8月29日

Finding the Best Books

The key ideas from a full-length business book … and an encounter with the man who writes these reviews

Before effective leaders get involved in risky or uncertain efforts, Badaracco writes that they check to see just how much political capital they have—an intangible entity consisting mainly of the person’s reputation and relationships at work, and the perception others have of that person. When quiet leaders take action on a difficult problem, they pay close attention to how much of this intangible capital they are risking and the likely returns on their investment.

When to put political capital at risk

Quiet leaders know that problems that seem simple and familiar are sometimes risky and complicated; hence, before they put their political capital at risk, they think about those risks and the possible rewards, considering what course of action would have the greatest possible impact with the least risk and cost. In the best case, doing what they feel is right will improve their reputations and relationships.

Bending the rules is not something we associate with responsible leadership; real leaders, according to the conventional view, play by the rules because they see it as their duty and it sets the right example for others in their organization. Day-to-day life situations are, however, often more complicated, revealing cases in which strict adherence to the rules might do more harm than good.

Seize opportunities

Because the world is ambiguous and uncertain, quiet leaders must respond in a particular way. They typically are reluctant to break the rules, but they don’t want to obey them mechanically and cause harm. In these instances, Badaracco writes, they look for imaginative or creative ways to bend the rules without breaking them. When they find a way to bend the rules, they seize the opportunity and use it to uphold their values and commitments.

Despite careful efforts, a leader’s commitment to solving a problem might lead him or her into situations in which the path ahead is far from clear, leaving the leader with no choice but to improvise to find a solution. Badaracco writes that this means they must find ways to nudge, test and carefully escalate their efforts. Instead of trying to crack the case, they look for ways to work the problem.

Specialized Terms

Return (n) 报酬 the profit from labor, investment or business

Vocabulary Focus

Intangible (adj) (of a business asset) that has no physical existence

Perception (n) the way you think about something and your idea of what it is like

Adherence (n) the fact of adhering to a particular rule, agreement, or belief

Ambiguous (adj) unclear and indefinite

Improvise (v) make (sth) from whatever is available, without preparation

Nudge (v) push (sb/sth) gently or gradually

Escalate (v) (cause sth to) increase or develop by successive stages; become or make (sth) more intense

Discussion Question

Have you ever used intangible entity to solve problems? Would you?

Extra Exercise

1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘Instead of trying to crack the case, they look for ways to work the problem.’

2. According to the recording, what else situation can we use ‘ambiguous’?

说明：

1.文本摘自《Advanced 彭蒙惠英语》，由chandler30亲自录入。更多节目可访www.studioclassroom.com

2.回帖内容为大家讨论类话题，如非个人隐私，请不要选中“只有楼主可见”，以便大家交流。

3.参考答案在二楼，回复可见。

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