So, how was it for you? The last set of board meetings I have attended have all been about the likely outcome for 2009 – and the prospects for next year. Mostly, there is a sense of relief that an annus horribilis is almost over, and a modest hope that the future will be brighter. Inevitably, the projections for 2010 have been in essence financial budgets: a set of estimates about how sales, profits and so forth will unfold in the next 12 months. Very dry stuff – and hardly inspirational.
你們情況如何?我最近參加的一系列董事會(huì)會(huì)議,議題都是2009年可能的結(jié)果以及對(duì)明年的預(yù)期。大多數(shù)情況下,人們都有一種松了口氣的感覺——多災(zāi)多難的一年即將過去,同時(shí)謹(jǐn)慎地期望未來會(huì)更美好。無可避免的,對(duì)2010年的預(yù)測(cè)本質(zhì)上都是些財(cái)務(wù)預(yù)算:一系列對(duì)未來12個(gè)月銷售、利潤(rùn)等情況的估計(jì)。非常枯燥——沒有多少鼓舞人心之處。