公司老板Jerry召集手下Lisa和Ken開會，商量公司上市的問題。Lisa問Jerry，是不是真的下定決心了。

L: But Jerry, have you really thought this through? You would essentially be giving up the company that your great-grandfather built.

J: I intend to keep key family members on the Board of Directors and I intend to remain as CEO. This company is important to me. But if we really want to become the largest frozen food company in the country, it's time to move beyond mom-and-pop operations and play hardball.

針對Lisa提出的疑問，Jerry回答說，他并沒打算將祖輩開辦并經營至今的家族企業就這么拱手送給別人，他打算讓重要家庭成員進董事會，然后親自擔任 CEO, Chief Executive officer, 首席執行官。Jerry 說，公司對他十分重要，但要想擴大規模，成為全國最大的冷凍食品公司，就要 move beyond mom-and-pop operations and play hardball. 這里所說的 mom-and-pop operations 是指家庭規模的小買賣，play hardball 意思是采取果斷大膽的行動。

L: Well, it's an exciting idea...and also a bit terrifying. But....you know that old saying: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

K: At least the markets have been getting better recently; the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 10,000 points the other day. This could be the beginning of an economic recovery.

Lisa說，公司上市的想法既令人興奮，又讓人害怕。但是英語里老話說，nothing ventured, nothing gained. 意思是不承擔風險，就不會取得成就。Ken 說，好在現在市場正在走高，道瓊斯工業指數前幾天突破了萬點大關，topped 10,000 points. 這可能意味著經濟復蘇的開始，the beginning of an economic recovery. Lisa接著說，

L: I think the smart thing is to use this down time to retool and reconfigure our operations. That way, if things do turn upwards we'll be in a stronger place than our competitors.

J: Exactly! So, I want you all to consider this idea... do the research and figure out if this is truly in our best interests. Let's meet again on Thursday to make a final decision.

Lisa說，她認為明智之舉是用現在市場不是特別活躍的時期調整公司的經營運作。這樣的話，一旦市場開始上揚，We'll be in a stronger place than our competitors. 跟競爭對手相比，我們就會居于更加有利的地位。Jerry 表示贊成，讓大家回去都好好想想，星期四再開會最后決定。