酷兔英语


Ursula Burns, who started as an intern at Xerox Corp., eventually rose through the ranks to become the first African-American female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.


休拉•彭斯(Ursula Burns)从施乐公司(Xerox Corp.)的实习生做起,一步步地晋升,最后成为《财富》(Fortune)世界500强企业中的首位非裔美国籍女首席执行长。



During a talk at Catalyst's annual awards conference on Tuesday, the 54-year-old CEO recounted how her mother, who raised Burns in New York City public housing, loved to give out advice. One of her mom's favorite sayings, 'Where you are is not who you are. Remember that when you're rich and famous,' sticks with her to this day.


在周二举行的Catalyst年度颁奖大会上,54岁的彭斯在讲话中回忆了自己的母亲如何热衷于给人忠告。她母亲最喜欢的一句话是:你所处的地位并不代表你是什么样的人,等你有钱了出名了,别忘记这一点。她母亲在纽约市的公租房中将她养大。



Nowadays, young women ask her for advice on achieving their career goals. Here's what she tells them:


如今,年轻女性开始向她征询如何实现职业目标的建议。以下是她给出的忠告:



1. Find a good (older) husband. Burns met her husband, Lloyd Bean, while working at Xerox. A scientist and researcher, he was also 20 years her senior. 'He had already gone through this 'growing up' stuff,' she says. The age difference proved advantageous when Burns's job later required her to travel frequently and leave their two young children at home. Her husband retired, allowing Burns to focus on advancing her career. 'So the secret,' she jokes, 'is to marry someone 20 years older.'


1. 找一个(年纪比你大的)好老公。彭斯在施乐工作期间结识了自己的丈夫劳埃德•比恩(Lloyd Bean)。比恩是一位科学家、研究员,年纪比彭斯大20岁。彭斯说,他已经历过从男孩到男人的成长过程。事实证明,两人之间年龄有差距是有好处的,因为后来彭斯因工作需要常常出差,将两个年幼的孩子留在家里。她丈夫已经退休,这样彭斯就可以专注于自己的职业发展。她开玩笑地说,所以秘密就在于嫁给一个比你大20岁的老公。



2. Redefine work-life balance. It's a 'fool's journey' to try to achieve perfect balance between one's professional and personal lives, Burns says. Instead, she suggests women get comfortable with the idea of taking 'your entire life to find balance. You should have balance, on average, over time not in a day or in a month.'


2. 重新界定工作和生活之间的平衡。彭斯说,试图在职业生活和个人生活之间实现完美平衡是徒劳的。她建议,女性要逐渐适应穷尽一生找到平衡的想法。你应该达到平衡,但一般来说需要逐渐实现,这不是一朝一夕的事。



3. Be selfish sometimes. Burns advises 'checking out' occasionally to put personal needs ahead of career and family. 'Think about your health, physically and mentally,' she says. A failure to do so, she warns, can put everything else at risk.


3. 偶尔自私一下。彭斯建议,偶尔将自己的个人需要放在职业和家庭之上。她说,想想自己的健康,无论是身体健康还是心理健康。她警告说,如果自己不健康,那其他一切都将面临风险。



4. Don't take guilt trips. Mothers often feel pressure to be present for their children all the time, but such expectations are neither realistic nor necessary, Burns says. 'Kids are pretty resilient,' she says. 'You don't have to be at every volleyball game. We can't guilt ourselves.' Her own mother missed many of her extracurricular activities, she adds, 'and I'm fine.'


4. 不要活在内疚的阴影里。彭斯说,妈妈们常常感觉必须时时刻刻参与到孩子的生活中,但这样的期望既不现实也没有必要。她说,孩子们复原能力很强,你不必孩子的每场排球赛都去看,我们不能让自己内疚着活下去。彭斯还说,她的母亲就错过了她的很多课外活动,而她并不觉得有什么问题。



5. Don't take life too seriously. 'Ninety percent of this stuff is just not that serious,' she says. 'We get crazy about it.' Burns says she often thinks back to her mother's advice to stay grounded. 'Continually go back to the basic stuff,' she says. 'Be prudent. Enjoy it.'


5. 不要活得太较真。她说,有90%的事情都不必那么认真,但我们却过于较真。彭斯说,她常常回想她母亲有关淡定的忠告。她说,时不时地回归到基本,慎重行事,享受生活。



Leslie Kwoh


Leslie Kwoh