转载自：http://www.fortunechina.com
作者：英国《金融时报》专栏作家斯蒂芬•斯特恩(Stefan Stern) 2009-04-20
 
回想一下你做过的最重要的一次商务陈述，把它的重要性乘上100倍，你就可以想象出，当塞巴斯蒂安•科(Sebastian Coe)在2005年7月的新加坡起身向国际奥委会(IOC)做伦敦申办2012年奥运会的陈述时，他作何感受了。
Think about the most important business presentation you have ever had to make. Then multiply its importance 100 times. Now you know how Sebastian Coe felt when he rose to present London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic games to the International Olympic Committee in Singapore in July 2005.
这位前运动员已习惯了高压场合——比如奥运决赛，这或许对他做陈述有所帮助。多年的准备和辛劳都倾注到了那最扣人心弦的几分钟里。
It probably helped that the former athlete was used to high-pressure situations – Olympic finals, for example. Years of preparation and hard work had led to those few most intense moments.
准备工作对科勋爵(Lord Coe)那天在新加坡取得成功至关重要。他还意识到，只有展现出个人的感染力才会使国际奥委会相信，伦敦的申办要比主要对手——巴黎和马德里——更具实力。
Preparation was key to Lord Coe's success that day in Singapore as well. That, and the realisation that only a personal appeal would persuade the IOC that London's bid was stronger than those being made by its main rivals, Paris and Madrid.
“[那些陈述]写得非常贴近生活，但它们必须要展现个人，”他解释道。这番策划收到了成效。
“[These presentations] are choreographed to within an inch of their lives, but they have to be personal,” he explains. The planning paid off.
“在一个重大的公共时刻背后，有着成千上万的私人时刻。无论是在商界、体育界，还是在[国会]的讲台前发表重要演讲，情况都是如此。”
“It's those thousands of private moments that go to the one big public moment, whether it's in business, in sport or delivering a great speech across the despatch box [in parliament].”
科勋爵今年52岁，但看上去依然健康、年轻，仿佛随时可以重返跑道。但他自己坦言，他现在比作运动员时重了“十二、三磅”。
Now 52, Lord Coe still looks track-ready fit and youthful – although he confesses that, these days, he is “12 or 13 pounds” heavier than when he was competing.
作为伦敦2012年奥组委主席，他如今只有三年多一点的时间来做好一切准备。他正全力展开工作，在他漫长而成功的体育生涯中帮他打破多项纪录、获得多块奖牌的忍耐力现在支撑着他。
As chairman of the London 2012 games he has just over three years left to get everything ready. He is working flat out, but with the staying power that helped him break records and win titles through a long and successful athletics career.
体育英雄令万众瞩目。他们在重压之下展现出优雅，可谓最最精英的表演者。我们不禁相信，他们除了能在如何跑得更快、跳得更远方面给出建议，还能教给我们别的东西。
Sporting heroes command our attention. They are the ultimate elite performers, displaying grace under pressure. It is tempting to believe that they have something to teach us, beyond advice on how to run faster or jump higher.
但真是这样吗？不少体育巨星通过出书来向广大非体育读者献上自己的真知灼见，科勋爵就是最新一个出书*的体育巨星。虽然该书内容或许会使商界及其它领域的人士兴致盎然，但作者之所以想出版此书，是基于一项个人原因。
But do they? Lord Coe is the latest sporting great to offer insights in book form* for a wider, non-sporting readership. But while the contents may be of interest to business people and others, the author had a personal reason for wanting to get the book published.
科勋爵曾与父亲彼得•科(Peter Coe)一起着手撰写此书。在他竞技生涯的大部分时间里，父亲就是他的教练。但书稿尚未完成，老科就病倒了，并在儿子去年夏天飞往北京参加奥运会开幕式的不久之后去世。今天，科勋爵完成了这本书，并把它作为献给父亲的礼物。
He had started work on it with his father, Peter, his coach during most of his time in athletics. But before the text could be completed Coe senior fell ill. He died just after his son had flown out to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing games last summer. Now Lord Coe has completed the book. It is dedicated to his father.
彼得•科是一位与众不同的 阅读全文>>