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很多公司在面临重大调整时，都希望能从名牌企业挖到新的首席执行官。此人临危受命，不仅要担当起领导的职责，还要具备从天而降，扭转乾坤的能力。那么，什么样的经理人才是理想的白衣骑士呢？亟待拯救的公司应该锁定以下特质：
Jack-of-all-trades
跨行业的万事通
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.
乌西姆表示，经理人的资历固然很重要，但仅在某一个行业内的一次成功可能还不够。他认为，在多个行业内都有稳定的表现是白衣骑士的一个重要特征，这意味着此人具有普遍的领导力，而不只是长于应对某一特定行业的挑战。
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."
劳伦斯•戈尔本就是一个例子，这位智利矿业部长今年早些时候推动了33被困矿工的救援行动。乌西姆称，戈尔本具有零售业从业背景，但在此次救援行动前只是一位相对不知名的官员。“关键在于他勘查了现场，确定了解决问题的基本方法，并运用了自己的管理技巧。”
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.
当然，大多数首席执行官不一定需要协调矿山救援行动，但很多人都必须要将公司拉出财务亏空的黑洞。事实上，美国企业界在这方面早已有了身着闪闪铠甲的白衣骑士典范——前德尔福(Delphi)首席执行官史蒂夫•米勒，他在职业生涯中曾多次在最后时刻成功拯救陷于绝境的企业。
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，米勒带领汽车零部件供应商德尔福顺利度过了破产保护期。在此之前，他曾服务于钢铁、建筑、废弃物管理和汽车行业。米勒受雇于这些行业公司，任务都是实现企业扭亏为盈。
Just the same, it's one thing to pull a company out of the ashes, and quite another to fix it mid-stride.
同样，将公司拉出险境是一回事，但要在不停下脚步的前提下解决问题则是另一回事。
"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."
“如果东西已经坏了，必须深入内部，把它彻底撕开，”领导力咨询公司Heidrick & Struggles的副董事长杰夫•桑德斯说，“但如果东西还没有坏，把它撕开的话，它很可能就此瓦解。”
