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很多公司在面臨重大調整時，都希望能從名牌企業挖到新的首席執行官。此人臨危受命，不僅要擔當起領導的職責，還要具備從天而降，扭轉乾坤的能力。那么，什么樣的經理人才是理想的白衣騎士呢？亟待拯救的公司應該鎖定以下特質：
Jack-of-all-trades
跨行業的萬事通
Clearly, a new hire's track record is important, Useem says, but a singular success within one industry might not be good enough. Consistent performance across industries is a good marker for a white knight, he adds, because it means that an individual is capable of leading in general, not just managing specific industry challenges.
烏西姆表示，經理人的資歷固然很重要，但僅在某一個行業內的一次成功可能還不夠。他認為，在多個行業內都有穩定的表現是白衣騎士的一個重要特征，這意味著此人具有普遍的領導力，而不只是長于應對某一特定行業的挑戰。
Take Laurence Golborne, Chile's minister of mining who facilitated the rescue of 33 trapped Chilean miners earlier this year. He had a retail background and was a relatively unknown politician until the rescue, Useem says. "The main point is, he took a look, decided on the underlying ways to solve a problem, and used his management skill set."
勞倫斯•戈爾本就是一個例子，這位智利礦業部長今年早些時候推動了33被困礦工的救援行動。烏西姆稱，戈爾本具有零售業從業背景，但在此次救援行動前只是一位相對不知名的官員?！瓣P鍵在于他勘查了現場，確定了解決問題的基本方法，并運用了自己的管理技巧?！?/FONT>
To be sure, most CEOs will not have to coordinate a mine rescue, but many have to dig companies out of financial holes. In fact, corporate America has its own knight in shining armor in that category: former Delphi CEO Steve Miller, who's made a career out of last-minute rescues of ailing corporations.
當然，大多數首席執行官不一定需要協調礦山救援行動，但很多人都必須要將公司拉出財務虧空的黑洞。事實上，美國企業界在這方面早已有了身著閃閃鎧甲的白衣騎士典范——前德爾福(Delphi)首席執行官史蒂夫•米勒，他在職業生涯中曾多次在最后時刻成功拯救陷于絕境的企業。
Miller guided auto parts supplier Delphi through bankruptcy in 2005. Before that, he had worked in the steel, construction, waste-management and auto industries. Miller was hired at companies in each of these industries to turn them around.
2005年，米勒帶領汽車零部件供應商德爾福順利度過了破產保護期。在此之前，他曾服務于鋼鐵、建筑、廢棄物管理和汽車行業。米勒受雇于這些行業公司，任務都是實現企業扭虧為盈。
Just the same, it's one thing to pull a company out of the ashes, and quite another to fix it mid-stride.
同樣，將公司拉出險境是一回事，但要在不停下腳步的前提下解決問題則是另一回事。
"If something's broken, you have to go in and start ripping it apart," says Jeff Sanders, vice chairman of leadership advisory firm Heidrick & Struggles. "Whereas if it's not [broken], if you rip it up, it might fall apart."
“如果東西已經壞了，必須深入內部，把它徹底撕開，”領導力咨詢公司Heidrick & Struggles的副董事長杰夫•桑德斯說，“但如果東西還沒有壞，把它撕開的話，它很可能就此瓦解。”
