The importance of repetition in the workplace

重复在职场中的重要意义

The importance of repetition in the workplace

重复在职场中的重要意义

If you had to define the indispensable power of a leader, which would you pick? Would it be probing intelligence? Boundless energy? Or perhaps just being lucky? One ability may not come to mind for many, but really should.

如果让你挑选一个对一名领导者来说不可或缺的能力，你会选择哪一个？是敏锐的洞察力？无穷的精力？还是仅仅只需要好的运气？有一种能力可能很多人没想到，但其实至关重要。

For if there is a talent that every boss needs to master, it's the ability to say the same thing over and over and over again without seeming bored.

如果说有一种能力是每位领导者都不可或缺的，那一定是能够不厌其烦地反复讲述同一件事的能力。

You don't have to spend a lot of time with executives to hear repeated words and phrases. They might be drumming home the critical elements of their strategy to investors. They might be reciting talking-points with the media. They might be inculcating the company's culture at town halls with employees, or telling the firm's origin story for the thousandth time. What they are not doing is starting afresh every time.

无需与高管们相处太久，你就能听到他们反复使用某些词汇或表达。他们既可能是在向投资方反复强调公司战略的关键部分，也可能是在向媒体引述自己的核心观点；既可能是在员工大会上给员工灌输公司文化，也可能是在没完没了地讲述公司的发家史。他们唯一不会做的，便是每次传达都有新的内容。

When Kevin Lobo first became the chief executive of Stryker, a medical-technology firm in Michigan, his team drew up a mission statement (“Together with our customers, we are driven to make health care better”) that he used at the start of every presentation he gave. He says that the combination of simplicity and repetition helped it to spread organically: presentations within Stryker now routinely start with its mission. ***