官不以工時取人。而制定指標的過程中，你與長官對於達成計畫的最佳方法，都將擁有明確概念。
Once the boss is confident that you know what to do and how to do it, show that you can consistently create high-quality results on high-priority projects. There’s no particular secret here: you need to do your best to achieve the established goals. And remember that most projects run into potholes or even roadblocks on the way. Be quick to report problems to the boss and to suggest possible solutions, including a revision the project metrics themselves.
一旦長官相信，你是真正明白該做什麼，以及如何去做，那你就要證明自己的能力，證明你始終能在首要計劃上，達到高水準成效。這沒什麼祕訣；你要做的，就是設定目標，盡力達成。多半計劃是會面對重重障礙的，因此若遇到問題，就要盡快告知，並提出解決之道，像是修改計劃本身的衡量指標。
I KNOW that a change in focus from hours to results may be a challenge in some organizations. But your boss is likely to be receptive if you politely raise the question of productivity and show you’re willing to be held accountable for results, rather than hours worked. You may also be able to do more work from home, if that’s what you prefer.
把評判員工生產力的標準，從「工時」轉換為「成效」，我想有些公司應該一時很難接受這個觀念。但是如果你客氣地提出有關生產力的疑問，並表示你願意對結果負責，而不是在辦公室混時間虛做樣子，長官仍不無可能採納你的意見。假使你喜愛在家工作的工作型態，說不定你確實可以得到這個機會。
Even in a culture oriented toward results, however, you sometimes will need to be physically present in the office to do your work. And some jobs absolutely depend on it. In almost all workplaces, colleagues need to get together to brainstorm ideas, solve tough problems or build communal bonds. But there’s no reason for these interactions to take up large amounts of time.
不過，就算處在注重成效的公司，有時仍須實地到辦公室上班，有些職務甚至一定要你現身辦公室。同事們必須一起集思廣益、解決難題、或是起個老鼠會，各個工作場合幾乎都如此。不過這些活動應不至於令你耗太多時間在辦公室中。
By emphasizing results rather than hours, I’m able to get home at 7 p.m. for dinner with my family nearly every night — except when there are true emergencies. This has greatly enhanced my family life, and has given me a secondary benefit: a fruitful mental break. I’ve solved some of the thorniest problems in my home office at 10 p.m. — after a refreshing few hours chatting with my wife and children.
自從注重成效多於工時之後，我每晚7點都能回家陪小孩吃飯，除非確有急事。我的家庭生活品質大幅提升，而我也獲得了另一層面的好處：心靈充分休息。和太太與小孩聊了數小時，心靈能量飽足，竟然晚上10點在家又解決了公司的一些棘手難題。
Focusing on results rather than hours will help you accomplish more at work and leave more time for the rest of your life. And don’t be afraid to talk to your boss about these issues. To paraphrase the management guru Peter Drucker, although you don’t have to like your boss, you have to manage him or her so you can have a successful career.
注重成效大於工時，你可以做完更多事，騰出更多個人時間。勇敢與長官討論有關工時／成效的議題。用管理大師彼得杜拉克的話來說：雖然沒有要你一定得喜歡主管，但是你必須善用他，使他成為你成功職涯的墊腳石。