Over the years Jobs would bring in some strong leaders to serve on the Apple board,
这些年来,乔布斯请到很多优秀的领导者加入苹果董事会,
including Al Gore, Eric Schmidt of Google, Art Levinson of Genentech,
包括美国前副总统阿尔·戈尔、谷歌的埃里克·施密特、基因泰克的亚瑟·莱文森
Mickey Drexler of the Gap and J. Crew, and Andrea Jung of Avon.
GAP和J.Crew公司的米奇·德雷克斯勒,以及雅芳的钟彬娴。
But he always made sure they were loyal, sometimes loyal to a fault.
他一直确保他们是忠诚的,即使是对错误的忠诚。
Despite their stature, they seemed at times awed or intimidated by Jobs, and they were eager to keep him happy.
虽然他们都身居要职,但是有时他们似乎对乔布斯满心敬畏,而且很渴望取悦他。
At one point he invited Arthur Levitt, the former SEC chairman, to become a board member.
有一次,在他回到苹果几年以后,他邀请前美国证券交易委员会主席亚瑟·莱维特加入苹果董事会。
Levitt, who bought his first Macintosh in 1984 and was proudly "addicted" to Apple computers, was thrilled.
莱维特很激动,他在1984年就买了他的第一台麦金塔电脑,沉迷于苹果电脑并以此为荣。
He was excited to visit Cupertino, where he discussed the role with Jobs.
他兴奋地造访库比蒂诺,跟乔布斯讨论他的角色。
But then Jobs read a speech Levitt had given about corporate governance,
可是后来乔布斯看到了一篇莱维特关于公司治理的演讲,
which argued that boards should play a strong and independent role, and he telephoned to withdraw the invitation.
其中的观点是董事会应该承担强势而独立的角色,乔布斯因此给他打电话收回了邀请。
"Arthur, I don't think you'd be happy on our board, and I think it best if we not invite you," Levitt said Jobs told him.
“亚瑟,我想你在我们董会不会快乐,我想我们最好不要邀请你了。”莱维特说乔布斯当时这样吿诉他,
"Frankly, I think some of the issues you raised, while appropriate for some companies, really don't apply to Apple's culture."
“坦率地讲,我认为你提出的那些观点,虽然对有些公司合适,但确实不适合苹果的文化。”
Levitt later wrote, "I was floored ... It's plain to me that Apple's board is not designed to act independently of the CEO."
莱维特后来写道:“我很受打击……很显然苹果的董事会不是为了独立于CEO行事而设计的。”