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本集简介
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这是1970年4月19日。
It's April 19 '70 '8.
伯尼·马库斯49岁了，他的老板刚刚打电话给报社宣布要解雇他。
Bernie Marcus is 49 years old, and his boss has just called the newspapers to announce that he's firing him.
他的老板甚至还羞辱他。
His boss even taunts him.
我会用公司的钱跟你斗，而你只能用自己那点微薄的积蓄来对抗我。
I'm gonna fight you with the company's money, and you're gonna have to fight me with your own money, which you don't have.
最糟的是，他说得没错。
The worst part is, he's right.
伯尼一无所有。
Bernie has nothing.
伯尼崩溃地打电话给他的朋友。
Bernie calls his friend, devastated.
肯尼，你预言过我会被解雇，现在真的发生了。
Kenny, you told me I would get fired and it happened.
现在他正试图毁掉我的人生。
And now he's trying to destroy my life.
肯的回应是什么？
Ken's response?
你刚被一只金马蹄铁踢了屁股。
You've just been kicked in the ass with a golden horseshoe.
伯尼以为肯疯了。
Bernie thought Ken had lost his mind.
十八个月后，家得宝开业了。
Eighteen months later, the Home Depot opened.
二十年后，伯尼身价数十亿，他的合伙人和数千名普通员工也成了百万富翁。
Twenty years later, Bernie was worth billions, so were his partners and thousands of regular employees that became millionaires.
他们彻底改变了美国人对家装行业的认知。
They've revolutionized how America thinks about home improvement.
被解雇是伯尼·马库斯人生中发生过最好的事。
Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to Bernie Marcus.
听完这个故事，你就会明白为什么你最糟糕的一天可能成为最好的机遇。
And once you hear this story, you'll understand why your worst day might be your best opportunity.
欢迎来到知识工程。
Welcome to the knowledge project.
我是主持人肖恩·帕里什。
I'm your host, Shane Parish.
这是《异类》系列的一集，主题是掌握他人已经总结出的精华，这样你就能将他们的经验运用到自己的生活中。
This is an episode of outliers, and it's all about mastering the best of what other people have already figured out so you can use their lessons in your life.
今天我们要聊聊伯尼·马库斯和家得宝的传奇故事。
Today, we're going to talk about Bernie Marcus and the incredible story of Home Depot.
伯尼当时身无分文。
Bernie had no money.
他拒绝了两名投资者，因为不想与他们共事。
He walked away from two investors because he didn't wanna work with them.
各家银行都拒绝了他的贷款申请。
Banks turned him down everywhere.
他在资金仅够开两家店的情况下，被迫同时开设了四家大型门店。
He was forced to open four massive stores at once when he could barely afford two.
然而伯尼却奇迹般地创建了这家彻底改变美国家装理念的公司。
Yet somehow Bernie built the company that changed how America thinks about home improvement.
在这里，数千名普通员工通过股票期权成为百万富翁；员工会追着顾客到停车场解决问题；七十多岁的CEO仍穿着橙色围裙在一线工作。
Where thousands of regular employees became millionaires through stock options, where employees chased customers into parking lots to solve their problems, where a CEO in his seventies still worked the floor in an orange apron.
伯尼的故事揭示了何时该孤注一掷、为何选择对的伙伴比资金更重要，以及缔造持久成功的深层法则。
Bernie's story reveals when to bet on yourself, why picking the right partners matters more than money, and the deeper principles that create lasting success.
现在，请聆听并学习。
It's time to listen and learn.
伯尼·马库斯能来到这个世界，是因为有位医生给了他母亲一个我听过最离奇的医疗建议。
Bernie Marcus exists because a doctor gave his mother the strangest medical advice I've ever heard.
那年是1929年，他母亲患有严重的类风湿性关节炎，几乎无法行走。
The year is 1929, and his mother has rheumatoid arthritis so severe that she can barely walk.
持续不断的疼痛让她丧失行动能力。
The pain is constant and debilitating.
她尝试了各种方法，但都无济于事。
She's tried everything, but nothing works.
然后医生给了她一个听起来完全荒谬的建议。
Then her doctor tells her something that sounds completely insane.
再生一个孩子。
Have another baby.
医生声称，怀孕或许能治愈她的关节炎。
Pregnancy, he claims, might cure her arthritis.
因此伯尼·马库斯的诞生并非源于渴望，而是出于绝望。
So Bernie Marcus was conceived not out of desire, but out of desperation.
他的母亲把怀孕当作药物来使用。
His mother was using pregnancy as medicine.
而最不可思议的是。
And here's the wild part.
这个方法居然真的奏效了。
It actually worked.
伯尼出生后，她又能走路了。
After Bernie was born, she could walk again.
关节炎并没有消失。
The arthritis didn't disappear.
疼痛仍在，但她恢复了行动能力。
The pain stayed, but she got her mobility back.
他的父亲是个木匠，双手灵巧但理财一塌糊涂。
His father was a cabinetmaker, brilliant with his hands but terrible with money.
要不是伯尼的哥哥往家里寄钱，这个家早就陷入严重困境了。
Without Bernie's older brother sending money home, the family would have been in serious trouble.
伯尼讲过一个关于他母亲的故事，这解释了他日后对商业的所有思考方式。
There's a story Bernie tells about his mother that explains everything about how he'd later think about business.
尽管我们很穷，母亲还是经常不顾我们的意愿，把买冰淇淋的钱从我和兄弟姐妹那里拿走，捐给慈善机构。
As poor as we were, my mother used to take ice cream money away from my brothers and sister and me, often against our will, and give it to charity.
她坚信：给予越多，收获越多。
Her sincere belief was that the more you give, the more you get.
伯尼当时觉得她疯了，但几十年后，他自己却捐出了数十亿美元。
Bernie thought she was crazy at the time, but decades later, he'd give away billions.
伯尼12岁开始工作，最初是汽水店员，后来在卡茨基尔山区当餐厅勤杂工，那里的犹太孩子夏天能赚到可观的收入。
Bernie started working at 12, first as a soda jerk and then as a busboy in the Catskills where Jewish kids made real summer money.
他当时在攒钱读医学院。
He was saving for medical school.
要知道，伯尼如此渴望成为精神科医生，以至于他花了大量时间阅读弗洛伊德和荣格的著作，甚至学会了催眠术。
See, Bernie wanted to be a psychiatrist so badly that he spent hours reading the works of Freud and Jung and even learned to hypnotize people.
他为了省钱留在本地，去了罗格斯大学读医学预科。
He went to Rutgers for pre med, staying local to save money.
伯尼与院长交好，告诉他自己身无分文但需要医学院的奖学金。
Bernie befriended the dean and told him he was broke but needed a scholarship for med school.
院长说他能让伯尼进哈佛。
The dean said he could get Bernie into Harvard.
然后问题来了。
Then came the catch.
这需要花费1万美元。
It would cost $10,000.
院长解释道，哈佛有犹太学生配额。
Harvard has a Jewish quota, the dean explained.
这笔钱能确保你获得一个名额。
The money ensures you get one of the spots.
伯尼的家人从未见过1万美元。
Bernie's family had never seen $10,000.
他所有亲戚凑在一起也拿不出这么多钱。
All of his relatives combined couldn't scrape that together.
他的医生梦想当场破灭了。
His doctor dream died on the spot.
事实上，他深受打击，直接退学了。
In fact, he was so crushed that he dropped out of school.
后来他母亲说服他重返校园随便学点什么，于是伯尼选择了药剂学院。
His mom eventually convinced him to go back for something, anything, so Bernie picked pharmacy school.
伯尼阴差阳错成了药剂师，但他对此厌恶至极。
Bernie became a pharmacist by default, but he hated every minute of it.
有位朋友提出让他分期买下药房50%的股份。
A friend offered him 50% of a pharmacy he could work off over time.
伯尼接受了这笔交易，但从第一天起就状况百出。
So Bernie took the deal, but it was a disaster from day one.
伯尼想当的是精神科医生，而不是数药片。
Bernie wanted to be a psychiatrist, not count pills.
他满腔愤怒，根本无法共事，心中充满怨恨。
He was angry and impossible to work with, full of resentment.
他与合伙人的争吵声大得连顾客都能听到他们在后厨的尖叫。
The fights with his partner get so loud that customers could hear them screaming in the back.
一个周六的夜晚，一切都改变了。
One Saturday night, everything changed.
以下是伯尼讲述的经过。
Here's how Bernie tells it.
我独自在店里，趁着没有顾客的空档在后柜台吃晚饭。
I was alone in the store and eating dinner at the back counter between customers.
就在那时，命运——一个叼着大雪茄的小个子——走进店里，改变了我的一生。
That's when fate, a little guy with a big cigar in his mouth, walked into the store and changed my life.
嘿，小子。
Hey, kid.
过来。
Come here.
他说：给我拿支雪茄。
Get me a cigar, he said.
这家伙可能就比我大两岁，最多三岁。
This fellow may have been two years older than I was, maybe three years at the most.
于是我走过去对他说：自己挑个橱窗拿吧。
So I walked up to him and said, pick a window.
他嘴里叼着那根大雪茄，困惑地看着我。
This big cigar dangling in his mouth, he looked at me confused.
你什么意思，选一扇窗户？
What do you mean pick a window?
选一扇窗户，因为你即将从其中一扇飞出去。
Pick a window because you're going through one of them.
我想让你自己选择哪一扇。
I want you to have a choice in which one.
相信我，他知道我不是在开玩笑。
And believe me, he knew I wasn't kidding.
他举起双手做出防御姿态，仿佛在表示自己并无恶意。
He put up his hands in a defensive way as if to suggest he meant no offense.
但我当时心情糟透了，而且我已经准备好了。
But I was in a foul, foul mood, and I was prepared.
叫我‘小子’是压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草。
Calling me kid was the last straw.
“等一下”，他说。
Wait a second, he said.
你肯定和伴侣吵架了。
You must have had an argument with your partner.
你怎么猜到的？
How did you guess?
我问道，被他的直觉弄得有些不知所措。
I asked, disarmed by his intuition.
嘿。
Hey.
他说道：“我以前来过这里。”
I've been in here before, he said.
他自称丹尼·凯斯勒，说是一家名为联合衬衫店的公司的董事长。
He introduced himself as Danny Kessler and said he was the chairman of a company called United Shirt Shops.
你在这个糟糕的故事里做什么？
What are you doing in this crummy story?
他问我。
Asked me.
你为什么不赶紧离开这里？
Why don't you get the hell out of here?
去做更适合你才能的生意吧。
Get into business that's more suited for your talents.
那会是什么生意呢？
And what business would that be?
折扣店，特许经营部门。
Discount stores, concession departments.
我拥有男装特许经营权，还经营着一大堆店铺，我们赚得盆满钵满。
I have the men's clothing concession and a whole bunch of stores, and we are making a ton of money.
有很多优秀的店铺都在这么做。
There are lots of great stores doing this.
它们在哪里？
Where are they?
他说，离这儿不远就有一家。
There's one not far from here, he said.
你何不明天过来看看我？
Why don't you come visit me here tomorrow?
于是第二天，我就去了。
So the next day, I did.
伯尼从未见过折扣商店，那天所见彻底改变了一切，也改变了零售业的未来。
Bernie had never seen a discount store before, and what he saw that day changed everything and the future of retail.
每个部门都由不同的经营者管理。
Each department was run by different operators.
客流量大得惊人。
The volume was incredible.
现场氛围极其热烈。
The energy was electric.
顾客如潮水般涌入，见什么买什么。
Customers were flowing through like rivers buying everything in sight.
但有家新泽西的店铺完全吸引了他——就两个人经营。
But one store grabbed him completely, two guys, and it was based in New Jersey.
伯尼在两周内往返那两位伙计那里十次，研究每个部门、每个细节。
Bernie went back to two guys 10 times in two weeks studying every department, every detail.
当他终于询问一位员工这里是谁在管理时，那人指向了赫伯·赫普什曼。
When he finally asked an employee who ran the place, the guy pointed to Herb Hupshman.
伯尼径直走上前去，施展浑身解数。
Bernie walked right up and poured on the charm.
赫伯被奉承得心花怒放，带他完整参观并详细解释每个环节的运作。
Herb was flattered enough to give him the full tour explaining how everything worked in great detail.
最后赫伯问道：你觉得怎么样？
At the end, Herb asked, so what do you think?
伯尼知道自己必须引起他的注意。
Bernie knew he needed to get his attention.
于是他说了一句挑衅的话。
So he said something provocative.
就你这样的世界第一聪明人，你是我这辈子见过最大的蠢货。
For the smartest guy in the world, you're the biggest schmuck I've ever met in my life.
赫伯被震惊了。
Herb was stunned.
你在说什么？
What are you talking about?
伯尼接着说，看看你多么聪明和创新。
Look how brilliant and innovative you are, Bernie went on.
你的商店里有食品。
You have food in the store.
你有家电。
You have appliances.
你有这个有那个，但你的化妆品部门是我见过最差的。
You have this and that, but your cosmetics department is the worst I've ever seen.
这太丢人了。
It's disgraceful.
你怎么能让这种事发生？
How can you let this happen?
呃，赫布不好意思地说，这部分是我兄弟在打理。
Well, Herb said sheepishly, my brother runs it.
伯尼立刻抓住了机会。
Bernie pounced.
赫布，从现在开始，这部分业务由我来经营。
Herb, from now on, I will run this part of your business.
你兄弟现在负责的销售业务，我会支付租金，并在此基础上盈利。
What your brother is doing in sales now, I'll pay as rent, and I'll make a profit over that.
你不可能达成这种交易，赫布嘲笑道。
You can't possibly make that deal, Herb scoffed.
但伯尼确实达成了这笔交易。
But Bernie did make that deal.
短短几个月内，他就接管了化妆品部，然后是体育用品部，接着是大家电部。
And within months, he was running cosmetics, and then sporting goods, and then major appliances.
到了28年，伯尼经手的商品价值已近10亿美元，东海岸近70%的电器销售都来自他的部门——这就是双人店的经营之道。
By '28, Bernie was overseeing almost $1,000,000,000 in merchandise and nearly 70% of all appliances sold on the East Coast because that's what Two Guys was doing.
那么为什么没人听说过'双人'公司呢？
So why has no one ever heard of Two Guys?
因为赫伯去世后，外部人士接管并试图过快扩张。
Because when Herb died, outsiders took over and tried to expand too fast.
他们不再关注客户，转而专注于自己的职业发展。
They stopped focusing on customers and started focusing on their own careers.
客户流失，公司也随之倒闭。
Customers vanished and the company collapsed.
伯尼永远铭记这个教训：当企业停止服务客户而开始服务自己时，就会走向灭亡。
Bernie would carry this lesson forever because when a business stops serving the customer and starts serving itself, it does.
离开双人公司后，伯尼辗转多个高管职位，最终在达伦公司担任硬货品副总裁。
After two guys, Bernie bounced through the executive roles, eventually landing at Dalen Corporation as vice president of hard goods.
他曾在大型零售商担任要职，并帮助建立了优秀的企业，但他意识到一个关键问题。
He'd held big titles at major retailers and helped build great businesses, but he realized something crucial.
他从未真正赚到大钱。
He never made real money.
真正的财富来自股权，而他从未获得过股权作为薪酬的一部分，也从未用自己的薪酬购买过股权。
The real money came from owning equity, and he'd never been given equity as part of his compensation, and he never bought equity with his compensation.
在达伦公司，他接手了Handy Dan家居装修中心，正是在那里他结识了亚瑟·布兰克。
At Dalen, he was given the reins of Handy Dan home improvement centers, and that's where he met Arthur Blank.
亚瑟是在达伦收购其家族药店业务时加入公司的，伯尼在一次公司活动上遇见了他。
Arthur had joined Dalen when they acquired his family's pharmacy business, and Bernie met him at a corporate event.
当亚瑟的部门被出售时，伯尼立刻打电话给他说：来Handy Dan和我一起工作吧。
And when Arthur's division was sold off, Bernie called him immediately and said, Come work with me at Handy Dan.
亚瑟后来将他们的关系比作棒球中的投手和捕手。
Arthur would later describe their relationship as a pitcher and catcher in baseball.
伯尼是投手，是众人瞩目的焦点，总是全力投出快速球。
Bernie was the pitcher, the center of attention, and he was always throwing heat.
而亚瑟则是捕手。
Arthur, on the other hand, was the catcher.
他默默引导比赛节奏，掌控着全局。
He was quietly calling the game and setting the pace.
这种合作之所以成功，是因为他们价值观相同，但各自带来了不同的优势。
It worked because they shared the same values but brought different strengths to the table.
当时两人都未曾料到，这段合作关系将彻底改变美国人购物、装修及思考家居改善的方式。
What neither knew yet was that this partnership would revolutionize how Americans shop, build, and think about home improvement.
但在此之前，他们双双遭遇了被解雇的命运。
But first, they both had to get fired.
Handy Dan的股权结构非常奇特。
Handy Dan had a weird ownership structure.
达伦公司持有81%的股份，公众持有剩余的19%。
Dalen owned 81% of it and the public owned the other 19%.
上世纪七十年代，企业采取这种做法是认为少量公开持股能提升母公司的估值。
Companies did this in the nineteen seventies thinking that a small public stake would boost valuations for the parent company.
出于税务原因，私人持股必须超过80%。
For tax reasons, the private stake had to exceed 80%.
这一策略最终适得其反，因为Handy Dan上市时股价为12美元，随后暴跌至3美元。
And the strategy ended up backfiring because Handy Dan went public at $12 a share and then it crashed to $3.
但这存在一个更大的问题——或者说机遇，取决于你如何看待它。
But there was a bigger problem or opportunity depending on how you look at it.
一位律师发现，谁控制了那19%的股份，谁就能实际掌控整个公司。
A lawyer discovered that whoever controlled that 19% could effectively control the entire company.
让我来解释一下。
And let me explain.
根据信托责任规则，控股81%的母公司必须按照公众持有的19%股份的投票比例进行表决。
Because of fiduciary duty rules, the parent company which controlled the 81% of the company had to vote in the same proportion as the 19% that was owned by the public.
因此实际上，只要控制了这19%的股份，就等于控制了整个公司。
So effectively, if you controlled the 19%, you controlled the company.
而一位名叫肯·兰格内的男子最近几乎买下了这全部的19%股份。
And a man named Ken Langone had recently bought up nearly all of that 19%.
兰格内是一位投资银行家，他的客户拥有一家家装公司。
Langone was an investment banker whose client owned a home improvement company.
当被问及业内最优秀的经营者是谁时，对方不假思索地回答：Handy Dan。
When asked who the best operators in the industry were, the answer was immediate, Handy Dan.
肯认为这是个糟糕的消息，因为他误以为Handy Dan已经破产了。
Ken thought that was terrible news because he had mistakenly believed that Handy Dan was in bankruptcy.
如果连最优秀的都落得如此下场，他们根本毫无胜算。
And if that was the fate of the best, they didn't have a shot.
但他搞错了。
But he'd gotten it wrong.
破产的是母公司Dalen，而非Handy Dan。
Dalen, the parent company, went into bankruptcy, not Handy Dan.
肯急忙赶回去核查财务状况。
Ken rushed back to check the financials.
Handy Dan不仅没有破产，反而是一家经营稳健的公司，尽管母公司处境艰难，它却表现优异。
Not only was Handy Dan not bankrupt, it was a solid company doing very well despite the woes of its parent company.
伯尼和亚瑟将它从4家门店发展到近80家，每家年营业额达300万美元，创下行业最高纪录。
Bernie and Arthur had grown it from four stores to nearly 80, each doing $3,000,000 a year, the highest volumes in the industry.
该公司每股收益似乎达到1.5美元，但股价却仅为3美元。
The company appeared to be earning a dollar 50 per share but traded at just $3.
即使在1976年，这个价格也便宜得离谱。
That was cheap even in 1976 terms.
肯立刻给伯尼打了电话。
Ken called Bernie immediately.
我认为这是我一生中见过的最伟大的公司。
I think you have the greatest company I've ever seen in my whole life.
当伯尼确认盈利真实无误后，肯表示他要买下所有能找到的股票。
When Bernie confirmed the earnings were real, Ken said he was buying every share he could find.
他说，必要的话就把房子抵押出去。
Mortgage your house if you have to, he said.
在47.5万流通股中，肯买下了40万股。
Of the 475,000 public shares, Ken bought 400,000 of them.
虽然伯尼立刻喜欢并信任了肯，但达伦公司的CEO桑福德·西格洛夫与他的关系却截然不同。
While Bernie liked and trusted Ken instantly, Dalen's CEO Sanford Sigelof would have a very different relationship with him.
当伯尼将肯介绍给西格洛夫时，肯的本能反应是立即产生的。
When Bernie introduced Ken to Sigaloff, Ken's instinct was immediate.
当他们走开时，他对伯尼说：'这家伙不是好人。'
As they walked away, he told Bernie, This is a real bad guy.
这是个不可信任的人，会在一瞬间置你于死地。
This is a guy you can't trust and that would kill you in a second.
不久后，肯发现了信托欺诈手段。
Soon after, Ken discovered the fiduciary trick.
少数股权让他得以掌控整个Handy Dan公司。
The minority stake allowed him to control all of Handy Dan.
于是当他发现这一点时，便打电话给西格洛夫商讨如何共同管理公司。
So when he discovered this, he calls Sigiloff to discuss how they'd run the company together.
‘你凭什么说我们’，西格洛夫勃然大怒，而肯则解释了法律现实。
What do you mean we, Sigiloff erupts, and Ken explained the legal reality.
西格洛夫暴跳如雷。
Sigaloff went ballistic.
他根本无意让任何人干涉他的管理方式。
He had no intention of letting anyone influence how he ran things.
肯表示希望他们不必验证这一点，但问题远不止控制权这么简单。
Ken said he hoped they wouldn't have to test it, but the problem went deeper than just control.
伯尼和西格洛夫在每一个重要方面都截然相反。
Bernie and Sigaloff were opposites in every way that mattered too.
伯尼坚信企业是建立在人际关系之上的。
Bernie believed businesses were built on relationships.
正是凭借这种方式，他将Two Guys和Handy Dan的单店业绩做到了300万美元，成为行业最高。
And that's how he'd grown Two Guys and Handy Dan to 3,000,000 per store, the highest in the industry.
当他与他们的银行家里普·弗莱明共事时，伯尼向他坦白了一切，无论是好是坏，机遇还是问题。
When he worked with their banker, Rip Fleming, Bernie told him everything, the good, the bad, the opportunities, the problems.
这是完全的透明。
It was total transparency.
正因如此，弗莱明成为了Handy Dan最坚定的支持者。
Fleming became Handy Dan's biggest supporter because of it.
而西吉洛夫却恰恰相反。
Sigiloff, however, was the complete opposite.
他是母公司达林德的CEO。
He was the CEO of the parent company, Dalind.
他认为合作伙伴，尤其是银行家，都是可以操纵的傻瓜。
He viewed partners, especially bankers, as idiots to manipulate.
他的处世哲学是把他们蒙在鼓里，像养蘑菇一样喂他们吃垃圾。
His philosophy was keep them in the dark and feed them crap like mushrooms.
他会故意用毫无意义的图表和报表淹没他们，文件多到没人能全部读完。
He'd intentionally drown them in meaningless charts and statements, so much paper that nobody could read it all.
他的目标是用迷惑手段让他们屈服。
His goal was to confuse them into submission.
伯尼拒绝玩这种把戏。
Bernie refused to play that game.
在他看来，要么诚实赚钱，要么只能赚一次钱。
To him, you could make money honestly or you could make money once.
因此，当这两种理念相冲突时，必然有一方要妥协。
Therefore, when these two philosophies collided, something had to give.
肯·兰霍恩正准备确保让步的不会是伯尼。
And Ken Langhorne was about to make sure it wasn't Bernie.
西格洛夫因扭转达伦公司破产局面而赢得声誉，但唯一有实际现金流的部门是Handy Dan。
Sigaloff won a credit for turning around Dalen from bankruptcy, but the only division with real cash flow was Handy Dan.
于是他试图从10美元开始收购肯的股份，接着出价12美元，然后是14美元。
So he tried to buy out Ken starting at $10, then 12, and then 14.
每次西格洛夫拒绝肯的要价后，等他回头想接受时，却发现肯又把价格抬高了。
Each time Sigaloff said no to Ken's price, he'd come back later to accept it only to find that Ken had raised it again.
以下是书中的一段摘录，否则你绝不会相信肯的谈判有多疯狂。
Here's an excerpt from the book because you'd never believe how crazy Ken's negotiation went otherwise.
当时他们坐在他办公室里，而该股票在公开市场的交易价约为每股8美元。
So they're sitting in his office and the stock is selling for about $8 a share in the public market.
我们知道你被套牢了。
We know you're a boxed in.
你一股都卖不出去。
You can't sell any stock.
你完全没有流动性。
You have no liquidity.
我们每股支付10美元怎么样？
How about if we pay you $10 a share?
肯说：'没门'。
No way, Ken said.
价格是12美元。
The price is 12.
休想。
Forget it.
想让他独自面对他那条私人梭鱼（就是当时坐在房间里的律师——肯的律师），肯起身去了洗手间。
Wanting to leave him swimming alone with his personal barracuda, which was the lawyer that was sitting in the room, Ken's lawyer, he left and he went to the men's room.
结果不到两分钟，这家伙就跟了进去。
So barely two minutes later, this guy follows him in.
然后他说：'好吧'。
And he says, okay.
我同意。
I agree.
12美元。
$12.
不行。
No.
你不明白，肯告诉他。
You don't understand, Ken told him.
你出价10美元想买。
You offered to buy it for 10.
我说了，不行。
I said, no.
我开价12美元卖给你，你拒绝了。
I offered to sell it to you for 12, and you said no.
现在你又回来想用12美元买。
Now you're back wanting to buy it at twelve.
那个报价已经作废了。
That offer is off the table.
已经没有了。
That's gone.
我们有过报价而且是有期限的。
We had an offer and it had an aisle.
没得谈。
No deal.
什么？
What?
我在办公室提议过12美元的价格。
I suggested a price of $12 in my office.
对吧？
Right?
他点头表示认可。
He nodded acknowledging.
而你拒绝了。
And you declined.
好吧，就这样吧。
Well, that's it.
我现在不想卖了。
I don't wanna sell now.
你总得有个心理价位吧。
You must have some price.
好吧，肯说道。
Okay, Ken said.
14美元。
$14.
这场拉锯战持续了数月，直到伯尼厌倦了夹在这些谈判中间，对肯说：让西格洛夫别再来烦我。
This went back and forth for months until Bernie, sick of being in the middle of all these negotiations, told Ken, get Sigeloff off my back.
把股票卖给他。
Sell him the stock.
但肯警告他，伯尼，相信我。
But Ken warned him, Bernie, trust me.
你并不是真的想让我把股票卖给他，因为如果我这么做，就等于签下了你的死亡令。
You don't really want me to sell him the stock because if I do, I'm signing your death warrant.
你会死路一条。
You are a dead man.
伯尼并不相信。
Bernie didn't believe it.
西格尔洛夫不懂这行生意。
Sigaloff doesn't know this business.
我懂这行生意。
I know this business.
他需要我来经营。
He needs me to run it.
但肯不断警告他，而伯尼却坚持己见。
But Ken kept warning him, and Bernie insisted.
于是肯最终同意了每股25.5美元的价格。
So Ken finally agrees to a price of $25.50 a share.
现在达伦掌控了一切。
So Dalen now owns everything.
1978年，伯尼和亚瑟到达伦总部参加企业规划会议时，西格洛夫的律师和速记员接待了他们。
In the 1978, Bernie and Arthur show up for a corporate planning meeting at Dalen headquarters, and Sigelof lawyers and stenographers met them.
伯尼觉得这种人员组合对规划会议来说很奇怪，结果他们当场就被解雇了。
Bernie thought it was a strange mix for a planning meeting, and they were fired on the spot.
西格洛夫已经通知了报社，所以第二天早上新闻就会见报。
And Sigelof had already called the papers so that the story would run the next morning.
他宣布伯尼的合同无效，甚至还嘲讽他。
He voided Bernie's contract and even taunted him.
你唯一的问题就是——我将用公司的资金和你对抗，而你不得不用自己的钱来对抗我，可你根本没有钱。
The only problem for you is that I'm going to fight you with the company's money, and you're going to have to fight me with your own money, which you don't have.
伯尼不得不承认他是对的。
And Bernie had to admit that he was right.
他一无所有了。
He had nothing.
伯尼被解雇后第一个电话打给了肯。
Bernie's first call after getting fired was to Ken.
肯，发生了一件可怕的事。
Ken, a terrible thing has happened.
你告诉过我会被解雇，结果真的发生了。
You told me I would get fired and it happened.
他现在想毁了我的生活。
And he is trying to destroy my life.
肯的回应让伯尼很意外。
Ken's response surprised Bernie.
这是我听过最好的消息。
This is the greatest news I have ever heard.
伯尼震惊了。
Bernie was shocked.
你怎么了，肯尼？
What's the matter with you, Kenny?
你没听到我刚才说的话吗？
Didn't you hear what I just said?
没有。
No.
你不明白，肯说道。
You don't understand, Ken said.
你刚刚被金马蹄踢了屁股。
You've just been kicked in the ass with the golden horseshoe.
这是最好的机会。
This is the greatest opportunity.
现在我们可以开启你在休斯敦时谈到的那个故事了。
Now we can open up the story you talked about when we were in Houston.
伯尼的思绪慢慢转变了。
Bernie's mind slowly shifted.
他想起在休斯顿时对肯说过的话，他们要在那里开一家便利的小店。
He remembered what he told Ken in Houston when they'd open a handy dandy store there.
肯问为什么一个城市需要这么多商店，伯尼说了些话。
Ken asked why they needed so many stores in one city, and Bernie said something.
他说，因为总有一天会有人开一家店，让我们所有的店都过时。
He said, because someday somebody's going to open up a store that's going to make all of our stores obsolete.
伯尼已经在想象后来成为家得宝的商店会是什么样子。
Bernie had already been imagining what would become The Home Depot.
这是一家规模庞大的商店，在美国前所未见。
It was a massive store unlike anything else seen in America.
如果Handy Dan在休斯顿有15家店，我的3家新店就能让它们过时。
If Handy Dan has 15 stores in Houston, three of my new stores would make these obsolete.
肯提醒现已失业的伯尼。
Ken reminded the now unemployed Bernie.
伯尼，你一再告诉我Handy Dan和整个行业有多么脆弱。
Bernie, you have repeatedly told me how Handy Dan and this whole industry is vulnerable.
小型连锁店太多，没有全国性公司，而且价格太高。
Too many small chains, no national companies, and prices are too high.
你还相信这个观点吗？
Do you still believe that?
伯尼回答说是的。
Bernie responded, yes.
与肯通话后，伯尼还得联系另一个人——索尔·普莱斯。
After his call with Ken, Bernie had to call one other person, Saul Price.
如果你听过我们关于索尔·普莱斯的那期节目，应该对这个故事有所了解。
And if you listen to our Saul Price episode, you've heard a little bit of this story.
伯尼和索尔已是多年好友。
Bernie and Saul had been friends for years.
索尔最近在被联邦超市的德国新股东排挤后，创办了普莱斯俱乐部。
Saul had recently found the Price Club after being ousted from FedMart by its new German owners.
伯尼察觉到志同道合的气息，便前去拜访他。
Sensing a kindred spirit, Bernie went to see him.
索尔立刻明白了伯尼的心思，带他走进一个文件堆积如山的房间。
Saul knew immediately what was on Bernie's mind and walked him into a room piled floor to ceiling with documents.
这些都是证词，索尔解释道。
These are depositions, Saul explained.
这就是我过去三年生活的全部内容。
This is what I've spent the last three years of my life going through.
伯尼震惊了。
Bernie was stunned.
如果他起诉Handy Dan，这就是他的未来。
If he sued Handy Dan, this would be his future.
索尔告诉他这场诉讼吞噬了一切，占据每个念头，耗尽所有精力，即使赢了也还是输了。
Saul told him the lawsuit consumed everything, every thought, all of his energy, and that even if you won, you still lost.
只有律师赚到了钱。
Only the attorneys made money.
这正是索尔的亲身经历。
That's exactly what happened to Saul.
他打赢了官司却一无所获。
He won his lawsuit but gained nothing.
你有钱继续打这场官司吗？
Do you have money to pursue this?
索尔问道。
Saul asked.
没有。
No.
我真的没有，伯尼回答。
I really don't, Bernie replied.
你的律师至少是按风险代理收费的吗？
Are your attorneys at least representing you on a contingency basis?
不是，伯尼说。
No, Bernie said.
不管七十年代发生了什么，他每小时都要付给他们200美元。
He was paying them $200 an hour regardless of what happened back in the seventies too.
索尔把话说开了。
Saul laid it out.
伯尼，当我卖掉公司后，立刻出去创办了价格俱乐部。
Bernie, when I sold my company, went right out and started the price club.
我有资金，所以我们才能这么做并起诉那些混蛋。
I had the money, so we were able to do that and sue these bastards.
你没有可以浪费的资金。
You don't have the money to waste.
然后索尔问出了关键问题。
Then Saul asked the real question.
伯尼，你认为自己有才华吗？
Bernie, do you think you're talented?
有。
Yes.
我认为我有。
I think I am.
展开剩余字幕（还有 480 条）
你认为自己有能力去构建、去创造些什么吗？
Do you think you have the ability to build something, to create something?
你对自己感觉良好吗？
Do you feel good about yourself?
是的。
Yes.
我确实这么认为。
I do.
那你为什么不直接告诉西格洛夫让他滚蛋，然后继续过你的生活？
Then why don't you just tell Sigeloff to go f himself and get on with your life?
把欠律师的钱付清。
Pay your lawyers what you owe them.
抽身离开。
Walk away from it.
伯尼开车回到了洛杉矶。
Bernie drove back to LA.
当他回到家时，他已经知道自己该做什么了。
By the time he got home, he knew what he had to do.
如果你是创始人，就会知道给初创公司取名是个漫长的过程。
If you're a founder, you know naming your startup takes forever.
好不容易想到一个完美名称，结果发现特拉华州的彼得已经抢先注册了.com域名。
You finally land on the perfect name only to find out that Peter from Delaware got to the.com first.
于是你面临两个糟糕选择：要么高价买下域名资助彼得的退休生活，要么在域名后添加随机词直到它看起来像WiFi密码。
So you're stuck with two bad options, pay up and fund Peter's retirement or tack on random words until your domain looks like a WiFi password.
但在投入大量时间和金钱取名后，你肯定不愿妥协。
But after all the time and money spent on naming, you don't want that.
多亏了.tech域名，现在你无需将就。
And thanks to dot tech domains, you don't have to.
使用.tech域名，你能获得真正心仪的名称。
With .tech, you get the name you actually want.
简洁利落，无需妥协。
It's clean, sharp, no compromises.
它能立即向投资者和客户表明你们正在构建科技产品。
It instantly tells investors and customers that you're building technology.
全球最大的消费科技展会Ces.tech就使用了.tech域名。
Ces.tech, the world's biggest consumer tech event uses .tech domain.
由OpenAI支持的初创公司one x.tech也是如此，全球还有数十万家科技公司同样选择.tech。
So does one x.tech, an open AI backed startup along with hundreds of thousands of tech companies worldwide.
别再浪费时间讨价还价了。
So don't waste another minute negotiating.
立即前往GoDaddy、Namecheap、Cloudflare或您购买域名的任何平台，获取您的.tech域名。
Go to GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, or wherever you buy your domains and get your dot tech domain today.
节日季已经到来。
The holidays are here.
如果您正在为您关心的人（或也许是为自己）寻找一份真正有意义的礼物，我可能有个绝妙的主意。
If you're searching for a truly meaningful gift for someone you care about or maybe for yourself, I might just have the perfect idea.
来认识Remarkable——纸感平板电脑。
Meet Remarkable, the paper tablet.
我们都沉迷于那些不断索取我们注意力的屏幕，但Remarkable是另一种不同的屏幕。
We're all glued to screens that demand our constant attention, but Remarkable is a different kind of screen.
这是一款设计优雅的纸感平板，旨在帮助你更清晰地思考、更深入地专注。
It's an elegantly designed paper tablet built to help you think better and focus deeper.
它拥有纸上书写的简约触感，同时具备科技的力量——能将所有笔记和想法整理到一处，甚至将手写内容转换为印刷体文字。
It has the simplicity and feel of writing on paper, but with the power of technology like organizing all your notes and ideas into one place, and even converting your handwriting into typed text.
Remarkable没有应用、没有社交媒体、没有通知，只有纯粹无干扰的专注空间。
With Remarkable, there are no apps, no social media, and no notifications, just pure uninterrupted focus.
选择适合您需求的设备：经典黑白款Remarkable 2、配备高级彩色显示屏的Remarkable Paper Pro，或是全新便携款Remarkable Paper Pro Move。
Choose the device that fits your needs, the original black and white Remarkable two, the advanced color display of Remarkable Paper Pro, or the new portable Remarkable Paper Pro Move.
在这个节日季，送上一份专注当下的礼物。
This holiday season, give the gift of being present.
送上一份凝聚心意的礼物。
Give the gift of focus.
在remarkable.com选购完美无干扰的纸感平板电脑。
Find the perfect distraction free paper tablet at remarkable.com.
伯尼·马库斯和亚瑟·布兰克当时失业了。
Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank were unemployed.
他们被Handy Dan解雇时，正试图说服任何愿意倾听的人，他们能用仓储式商店彻底改变五金零售业。
They were fired from Handy Dan trying to convince anyone who would listen that they could revolutionize hardware retail with warehouse style stores.
他们需要200万美元资金，但要找到愿意押注两位被解雇高管的投资人，比预期困难得多。
They needed $2,000,000, and finding somebody willing to bet on two fired executives is proving a little bit harder than expected.
肯·兰根认识一位有这个财力的人——罗斯·佩罗。
Ken Langan knew one person with that kind of money, Ross Perot.
佩罗曾以军事般的精准和纯粹意志力，将EDS打造成那个时代的微软。
Perot had built EDS into the Microsoft of era through military precision and sheer will.
于是肯在达拉斯安排了一次会面。
And Ken set up a meeting in Dallas.
佩罗听完他们的故事——被解雇的经历、颠覆传统五金零售的巨型仓储商店愿景。
Perrault listened to their story, the firing, the vision for massive warehouse stores that would destroy traditional hardware retail.
他对此很感兴趣。
And he liked it.
他们达成了一笔200万美元的交易。
They had a deal for $2,000,000.
佩罗将拥有家得宝70%的股份。
Perro would own 70% of Home Depot.
伯尼和亚瑟将平分25%，肯则获得5%。
Bernie and Arthur would split 25% and Ken would get 5%.
但交易最终破裂，问题并非出在股权或战略上。
But the deal fell apart and it wasn't over equity or strategy.
这件事因为一辆车而泡汤了。
It died over a car.
伯尼为了省钱，一直开着Handy Dan公司一辆租了四年的凯迪拉克，他打算按折旧价买下这辆车，而不是再租一辆新的。
Bernie had been driving a four year old Cadillac lease through Handy Dan to save money he wanted to buy at at its depreciated value rather than lease a new one.
佩罗问那是辆什么车。
And Perrault asked what kind of car it was.
是辆凯迪拉克，伯尼回答道。
It's a Cadillac, Bernie replied.
我的人不开凯迪拉克。
My people don't drive Cadillacs.
我在EDS的伙计们都开雪佛兰。
My guys at EDS drive Chevrolets.
伯尼解释了其中的道理。
Bernie explained the math.
他那辆二手凯迪拉克其实比新雪佛兰还便宜。
His used Cadillac was actually cheaper than a new Chevrolet.
再说了，他是个大块头。
And besides, he was a big guy.
他需要更大的车。
He needed a bigger car.
但佩罗再次强调：我的人不开凯迪拉克。
But Perrault repeated, my people don't drive Cadillacs.
伯尼又尝试解释了一次。
And Bernie tried one more time.
佩罗第三次重复了这句话。
And Perrault repeated it a third time.
我的人不开凯迪拉克。
My people don't drive Cadillacs.
在第三次重复后，伯尼清楚地看到了自己的未来。
After the third repetition, Bernie saw his future clearly.
他刚逃离一个专制的老板，现在又要签下另一个。
He just escaped one autocratic boss and was now about to sign up for another.
这与车无关。
This wasn't about the car.
这是关于控制权的问题。
It was about control.
伯尼明白自己不会成为真正的合伙人。
And Bernie knew that he wouldn't be a real partner.
他只会是个持有股份的员工。
He'd just be an employee with equity.
伯尼要求和肯到外面谈谈。
Bernie asked to step outside with Ken.
他说，如果这家伙连我开什么车都要计较，那当我们必须做真正重大决定时，会有多少麻烦？
And he said, if this guy is going to be bothered by what kind of car I'm driving, how much aggravation are we gonna have when we have to make a really big decision?
而肯觉得伯尼疯了。
And Ken thought Bernie had lost his mind.
他们为了一辆凯迪拉克，放弃了急需的200万美元。
They were walking away from $2,000,000 they desperately needed over a Cadillac.
我宁愿饿死，伯尼说。
I would rather starve to death, Bernie said.
没门。
No way.
于是他们离开了罗斯伯勒。
And so they walked away from Rossborough.
这里的教训是我们一次又一次在异类身上看到的。
The lesson here is what we see time and time again with outliers.
坏钱比没钱更糟糕。
Bad money is worse than no money.
你还记得我采访全食超市创始人约翰·麦基的时候吗？
Do you remember when I interviewed Whole Foods founder John Mackie?
他把坏钱称为搭便车的人。
He called bad money hitchhikers.
坏钱会为你支付油费，只要你按照他们的意愿行事，去他们想去的地方。
Bad money will pay for the gas as long as you do what they want and go where they want to go.
慢慢地，你会迷失自我和你对公司的愿景。
And slowly, you lose yourself and your vision of your company.
因此，离开佩罗让伯尼和亚瑟陷入绝望。
So walking away from Perot left Bernie and Arthur desperate.
肯·兰根开始说服40位投资者，其中许多人在Handy Dan股票上赚了钱，每人出资2.5万美元。
Ken Langan went to work convincing 40 investors, many of whom who'd made money on Handy Dan stock to put up $25,000 each.
他们押注的是伯尼和亚瑟本人，而不是 商业计划。
They were betting on Bernie and Arthur themselves more than a business plan.
然后伯尼发现了帕特·法拉。
And then Bernie discovered Pat Farrah.
法拉是加州家居装修界的传奇人物，一个留着巨大爆炸头的狂野男人，刚开了一家叫Homeco的店。
Farrah was a legend in California home improvement, a wild man with an enormous afro who just opened a store called Homeco.
那里有伯尼梦寐以求的一切。
It had everything Bernie dreamed of.
商品堆到天花板，价格低到谷底，员工们真的会跑着去帮助顾客。
Merchandise piled to the ceiling, rock bottom prices, employees who literally ran to help customers.
当帕特离开国家木材公司创办Homeco时，五位经理和50名员工追随了他。
When Pat quit National Lumber to start Homeco, five managers and 50 employees followed him.
这就是这个人激发的忠诚度。
That's how much loyalty this guy inspired.
每个人都爱他。
Everyone loved him.
当伯尼看到Homeco时，他既兴奋又心碎。
When Bernie saw Homeco, he was simultaneously thrilled and devastated.
他既兴奋又沮丧，兴奋是因为有人验证了他的理念可行，沮丧是因为那个人不是他。
He was thrilled because someone had proven his concept work, devastated because that someone wasn't him.
伯尼和亚瑟决定收购家得宝，并让法拉成为他们的合伙人。
Bernie and Arthur decided to buy HomeCo and make Farrah their partner.
但在尽职调查期间，他们发现了一场灾难。
But during diligence, they discovered a disaster.
帕特是个商品陈列的天才，却不懂如何经营企业。
Pat was a merchandising genius, but he didn't understand how to run a business.
他的毛利率不是行业标准的44%。
His gross margins weren't the 44% industry standard.
只有12%。
They were 12%.
他每笔交易都在亏钱，之所以还能维持，仅仅是因为拖欠供应商货款。
He was losing money on every sale, staying alive only because he wasn't paying his vendors.
这笔交易黄了。
The deal was dead.
HomeCo在几个月内就破产了。
HomeCo went bankrupt within months.
但伯尼仍然想要帕特·法拉。
But Bernie still wanted Pat Farrah.
于是在HomeCo倒闭两天后，伯尼打电话给他说，我还是希望你能加入我和亚瑟的新事业。
So two days after HomeCo closed, Bernie called him and said, I still want you to join Arthur and me in this new venture.
帕特简直欣喜若狂。
And Pat was beside himself.
他简直不敢相信这一切。
He couldn't believe this.
他已经失去了一切。
He'd lost everything.
他让投资者血本无归，甚至自己都申请了个人破产。
He'd failed his investors and even filed personal bankruptcy.
而此刻，伯尼却主动提出要与他合伙。
And here, Bernie was offering him a partnership.
伯尼告诉他们，你是个了不起的商人。
You're a great merchant, Bernie told them.
你有个很棒的理念。
You have a great concept.
你只是没有我们。
You just don't have us.
你需要我们，我们也需要你。
You need us, and we need you.
而且他们还需要选址，但根本无力承担建设费用。
And they also needed locations, but they couldn't afford to build anything.
因此他们不得不寻找大型空间来租赁。
So they had to find massive spaces to lease.
伯尼希望选址靠近航空枢纽以便交通便利，并且所在城市规模要足够大，能吸引他们所需的各级人才。
So Bernie wanted them near an airport hub for easy travel and in a city big enough to attract the talent they need at every level.
所以尽管他们连开一家店的钱都凑得很艰难，伯尼已经在为千家门店做规划了。
So even though they could barely scrape together money for a single store, Bernie was already planning for a thousand.
他的目标是打造一家全国性的连锁巨头。
His goal was to create a dominant national chain.
所以他们选择了亚特兰大。
So they chose Atlanta.
这里符合所有条件，而且亚瑟对这个市场非常熟悉。
It fit all the criteria, and Arthur knew the market really well.
当时JCPenney正想转租四家经营不善的大型百货商店。
JCPenney was looking to sublease four massive department stores that were failing.
谈判进展顺利，直到Penny突然抛出一个炸弹。
The negotiations went great until Penny dropped a bomb.
他们必须同时接手四家门店，否则一家都拿不到。
They had to take all four locations or none.
这简直太疯狂了。
And this was insane.
他们连开两家店的钱都捉襟见肘，更别说四家了。
They barely had any money for two stores, let alone four.
他们根本没有验证过这个商业模式。
They hadn't proven the concept at all.
但这个交易实在太好，不容错过。
But the deal was too good to pass up.
他们接受了交易，决定孤注一掷。
They took it and went all in.
要么同时开四家店大获成功，要么彻底失败。
They'd either open four stores and succeed spectacularly or fail.
现在他们有了合伙人、商业模式和店面位置。
So now they had the partners, they had a concept, and locations.
但他们现在缺少的是运营资金。
But what they didn't have now was working capital.
启动资金只够支付几年工资和开支，不足以支撑四家大型门店的库存和日常现金流需求。
Their seed money could cover salaries and expenses for a couple years, but not inventory or the daily cash flow needed to operate four massive stores.
于是肯向他们保证不会有问题。
So Ken assured them it'd be fine.
他认识各地的银行。
He knew banks everywhere.
然而，每家银行都拒绝了他们。
However, every single bank turned them down.
接着又差点与一个不合适的合伙人达成合作。
Then came another near miss with the wrong partner.
一位波士顿的风险投资家同意投资300万美元。
A Boston venture capitalist agreed to invest $3,000,000.
他们终于松了一口气。
Finally, they thought.
但当伯尼在看似敲定却未签协议后送投资人去机场时，对方突然提出了条件。
But as Bernie was driving the investor to the airport after supposedly sealing the deal but not signing, the man revealed his conditions.
取消所有公司配车，管理层降薪10%，最致命的是——取消员工医疗保险福利。
Eliminate all company cars, cut manager salaries by 10%, and then the kicker, no company paid health care for employees.
让我直接念伯尼书里的原话吧，此刻我可一点都不敢说错。
Let me read to you what Bernie wrote in the book because I don't wanna mess this up a bit at this moment.
热血涌上我的双眼。
The blood rose up in my eyes.
我猛打方向盘，把车停在了高速公路的路肩上。
I swerved and pulled the car onto the shoulder of the highway.
我的直觉告诉我这是个可怕的错误，而我的预感至今都是对的。
My gut told me this was a terrible mistake and my premonition so far had been right.
下车，我说。
Get out of the car, I said.
给我滚下车。
Get out of the goddamn car.
那人只是看着我。
The man just looked at me.
他觉得我疯了。
He thought I was crazy.
我们当时身处荒郊野外。
We were in the middle of nowhere.
汽车和卡车呼啸而过。
Cars and trucks were zipping by.
我说，下车。
I said, get out of the car.
你觉得我会和你这样的白痴同流合污吗？
Do you think I would get in bed with an imbecile like you?
给我滚出这该死的车。
Get out of the effing car.
你大可以走去机场，我才不在乎。
You can walk to the airport for all I care.
伯尼后来反思道，我并非鲁莽之人。
Bernie reflected later, I am not a loose cannon.
我的大脑飞速运转，权衡着利弊得失。
My mind was in overdrive weighing the pros and cons.
我那样拒绝他，把大家的职业生涯都置于危险境地。
I put everybody's careers in jeopardy by rejecting him that way.
我意识到虽然能拿到所需的资金，但我实在无法与这家伙共事。
I realized that I was going to get the money we needed, but I just couldn't live with this guy.
这家公司的成功并非来自奇迹。
This company didn't blossom from miracles.
它源于我们的直觉——知道该与谁做生意，又该避开谁。
It came from our instincts, knowing whom to do business with and whom to avoid.
这是我第二次拒绝急需的资金，只因合作对象不合适。
For the second time, rejected desperately needed money because the partner was wrong.
要想成功，就该善待员工，而不是削减他们的医疗保险来取悦投资者。
If they were going to succeed, it would be by taking care of their people, not cutting their health insurance to please some investor.
最后，伯尼绝望地给洛杉矶安全太平洋银行的里普·弗莱明打了电话。
Finally, desperately, Bernie called Rip Fleming at Security Pacific Bank in LA.
里普曾是他们在Handy Dan的银行家，了解伯尼和亚瑟。
Rip had been their banker at Handy Dan, and he knew Bernie and Arthur.
他信任他们，之前也曾为他们挺身而出。
He trusted them, and he'd gone to bat for them before.
但就连瑞普也拒绝了。
But even Rip said no.
这笔贷款风险太高。
The loan was too risky.
对他的银行来说太过非传统，无法考虑。
It was too unconventional for his bank to consider.
但伯尼拒绝接受否定的答复，于是他威胁要带着睡袋在瑞普的办公室露营，直到他同意为止。
But Bernie refused to accept no for an answer, so he threatened to camp out in Rip's office with a sleeping bag until he said yes.
更重要的是，他提醒瑞普其中的利害关系。
More importantly, he reminded Rip what was at stake.
这不仅是一个商业机会，更是那些曾相信这个梦想的人们的生计与职业生涯。
It was not just a business opportunity, but the lives and careers of people who had believed in a dream.
瑞普在太平洋安全银行内部为他们据理力争。
Rip fought for them inside Security Pacific.
他三次被贷款专员拒绝，那些人眼里只有数字。
He got rejected three times by loan officers who saw nothing but numbers.
最终，里普受够了。
Finally, Rip had had enough.
他冲进CEO的办公室，摔上门，把辞职信扔在桌上。
He stormed into his CEO's office, slammed the door, and threw his resignation letter on the desk.
他对CEO说：'你们需要的不是银行家'。
You don't need a banker, he told the CEO.
'你们需要的是一台电脑。'
You need a computer.
'雇个年轻人来接手我的工作吧。'
Hire some young kid to come in here and do my job.
'我看重的是人。'
I buy people.
'伯尼·马库斯和亚瑟·布兰克都是好人，而你们已经拒绝他们三次，也拒绝了我三次。'
Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank are good people, and you have turned them and me down three times.
'显然这里已经不再需要我了。'
You obviously don't need me here anymore.
而这位CEO，值得称赞的是，他在那一刻意识到失去瑞普·弗莱明意味着损失4亿美元的账户。
And the CEO, to his credit, realized at that moment that losing Rip Fleming meant losing $400,000,000 in accounts.
于是突然间，这笔350万美元的贷款变成了一个价值4亿美元的决定。
So suddenly, this $3,500,000 loan was a $400,000,000 decision.
因此他别无选择。
So he had no choice.
他撕碎了辞职信，打电话给贷款官员，命令他们必须批准这笔贷款，无论他们是否愿意。
He tore up the resignation and called the loan officers and told them to make the loan, whether you like it or not.
瑞普从未告诉伯尼他为伯尼做了什么。
Rip never told Bernie what he did for him.
事实上，伯尼直到瑞普的退休派对上坐在CEO旁边时才得知此事。
In fact, Bernie didn't find this out until Rip's retirement party when he sat next to the CEO.
当他听到这个故事时，他忍不住泪流满面。
When he heard the story, he broke down into tears.
这个男人曾为他们冒了职业生涯的风险，却从未提过一个字。
This man had risked his career for them and never said a word.
同样的事情也发生在全食超市的约翰·麦基身上。
The same thing happened to John Mackie at Whole Foods.
是不是很疯狂？
Isn't that crazy?
这个充满荒谬的故事还有一点：当他们搞定门店融资后，还需要给店铺起个名字。
There's one more absurdity in this story full of once they had financing for the locations in place, they still needed a name for the stores.
他们想出的最佳方案是MB仓库，但没人喜欢这个名字。
The best idea they had come up with was MB's Warehouse, which nobody liked.
于是他们雇了个高级顾问，结果对方提出了'坏蛋伯尼建材城'的方案，还配了个卡通吉祥物和囚服造型，标语是'他们把我关起来是因为我卖得太便宜了'。
So they hired a fancy consultant and came back with Bad Bernie's Build All, complete with a cartoon mascot and a prison uniform with the tagline, they locked me up because I sold at such low prices.
他们的银行救星里普·弗莱明委婉地建议他们换个名字。
Rip Fleming, their banker's savior, diplomatically suggested they find another name.
最终，一位投资人的妻子在开会回家路上经过一家铁路主题餐厅时，草草写下了一串名字。
Eventually, an investor's wife driving home from a meeting and passing a railroad themed restaurant scribbled down a list of names.
其中一个名字把'家'和'迪帕'组合在了一起。
One of them combined home with Deepa.
虽然不是一见钟情，但肯定比'坏伯尼'强多了。
It wasn't love at first sight, but it sure beat Bad Bernie's.
正如伯尼后来反思的那样，名字并不是最重要的。
As Bernie later reflected, the name is not the most important thing.
是实体为名字创造了价值。
It's the entity that creates value in the name.
开业当天他们遭遇了灾难，结果却变成了意外之财。
On opening day, they faced disaster, but it turned out to be a bonanza.
他们负担不起大型电视广告活动，因此宣布家得宝1979年6月22日盛大开业的主要广告计划在前一天刊登在《亚特兰大宪政报》上。
They couldn't afford a major television commercial campaign, so the primary ad announcing the grand opening of Home Depot on 06/22/1979 was going to run the day before in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
但在开业前一天，当伯尼在自家车道上取回报纸，翻找他们那占两版的大幅广告时，却发现它根本不在那里。
But the day before opening when Bernie picked up his paper in his driveway and started to flip through to find their massive two page spread, it wasn't there.
于是伯尼打电话给报社编辑。
So Bernie called the editor.
他的声音都颤抖了。
His voice was breaking.
你刚刚毁了我们。
You just killed us.
你毁了我们。
You killed us.
我们正努力让这家公司起步，而你一个人就让我们倒闭了。
We're trying to get this company off the ground, and you single handedly put us out of business.
编辑深感懊悔。
The editor was contrite.
他对这个错误感到非常懊恼，但这并不能帮助他们度过开业周末。
He felt truly awful about the mistake, but that didn't help them on their opening weekend.
他们破产了。
They were broke.
他们全部的广告预算都投入到了开业版面上。
Their entire ad budget had gone to that opening spread.
他们没有任何犯错的空间。
They had no margin for error.
开业日没有广告宣传，就像举办派对却无人告知。
Opening day without advertising was like throwing a party without telling anyone.
作为开业策略的一部分，他们让妻儿到所有四家门店的停车场和街上分发701美元钞票，试图吸引顾客。
As part of their opening day strategy, they sent their kids and wives into the parking lot of all four stores and onto the street to hand out $701 bills to try to lure customers in.
但由于报纸广告缺失，情况糟糕到连这些钞票都发不出去。
But things were so bad without the newspaper ad that literally couldn't give the dollar bills away.
广告最终在开业当天才刊出，报社对他们的失误感到无地自容。
The ad finally ran on opening day itself, and the newspaper was mortified by their error.
他们连续数周将新闻版块的封底位置给了家得宝。
They gave Home Depot the back page of their news sections for weeks.
这块黄金广告位他们原本根本负担不起。
It was prime real estate they never could have afforded.
于是坏事最终变成了好事。
So out of something bad came something really good.
但这还不是开业当天唯一的危机。
But that wasn't the only crisis on opening day.
帕特·法拉在开业日黎明前给伯尼打了电话。
Pat Farrah called Bernie before sunrise on opening day.
我们手上又出了个乱子。
We have another disaster on our hands.
你看到后会发疯的。
You're gonna go crazy when you see it.
马上来见我。
Meet me right away.
帕特早早到达员工集会现场，发现店铺一尘不染。
Pat arrived early for the employee rally and found the store sparkling clean.
混凝土地板被打蜡得闪闪发亮。
The concrete floors had been waxed until they gleamed.
这到底是怎么回事？
What the hell happened?
帕特质问店经理们。
Pat demanded of the store managers.
是谁把店铺搞砸的？
Who screwed up the store?
两位经理站在那里，满脸自豪。
Two managers stood there beaming with pride.
他们连夜请来清洁团队作为惊喜，想让开业典礼一切完美。
They brought in cleaning crews overnight as a surprise, wanting everything perfect for the grand opening.
你疯了吗？帕特尖叫道。
You are out of your mind, Pat screamed.
把叉车开过来。
Get the forklifts.
把托盘搬运车拿来。
Get the pallet jacks.
伯尼、帕特和所有能抓到的人利用开业前的剩余时间，开着叉车在店里横冲直撞，故意在拐角处打滑，刮花那些漂亮的地板，让它们恢复成工作仓库的模样。
Bernie, Pat, and anyone they could grab spent the remaining time before opening, racing forklifts around the store, deliberately skidding around corners, scuffing and scratching those beautiful floors to make them look like a working warehouse again.
家得宝本就不该是超市或百货商店。
The Home Depot wasn't supposed to be a supermarket or a department store.
这些是充满行动力的场所。
These were action places.
设计理念就是要让它们看起来像被频繁使用过。
The idea was for them to look shopped.
这就是为什么他们最初没有为木材买家设置后门入口。
It's why they didn't, at first, put in a rear entrance for lumber buyers.
这就是为什么所有承包商和专业客户都要和DIY顾客一起在前台收银处排队。
It's why they had all contractors and professionals go to the front registers right beside the do it yourself customers.
这营造了热闹的氛围。
That created action.
我们希望大宗商品从前门运出并在停车场装货，这样每个人都能看到。
We wanted the big stuff going out the front and loaded in the parking lot so that everyone saw it.
除此之外，自己动手的顾客发现承包商购买两套石膏板和他们支付的价格相同。
On top of that, the do it yourselfers saw that the contractor buying two units of Sheetrock paid the same price as they did.
承包商并没有秘密的后门折扣。
There was no secret backdoor discount for contractors.
我们的定价对所有人都是公平的，而不仅仅是特定群体。
We were priced right for everyone, not just a select group.
对我们来说，店内的另一个重要理念是商品不需要持续前置摆放。
Another important concept for us inside the store was that the merchandise not be constantly fronted.
我们不想让商品被推到货架的最前端。
We didn't want products pushed to the front edge of the shelves.
如果所有东西都排列得整整齐齐，那就说明它卖得不好。
If everything is perfectly lined up, that tells you it's not selling.
毫无活力可言
There's no action.
而且，维持表面繁荣需要耗费太多精力
Besides, it takes too much energy to maintain the facade of fronting everything.
我们只做一次表面功夫，绝不重复
We front the products once but never again.
这样我们就能看清什么商品畅销，顾客也能感受到走道里的热闹氛围
That way, we can see what is selling and our customers feel like there's action in the aisles.
商品正面展示是另一种我们不认同的做法。
Facing the product is another practice we don't believe in.
西尔斯和True Value会进行商品正面展示，也就是花钱雇员工在店里把商品标签转向顾客。
Sears and True Value face their product, meaning they pay employees to go through the store and turn the labels out facing customers.
这样看起来不错，但成本极其高昂。
It looks good, but it's tremendously expensive.
我们发现这会妨碍我们以最低价格提供商品。
We find it gets in the way of offering product at the lowest possible price.
在早期顾客稀少到伯尼能一个个数清的日子里，他把每个空手离开的顾客都当成个人失败。
In the early days when customers were so scarce that Bernie could count them individually, he took every empty handed exit personally.
他真的会追到停车场去询问人们。
He would literally run into the parking lot after people.
我们没备齐您需要的什么商品？
What is it that we don't carry that you need?
您为什么没买东西呢？
Why didn't you buy something?
他会在后面喊住他们。
He'd call after them.
通常，答案很简单。
Usually, the answer was simple.
我没找到我要买的东西。
I didn't find what I came in for.
伯尼的回答从未改变。
Bernie's response never changed.
天哪。
Oh my gosh.
非常抱歉您没找到它。
I'm so sorry you didn't find it.
我们是有货的。
We carry it.
只是刚好卖完了。
We just happen to be out of it.
如果你给我你的姓名和地址，我会亲自送货上门。
If you give me your name and address, I will deliver it to you personally.
然后他会开车去竞争对手那里买下商品，亲自撕掉价格标签，再送到顾客家中。
Then he would drive to a competitor with the product, buy it himself, peel off the price sticker, and personally deliver it to the customer's home.
顾客想要的每件商品，他们店里都没有。
Every product a customer wanted, they didn't have.
伯尼会记下来并订购。
Bernie noted down and ordered.
所以几周内，商品就会出现在家得宝的货架上。
So within weeks, it would be on Home Depot shelf.
但更重要的是，他正在逐个建立顾客的信任。
But more importantly, he was building customer trust one person at a time.
这成为了家得宝的一切。
This became everything at Home Depot.
他们竭尽所能满足顾客需求。
They do whatever it took to satisfy customers.
不仅仅是伯尼这样。
And it wasn't just Bernie.
大家都纷纷效仿。
Everyone caught on.
这里有个早期的例子。
Here's one early example.
一位女士来店里想买一盏枝形吊灯。
A woman came in looking for a chandelier.
于是店员帮她挑选了一款。
So an associate helped her pick one out.
但当她在家安装好后，发现吊灯对她房间来说太小了。
But when she got it installed at home, she realized it was too small for her room.
于是她尴尬地回来要求换更大的，尽管最初那款正是她自己选的。
So she came back embarrassed asking for a bigger one even though the first one was exactly the one she'd requested.
之前那盏灯你们怎么处理的？
What did you do with the other one?
店员问道。
The associate asked.
哦，我还放在家里呢。
Oh, I have it at home.
好吧，我会把它带回来的。
Well, I'll bring it back.
她说：我不知道怎么拆下来才不会触电。
I don't know how to take it down without being electrocuted, she said.
这位店员毫不犹豫。
The associate didn't hesitate.
告诉我你住在哪里，我下班顺路过去。
Tell me where you live on my way home.
我会帮你安装新的，拆下旧的，并给你退款差价。
I will put the new one up for you, take the old one down, and we'll give you an adjustment.
六个月后，这位女士将她拥有的200套出租房全部进行了翻新。
Six months later, that same woman remodeled all 200 rental units she owned.
每一样东西——马桶、洗手台、浴缸、地毯、吊灯——她都是从家得宝购买的。
Every single thing, toilets, sinks, bathtubs, carpeting, chandelier, she bought from Home Depot.
于是这75美元的吊灯更换业务，最终转化成了数十万美元的生意。
So this $75 chandelier exchange turned into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
这里还有另一个早期的例子。
And here's another early example.
灯具部门主管有40位老客户都想买同一款新的百得蛇形灯，但他所在的店铺已经售罄。
The lighting department head who had 40 regular customers all wanting the same new Black and Decker snake light, but his store was sold out.
于是他打电话给区域内所有其他家得宝门店，询问能否调拨部分库存。
So he called every other Home Depot in the district asking if he could get some of their inventory.
每家店都拒绝了。
Every one of them said no.
尽管有库存，他们都说自己也需要保留现有货品。
Despite having inventory, they said they needed what they had.
于是他开车去那些门店，用自己的信用卡买了40盏灯，带回自己店里办理了退款，然后走到柜台另一侧拿起所有40盏灯，逐一打电话给客户说：'我帮您找到灯了。'
So he drove to those stores, bought 40 lights on his own credit card, brought them back to his store, got himself a refund at the register, and then walked to the other side of the counter, picked up all 40 lights, and called each customer saying, I got your lights.
这里的教训非常明显。
The lesson here is pretty clear.
客户服务不是一个部门。
Customer service isn't a department.
它是一种理念。
It's a philosophy.
出于这种执着，家得宝公司制定了他们所谓的《顾客权利法案》。
Out of this obsession, the Home Depot developed what they call the customer's bill of rights.
他们认为，这些就是顾客在家得宝唯一愿意为之付费的东西。
These were, they believed, the only things a customer wanted to pay for at the Home Depot.
正确的品类、正确的数量、合理的价格、销售层照顾顾客的员工、经过适当产品知识培训的员工，以及确保顾客需要时员工随时在岗的承诺。
The right assortment, the right quantities, the right price, associates on the Sales floor who take care of customers, associates who have been trained properly in terms of product knowledge, and the expectation that our associates will be there when the customers need them.
这六点共同构成了卓越的客户服务。
Together, those six things represented excellent customer service.
伯尼认为，除此之外的一切都是浪费。
Everything else, Bernie argued, was a waste.
顾客并不愿意为更宽的过道或更亮的灯光买单。
Customers didn't wanna pay for wider aisles or brighter lights.
他们不想要花哨的展示或铺着地毯的地面。
They didn't want fancy displays or carpeted floors.
他们需要的是帮助、专业知识、公平的价格和商品的可获得性。
They wanted help, knowledge, fair prices, and availability.
仅此而已。
That's it.
这一点从未改变。
This hasn't changed.
尽管这在1979年时是革命性的理念，某种程度上至今仍是。
This was revolutionary at the time, though, in 1979, and it kind of still is.
伯尼希望家得宝成为美国第一个真正全国性的家装品牌。
Bernie wanted the Home Depot to be the first truly national home improvement brand in America.
当时有许多成功的区域性连锁店，它们经营稳健，利润丰厚。
There were a lot of successful territory chains, and they were making good money running solid businesses.
但除了伯尼，没人想过更大的格局。
But nobody thought bigger than that, except for Bernie.
他看到了山姆·沃尔顿如何将沃尔玛的理念从海岸到海岸推广开来。
He saw what Sam Walton had done with Walmart, taking a concept and spreading it coast to coast.
他看到了好友索尔·普莱斯如何经营普莱斯俱乐部。
He saw what his friend, Saul Price, was doing with Price Club.
他知道家居建材行业也即将迎来同样的变革。
He knew home improvement was ripe for the same transformation.
而肯相信了他的判断。
And Ken believed him.
亚瑟相信了他的判断。
Arthur believed him.
帕特相信了他的判断。
Pat believed him.
更重要的是，他们还说服了供应商、银行家和早期投资人也相信这个愿景。
And more importantly, they convinced their vendors, bankers, and early investors to believe them too.
他们甚至说服了亚特兰大的部分顾客。
They'd even convinced a few customers in Atlanta.
现在他们需要说服全美其他地区。
Now they had to convince the rest of America.
成为家喻户晓品牌的道路，如同家得宝多数事务的开端——做无人预料之事，并在过程中从错误中学习。
The path to becoming a household name started as most things did at The Home Depot with doing something nobody expected and learning from mistakes along the way.
1980年，家得宝遇到了一个难题。
In 1980, The Home Depot had a problem.
他们聘请了一家昂贵的加州广告公司，结果却毫无产出。
They'd hired an expensive California ad agency, and they were producing exactly nothing of value.
于是他们解雇了那家公司，转而雇用了亚特兰大本地人梅尔·芬克尔，他真正了解他们的客户。
So they fired them and hired a local Atlanta guy named Mel Finkel, who actually understood their customers.
芬克尔有个主意。
And Finkel had an idea.
你们应该让拉德洛·波奇来拍些广告。
You ought to have Ludlow Porch do some commercials.
Porch是亚特兰大当地的一位电台主持人。
Porch was a local radio personality in Atlanta.
好吧，伯尼对芬克尔说。
Alright, Bernie told Finkel.
我们试试看吧。
Let's try them.
两天后，芬克尔给他们播放了第一条Ludlow Porch广告。
Two days later, Finkel played them the first Ludlow Porch commercial.
各位，我刚去了41号公路上一家新开的家得宝。
Folks, I've just been down to a new place on Highway 41, The Home Depot.
我在那儿转了一圈，他们应有尽有。
I walked around there, and they had this and that.
说真的，要是这些店再大点儿，我们怕是得交阿拉巴马州的销售税了。
I tell you, if these stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax.
最好带个三明治，因为你得逛上好一阵子。
Better bring a sandwich too because you're gonna be walking around a while.
他们对此爱不释手。
They loved every second of it.
他想要多少广告费？
How much does he want for these commercials?
伯尼问道。
Bernie asked.
1.5美元，芬克尔说。
$1.50, Finkel said.
15万？
A 150,000?
伯尼大吃一惊。
Bernie was aghast.
不可能。
No way.
它们没那么好。
They aren't that good.
不，伯尼，芬克尔说，150美元。
No, Bernie, Finkel said, a $150.
另一个人说，好吧，那它们肯定不怎么样。
Someone else said, well, then they can't be any good.
然后帕特·法雷尔笑了，他说，嘿，伙计们。
And then Pat Farrell laughed, and he said, hey, guys.
什么价格能让它们变得好起来？
What's the price that makes them good?
波奇从未与家得宝管理层交谈过，伯尼也永远猜不到他下一句会说什么，但他相信他会说对。
Porch never spoke to Home Depot management, and Bernie never knew what he would say next, but he trusted him to say it right.
他的声音成为了家得宝在亚特兰大的代名词。
His voice became synonymous with the Home Depot in Atlanta.
然而，要扩展到亚特兰大以外，他们需要一个比地方电台主持人更具广泛吸引力的人。
To expand beyond Atlanta, however, they needed someone with a broader appeal than a regional radio guy.
他们在老对手Handy Dan那里找到了这个人。
They found him in their old nemesis, Handy Dan.
阿尔·卡罗尔，那位超级杂工，在伯尼和亚瑟被解雇后成为了Handy Dan的代言人。
Al Carroll, the super handyman, had become Handy Dan's spokesperson after Bernie and Arthur were fired.
他因报纸和广播节目而全国闻名，但从未听说过家得宝，并断然拒绝了伯尼。
He was nationally known for his newspaper and radio features, but he never heard of The Home Depot and turned Bernie down flat.
但现在这已成为一种模式，伯尼不接受否定的回答。
But in what's becoming a pattern now, Bernie was not taking no for an answer.
听着，伯尼再次尝试道。
Look, Bernie tried again.
我知道你要来亚特兰大参加家居展。
I know you're coming to Atlanta for a home show.
至少让我去酒店接你，带你去参观一家家得宝门店。
Let me at least pick you up at your hotel and take you over to one of the Home Depot stores.
如果你不认为这是商业史上最伟大的创举，我保证再也不打扰你。
If you don't think it's the greatest thing in business, I will never bother you again.
为了摆脱伯尼的纠缠，卡罗尔答应了。
Hoping to get Bernie off his back, Carol agreed.
在开车途中，伯尼描绘的景象如此不可思议，让卡罗尔不禁怀疑自己到底卷入了什么。
On the drive, Bernie painted a picture so unbelievable that Carol wondered what he'd gotten himself into.
但这家店完全如伯尼描述的那样规模庞大、货品堆积如山。
But this store was every bit as massive and overstocked as Bernie described.
真正让卡罗尔震惊的是伯尼能叫出每位员工的名字，而他们也都认识他。
What really struck Carol was how Bernie knew every single associate by name, and they all knew him.
好几次在他们逛店时，伯尼都会分心去询问这个人的孩子、那个人的妻子，或是最近的手术情况。
Several times, Bernie got distracted while they were walking around asking about this one's kids or that one's wife or a recent operation.
那次门店参观改变了一切。
That store visit changed everything.
卡罗尔成为了家得宝接下来八年的代言人。
Carol became the Home Depot's spokesperson for the next eight years.
他意外获得的股票期权让他变得极其富有。
His unexpected stock options made him incredibly wealthy.
不过家得宝对销售额上瘾得就像吸毒一样。
Home Depot was addicted to sales like a drug, though.
销售额随着他们双周刊的发布而起伏。
Sales rose and fell with the publication of their biweekly catalog.
顾客会等着看促销商品，然后蜂拥而至。
Customers would wait to see what was on sale then flood the store.
销售额会在一两天内激增，然后逐渐下降，直到下一期目录发布。
Sales would spike for a day or two and then dribble down until the next catalog.
那是在UPC码和计算机条形码出现之前的时代，每件商品都需要手动定价和贴标。
This was in the days before UPC codes and computerized barcoding when every item had to be manually priced and stickered.
当产品在我们的目录中促销时，意味着熬夜的员工在前一晚给商品贴上了红色标签。
When products went on sale in our catalog, it meant bleary eyed associates red tagged the items the night before.
促销结束后，如果还有剩余商品，他们必须手动撕下那些红色标签并重新定价。
And when the sale was over, if anything was left, they had to remove those red stickers and reprice the items by hand.
这是一个劳动密集且容易出错的过程。
It was a labor intensive and error prone process.
这既令人疲惫又效率低下，而这一切只为换来短暂的25%销售额提升。
It was exhausting, inefficient, and all for a brief 25% bump in sales.
家得宝的每日低价策略源自索尔·普莱斯和山姆·沃尔顿。
Everyday low pricing at The Home Depot originated with Saul Price and Sam Walton.
无论沃尔顿走到哪里，他都会去家得宝看看。
Wherever Walton traveled, he would visit a Home Depot.
当伯尼到访沃尔玛总部学习员工股票期权计划时，沃尔顿心里却想着别的事。
When Bernie visited Walmart's headquarters to learn about their employee stock option plan, Walton had something else on his mind.
你们为什么还要继续搞促销活动？
Why do you continue to run sales?
沃尔顿问道。
Walton asked.
你们不会断货吗？
Don't you run out of merchandise?
是啊，伯尼说。
Yeah, Bernie said.
我们经常断货。
We run out of merchandise all the time.
事实上，我们不得不把商品藏在后仓，否则促销目录还没发出去，顾客就会把所有商品抢购一空。
In fact, we have to hold back stuff in the back room because otherwise, people will buy all the merchandise before our sale catalogs hit.
你们为什么不采用和我们一样的每日低价策略呢？
Why don't you go to everyday low prices like we have?
沃尔顿和他的合伙人戴维·格拉斯详细解释了这种模式在各个层面的运作，最终得出结论：如果把每日低价作为营销理念，并列出利弊权衡，你绝不会选择除每日低价之外的任何策略。
Walton and his partner David Glass explained how it worked on every level, concluding that if you take everyday low prices as a marketing philosophy and you list the pros and cons, you would never do anything other than everyday low prices.
那些出身背景不同的人对此表示抗拒。
People who come out of a different background resisted.
制造商可以据此规划生产。
Manufacturers could plan production.
门店能保持库存稳定。
Stores stayed in stock.
员工不必频繁调整价格标签。
Employees weren't constantly repricing.
顾客相信他们在一周中的任何一天都能获得实惠。
Customers trusted that they were getting good deals on any day of the week.
伯尼立刻明白了其中的逻辑，但在内部推行却异常艰难。
Bernie saw the logic immediately, but selling it internally was brutal.
商家们热爱促销活动。
Merchants loved the sale.
他们热衷于策划新促销来吸引顾客的刺激感。
They lived for the excitement of creating new promotions to lure customers.
但伯尼看到了更深层的东西。
But Bernie understood something deeper.
促销实际上是一种弱点。
Sales were actually a weakness.
每日低价意味着整体销售更稳定，更容易保持库存。
Everyday low prices meant more consistent sales overall, meaning it easier to stay in stock.
我们之前会给商品打折的价格，现在就应该一直按这个价格销售。
Whatever the price we would previously have discounted an item, that's the price we should be selling in at all the time.
这一转变意味着永久性全面降价，对他们的损益表造成了巨大影响。
The switch meant permanently marking everything down, which was a massive change to their p and l.
他们上市后市盈率很高，所以一个糟糕的季度就可能让股价崩盘。
They were now public with high PE ratio, so one bad quarter could tank their stock.
但伯尼和亚瑟坚持推进。
But Bernie and Arthur pushed forward.
大多数零售商做不到或没这么做是有原因的。
There was a reason most retailers can't and didn't do it.
他们缺乏实现这一目标的魄力与远见。
They didn't have the fortitude or the vision to make it happen.
家得宝将总销售额的3%以上用于广告，而沃尔玛仅投入1.5%。
Home Depot was spending over 3% of gross sales on advertising, while Walmart was only spending 1.5%.
这里存在巨大的节省空间。
There was a lot of money to be saved.
整个实施过程耗时一年多，每天都要面对全组织的抵制。
And it took over a year to implement, the whole organization fighting them daily.
当销售曲线趋平时，所有人都慌了。
When the sales curve flattened, everyone panicked.
那些销售高峰都去哪了？
Where were the spikes?
但新策略实际上全面提升了销售额。
But the new strategy actually raised sales across the board.
他们只是无法明显察觉这一点，因为他们已对销售高峰的戏剧性变化上瘾。
They just couldn't see it as obviously because they were addicted to the drama of the spike.
1981年，一位艺术家创作了一个卡通角色作为他们的吉祥物——荷马。
In 1981, an artist created a cartoon character who became their mascot, Homer.
他穿着格子衬衫和牛仔裤，是典型的DIY爱好者形象，总在自家忙活各种活计。
He wore plaid shirts and jeans, the typical DIYer, doing jobs around his house.
很快他就戴上了家得宝的帽子和围裙，像米老鼠为迪士尼代言那样，为他们的广告增添了人格魅力。
And soon, he was wearing a Home Depot hat and apron, adding personality to their ads the way Mickey Mouse did for Disney.
但家得宝与其他零售商真正的不同之处在于：
But here's what made The Home Depot different from every other retailer.
他们发现自己其实不需要荷马这个吉祥物。
They discovered they didn't need Homer.
他们拥有更好的东西——自己的员工。
They had something better, their own people.
到了九十年代，家得宝的电视广告开始让16万名穿橙色围裙的员工出镜。
By the nineties, Home Depot's TV commercials started featuring their 160,000 associates in orange aprons.
没有剧本，也没有彩排。
There were no scripts and no rehearsal.
他们只是打开摄像机，向员工询问有关油漆、管道或电动工具的问题。
They just turned the camera on and asked an associate a question about paint, plumbing, or power tools.
这份热情是真实的。
The passion was real.
他们的知识渊博，没有人比那些每天亲身体验的人更能推销这家店。
The knowledge was deep, and nobody could sell the store better than the people who lived it every day.
因此，那些橙色围裙比任何吉祥物都更具标志性。
So those orange aprons became more iconic than any mascot could ever be.
伯尼发现了一些关键的东西。
Bernie had discovered something crucial.
你无法将真实性赋予演员。
You can't give authenticity to an actor.
公司最佳代言人正是那些真心相信你所构建事业的人。
The best spokesperson for your company are the people who actually believe in what you're building.
因此当竞争对手聘请名人时，家得宝却将基层员工打造成明星。
Therefore, while his competitors hired celebrities, Home Depot turned its floor workers into stars.
接着是1996年亚特兰大夏季奥运会，家得宝作为全国性品牌的亮相盛会在此举行。
And then there was the nineteen ninety six Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where Home Depot's coming out party as a national brand happened.
亚特兰大是他们的家乡。
Atlanta was their hometown.
他们在那里拥有的员工数量超过其他任何地方，家得宝对亚特兰大的重要性已堪比可口可乐、达美航空或CNN。
They had more associates there than anywhere else, and Home Depot had become as important to Atlanta as Coca Cola or Delta or CNN.
赞助家乡的奥运会就是他们的社交首秀。
Sponsoring their city's Olympics was their debutante ball.
他们在NBC电视台投入了数百万美元，并让数千名来自亚利桑那州和新罕布什尔州的员工齐聚亚特兰大参与其中。
They spent millions on NBC television and brought thousands of associates from Arizona and New Hampshire to Atlanta to participate.
当你成为奥运会官方赞助商之一时，你会获得包含赛事门票和住宿的礼包。
When you become one of the official Olympic sponsors, you get packages including event tickets and accommodations.
而家得宝公司获得了2000份这样的礼包。
And Home Depot had 2,000 packages.
其中一半给了供应商合作伙伴，另一半则分给了普通员工。
And half of them went to vendor partners, and the other half went to everyday associates.
他们是唯一将如此高比例的招待礼包分配给自家员工的赞助商。
They were the only sponsor who gave such a high percentage of hospitality packages to their own employees.
他们邀请的这些员工都因出色的客户服务而受到表彰。
The associates they invited had been recognized for outstanding customer service.
在许多情况下，这些人都是从未离开过家乡的。
And in many cases, they were the people who'd never left their hometown before.
他们甚至从未坐过飞机。
They'd never been on a plane.
绝大多数都是按小时计薪的普通员工，而非经理或高管。
The vast majority were hourly employees and not managers or executives.
公司正派遣收银员和基层员工开启他们一生难忘的旅程。
The company was sending cashiers and floor workers on the trip of a lifetime.
传递的信息很明确。
The message was clear.
那些穿橙色围裙的人不仅仅是员工。
The people in the orange aprons weren't just employees.
他们就是公司本身。
They were the company.
当家得宝从四家门店发展到数百家，并接近一千家时，伯尼面临着每位成功创始人都要面对的问题。
As the Home Depot grew from four stores to hundreds and then approached a thousand, Bernie faced a question that every successful founder faces.
如何在规模扩张中保持企业文化？
How do you maintain a culture as you scale?
他们的答案很简单，但需要持之以恒地执行。
And their answer was simple but required relentless execution.
他们从未离开过门店一线。
They never left the stores.
伯尼和亚瑟亲自巡视卖场
Bernie and Arthur walked the floors.
他们与员工和顾客交流
They talked to associates and customers.
他们授课教学，并出席门店开业活动
They taught classes, and they showed up at store openings.
他们让自己对所有人开放可及
They made themselves accessible to everyone.
伯尼设计了一个测试，能向他揭示门店运营状况的一切信息。
Bernie developed a test that revealed everything about a store's health to him.
当他突然造访时，他会计时看店员需要多久才能认出他——这不是出于自负，而是因为这能反映门店的真实情况。
When he walked in unannounced, he timed how long it took for an associate to recognize him, not because of ego, but because of what it revealed about the store.
如果他在店里待了45分钟都没人认出他，他就知道这家店存在严重问题。
If he could spend 45 minutes in a store without anyone recognizing him, he knew they had a serious problem.
根本没人进行眼神交流。
Nobody was making eye contact.
如果没人看他的脸，他们也不会看顾客的脸。
And if nobody was looking at his face, they weren't looking at customers' faces either.
但如果有人说，嘿，你不是伯尼·马库斯吗？
But if someone said, hey, aren't you Bernie Marcus?
五秒之内，他就知道那家店在关注、互动和建立联系。
Within five seconds, he knew that store was watching, engaging, and connecting.
文化不是通过备忘录或政策传播的。
Culture doesn't scale through memos or policies.
文化是通过无限重复的人际联系传播的。
It scales through human connection repeated endlessly.
到了九十年代末，家得宝已不仅仅是一家家居建材零售商。
And by the late nineteen nineties, Home Depot had become more than just a home improvement retailer.
当人们考虑进行家装项目时，首先想到的就是家得宝。
When people considered taking on a home project, they thought of Home Depot first.
橙色围裙已变得像星巴克杯子或耐克勾标一样具有辨识度。
The orange apron had become as recognizable as a Starbucks cup or Nike swoosh.
他们在不牺牲最初价值观的前提下实现了这一目标。
And they'd done it without sacrificing their original values.
低价、丰富的选择和卓越的客户服务始终是他们的北极星。
Low prices, wide selection, and extraordinary customer service remained their North Star.
伯尼证明了文化不在于你说什么，而在于你反复做什么。
Bernie proved that culture isn't what you say, it's what you repeatedly do.
他所做的就是不断出现，直到这种出现本身成为了文化。
And what he did was show up over and over until showing up became the culture itself.
到九十年代中期，家得宝已成为美国最受尊敬的企业之一。
By the mid nineteen nineties, the Home Depot had become one of America's most admired companies.
伯尼·马库斯明白大多数成功创始人会遗忘的道理。
Bernie Marcus knew something most successful founders forget.
你爬得越高，身边只对你说好话的人就越危险。
The higher you climb, the more dangerous it becomes to surround yourself with people who only tell you what you want to hear.
你需要找到那些敢于直言真相的人。
You need to find people who are going to speak the truth.
伯尼说，我有一个很好的能力，那就是让自己周围都是优秀的人。
I had one good ability, Bernie said, and that was to surround myself with people who were great.
如果我身边都是比我聪明的人，他们会让我看起来更出色。
If I surrounded myself with people who were smarter than I was, they would make me look even better.
但这不仅仅是雇佣聪明人那么简单。
But it wasn't just about hiring smart people.
关键在于营造一个鼓励甚至期待不同意见的环境。
It was about creating an environment where disagreement was encouraged and even expected.
我们会在某些事情上激烈争论。
We fought with one another on things.
如果你整天只和赞同你的人在一起，你会陷入大麻烦。
If you surround yourself with people who agree with you all day, you're going to be in deep, deep trouble.
这一理念贯穿家得宝的每个角落。
This philosophy extended throughout Home Depot.
门店经理会质疑总部的决策。
Store managers challenged corporate decisions.
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