Unit 11
Pivoting a Company
職場攻略/市場業務
Workplace English/Communication Skills
BRAIN STORM
Share your ideas with your teacher and try to make sentences.
What do you think are the reasons why a company will change its operating strategies?
VOCABULARY
Repeat these sentences after your teacher.
1. carve out (phr.) 安排出（時間）
From now on, we will carve out success!
從現在開始，我們將開創成功！
2. long time coming (phr.) 早該到來
This has been a long time coming.
早該如此。
3. stock photography (phr.) 圖片庫
Google has many stock photography.
Google有很多庫存攝影作品。
4. pivoting (n.) 轉型
Pivoting a company is hard at first.
首先，要建立一家公司很困難。
5. household names (n.)家喻戶曉的名字（名人）
Many business have household names.
許多企業都有家喻戶曉的名字。
6. stay the course (idi.) 保持路線
Shall we stay the course or change it?
我們要堅持下去還是改變方向？
7. saw the writing on the wall (phr.) 看到不好的徵兆
He was angry when he saw the writing on the wall.
當他看到牆上的字跡時，他很生氣。
Dialogue
Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.
I’m glad we have a chance to carve out some time to focus on the future… this has been a long time coming.
很高興我們有機會擠出時間關注未來，早該如此了。
I absolutely agree, Mack. We’ve got some big decisions ahead of us, and I love the business we’ve built, but I’m glad we’re on the same page that we need to change course.
我完全同意，Mack。我們面臨一些重大決定，我很喜愛我們創建的公司，但我很高興我們達成共識要轉變方向。
We have a lot to be proud of － I mean, we practically created the market for stock photography, but that market has already changed, and if we make the right choices right now, we’ve got an opportunity to really build the future we want.
我們有很多值得驕傲的。是我們創造了圖片庫市場，但是市場發生變化了，如果我們現在做出正確的選擇，我們才有可能創造我們自己的未來。
You know － I was thinking about that exact thing when I read an article on businesses that have successfully pivoted earlier, and I really feel that is exactly where we are now.
我們有很多值得驕傲的。是我們創造了圖片庫市場，但是市場發生變化了，如果我們現在做出正確的選擇，我們才有可能創造我們自己的未來。
Pivoting… I think I’ve heard of that before. What was the article about exactly?
轉型……我之前應該聽過，那文章具體講的什麼？
Well, basically, a lot of household names in business have been exactly where we are now － and what made them who they are today was knowing when to stay the course, or change course completely. Pivoting is changing course completely. Take Twitter for example…
基本上很多家喻戶曉的企業都經歷過我們現在在面對的抉擇。它們知道什麼時候該堅持，什麼時候該徹底轉變，這才 取得了今天的成就。轉型意味著方向徹底的轉變。拿Twitter來說……
Yeah, didn’t Twitter start as some other company related to podcasts?
是。 Twitter一開始不是做播客相關的嗎？
Exactly! They were originally called Odeo, and were a social network where people subscribed to podcasts – but they saw the writing on the wall when Apple and iTunes started to dominate that niche.
正是。它們一開始叫Odeo，是一個人們訂閱播客的社交網站。但當蘋果和iTunes開始主宰市場時，它們意識到前面死路一條。
But how did they become Twitter then? I mean, they’re miles away from podcast subscriptions now!
但是它們是怎麼變成Twitter的？他們現在跟播客訂閱完全不沾邊啊！
They are － but they basically told their employees that they had two weeks to rewrite the entire script, and that’s where the idea to be a status-based micro-blogging platform emerged.
確實。他們當時告訴僱員他們有兩週時間改寫命運。於是一個基於個人狀態的微型博客平台的主意出現了
I didn’t know that… kind of amazing! Speaking of － look where we’re meeting! Starbucks went from selling coffee machines and beans to actually making fresh brew in stores…
哦，我之前還不知道，太不可思議了！其實我們現在所在的地方，星巴克。它開始是賣咖啡機和咖啡豆的，現在則是主營新鮮咖啡飲品了。
You took the words out of my mouth! I mean, if Howard Schultz hadn’t had the vision to actually bring a European style coffeehouse to the US, we wouldn’t even be meeting here now! Who the heck would even know what a Venti is? It’s become the most common out-of-office meeting place, and has totally changed the global coffee industry!
你把我想說的給說了！我是說，如果Howard Schultz沒有把歐洲風格的咖啡屋帶到美國的遠見，我們就不會在這裡見面了。誰會知道Venti是什麼？現在這裡成了公司外最常去的見面場所，並且徹底改變了全球咖啡產業。
So － what makes us the next Twitter or Starbucks? What’s our pivot?
那什麼能使我們成為下一個Twitter或星巴克？我們怎麼轉型？
Yeah… that’s the million dollar question. The key with pivoting is to capitalize on what is working, and parlay that to a breakthrough success.
是啊，這可是個大難題。轉型的關鍵是把握我們現有的優勢，把它轉化成更大的突破性成功。
So, what is working best for us? What do we leverage?
那麼我們的優勢是什麼？我們能把握、利用什麼？
Before we answer that, let’s Tweet a picture of a double-shot espresso… it’ll be
good for inspiration at least!
回答這個問題前，咱們先給這杯雙份意式濃縮咖啡拍張照發到Twitter上吧。說不定能給我們帶來點靈感！
Grammar
The use of interjections
Interjections are words that are typically used to express emotion or emphasis – but they can have a wide range of meaning and tone. Although they are typically placed at the beginning of a sentence, they may also adopt informal meanings as descriptors.
1. He’s a darn fine negotiator.
2. Darn! I forgot my cell phone at home again!
3. Bravo! You did a great job in your speech!
4. Yikes! I didn’t think the earnings this quarter would be so low.
5. Holy cow! I’ve never seen someone run that fast!
6. Gah! I just can’t get this spreadsheet to print.
7. Dang! I think it’s broken! (negative)
8. Dang! That’s an incredible deal! (positive)
DISCUSSION
Make a conversation with your teacher.
1.What do you think are the factors that will lead a company to success?
