Dear guests, Vice President/Directors, students, staff, program Management and all others gathered here today;

尊敬的各位同学及家属亲友、各位老师、各位来宾,女士们、先生们:

The title of my very small speech is:

SWITCH and YOU WILL MAKE THE CHANGE !

今天我演讲的题目是:转换思维,改变就在眼前!

To my students:

亲爱的同学们,

As you know there are two sides to the way human beings think about any issue. There is the rational, analytical, problem solving, side of our brains which may think: I need to study more, I need to work harder, I need to spend more time on my assignments”. But there is an emotional side that’s addicted to impulse and comfortable routines and that side wants: (just) to relax and have a good time! At work our rational side may say that we need to go different directions but our emotional side is comfortable with the old ways of thinking and doing and it has great anxiety about whether we can make the change.

我们处理事情的时候通常都有两面性,一方面,理智告诉我们应该更加努力地学习,更加认真地对待作业,但另一方面,情感则趋向于冲动,希望我们能够维持原状,墨守陈规,享受生活。工作时,理智会让我们多方位思考,但维持原样则更合情感的心意,对于我们作出改变焦虑万分。

A famous American psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, introduced the metaphor of the human being Riding atop an Elephant. The Rider decides I need to go somewhere, here is the direction, I want to go, and then sets off. But it is the Elephant the emotional side of us that’s providing the power.

著名美国心理学家乔纳森?海特曾经提过一个人骑象的例子。这里骑手象征着我们理智的一面,大象则是情感的代表。骑手决定好目的地后,就骑着大象出发了。虽然方向由骑手决定,但是却是由大象来完成行动的。

And of course the Rider can try to lead the Elephant but in any direct contest of wills the Elephant is going to win: it has a six ton advantage!

当然,骑手可以尝试引导大象,但是,不管从哪个方面来说,在双方的意志较量下,大象都必胜无疑,6吨的优势,难以撼动。

This Rider-Elephant conflict is common to us all. If we want to make a change in our lives or bad habits we know that it is not enough for us to intellectually understand that we need to do things differently. We need to be motivated.

人骑象的这个冲突对于我们而言已经司空见惯了。如果我们想改变自己的生活或者坏习惯,只是理智上明白应该做出改变是远远不够的。我们需要的是前进的驱动力。

If the University changes the policy on plagiarism and cheating, will that change student’s behavior? If the teacher gives us more assignments will that make us work harder?

如果学校调整针对抄袭以及作弊的相关政策,学生们会改变行为么?如果老师布置更多的作业,我们会更加努力么?

 

 

My experience have learned me: To make the change you will need to create “the feeling”. You will have to reach out to the Elephant.

经验告诉我,要想做出改变,那你就要创造“感觉”,就要跟大象交流。

Some teachers believe that in order to make students work you need to create what is called a “burning platform”. Make them scared. But fear is in fact the worst motivator it will drive us back to old types of behavior. You know what will happen if you threaten and punish an Elephant too much: you will end up as a splinter!

有些老师认为,为了让学生们学习,就要创建所谓的“燃烧平台”,让他们害怕。但恐惧其实是最糟糕的激励了,它会导致我们重蹈覆辙。企图威胁甚至是惩罚大象的后果显而易见:你终将粉身碎骨!

To make the change you will need to create Identity: “This is what people like us do in a situation like this” kind of approach.

要想做出改变,就需要明确自己的目标——遇到这样的情况,别人会希望我怎样做呢?

There is no change without failures.

没有失败的改变是不存在的。

There is no way in a business, no way in study and no way in your private life you can jump straight from Planning to Brilliant Execution. Although we never see this in Management models there is a deep dark phase in between “the wandering around in the dark phase”.

无论是经商,学习,还是日常生活中,从计划到完美执行这段过程,都要经历坎坷与曲折。虽然在管理模型中这一步似乎并不存在,但黎明前的黑暗不可避免。

It is at this point that a teacher needs to give support, change the conditions, tweak the environment and reach out to the Elephant. And it is at this point where a teacher has to not higher the bar but lower it. So the Elephant will start moving again as long as it knows the direction, as long as it knows the path and as long as it can feel the progress.

老师在这个阶段将发挥极大的支持作用,或者是改变条件,或者是调整环境,帮助学生向“大象”靠拢。此时,老师更应该降低标准,这样大家才能感觉到自己的进步,寻找途径,才会在明确方向后继续前进。

Dear students, The Rider Elephant story very much applies to our 16 weeks Finance experience. You knew the direction from the start but for most of you your Elephants got in the way and your work and private obligations created obstacles on the Path to success. After your mid exam score most of you wandered around in confusion.

亲爱的同学们,人骑象的这个故事正好可以应用到我们两个学期的《公司金融》这门课程中。最开始,大家都清楚自己的方向,但对多数人而言,你们的大象(情感)横亘在工作与个人责任中间,成为你们成功道路上的绊脚石。期中考试结束后,很多同学都茫然不知所措。

So what did I do? I tweaked the environment. I lowered the bar. Your mid assignment score of FINC5000 was suddenly not set in cement but you could redo it and higher it for the final portfolio. And I tried to reach out to your Elephant.

我采取了什么措施呢?我调整了一下方向,降低了标准。你们《公司金融》课的期中成绩并非是不可商量的,大家可以选择重做,这样最后的加权总分会更高一些。我尝试着向大家的情感大象更加靠拢一些。

Some of you came to me and said. I feel I work very hard for this course but my mid term score is only 42 points. Great! I said you are already more than 40% on the way. Think about how far you have come from zero. You looked at me in disbelief. I told you that actually for me there are only 3 grades in this course: A, B and NY (Not Yet). Most of you found your Path actually was on a downward slope and easier to go….

有些同学告诉我说:“我已经很用功地在学这门课了,可是我的期中分数才42分。”我的回复是:“已经很棒了!你已经在成功的道路上前进了40%的路了!回想一下你从零走过来的历程。”同学很不信服的看了我一眼。其实在我看来,金融课只有三个等级,优秀,良好,尚需努力。多数人会发现,下坡路更容易走。

I did not threaten any of you, and I did not punish any of you I praised you for your determination to concur and try to create the “this is what people like us do in a situation like this” identity. It worked well for both of us; I survived and you came out stronger.

我并没有威胁大家任何一个人,我也从来没有惩罚过任何一个人,相反,我称赞大家的克服困难的决心,表扬你们自我信念的建立。这样其实是双赢的,我履行了自己的责任,你们也更加坚强了。

Dear students, dear Graduates, dear friends. You made the change! You have reached the destination and I do hope your Rider and Elephant have enjoyed the journey.

亲爱的同学们,朋友们,你们已经做出改变了!目的地已在眼前,希望大家都已经享受到“人骑象”这段旅程!

There are many new journeys to come, there are many changes in front of you but remember in cases where you will find your Elephant is getting in the way of your success:

新的征程在等着你们,需要做出的改变还有很多,但是当你发现你的情感大象可能成为你通向成功的障碍时,请记住:

Do I know the Destination? (Rider)

Do I know the Path?

Do I need to lower the bar?

Do I need to tweak the environment?

I need to get my Elephant moving

Once it’s moving at a six ton weight it will be hard to stop!

Remember: That is what people like you do; that is your identity!

Nothing is Impossible!

目的地明确吗?(骑手)

途径清楚吗?

需要降低标准吗?

有必要调整环境吗?

我需要让情感大象行动起来,

一旦开始,六吨重的庞然大物很难停下!

记住:这就是人们希望你做的,也就是你的目标!

一切皆有可能!

Thank you and my best wishes and Congratulations!

谢谢大家。谨此送上我最诚挚的祝福,祝贺大家!

发布日期:2014-01-17