如何让其他人象我一样守时？

The Problem 问题

　　My resolution for 2009 is to reduce the amount of time I spend waiting.I always arrive punctually at internal meetings and am enraged to have to wait five or 10 minutes for colleagues. At external meetings I am sometimes left waiting in reception， or， worse still， am made to wait for guests at restaurants. I could simply opt to be 10 minutes late for everything myself， but that goes against the grain. Are there any ways of encouraging others to be as punctual as I am myself？

　　我2009年的愿望是减少我花在等候上的时间。我总是按时参加内部会议，让我感到愤怒的是，我不得不等上5分钟或10分钟，同事们才会到场。在参加外部会议时，我有时会在前台等人，或者，更糟糕的情况下，还要在餐厅等待客人的到来。我可以选择每件事都晚到10分钟，但这不是我的性格。有什么办法能让其他人像我一样守时呢？

　　LUCY （Manager， male， 42）露西（经理，男，51岁）

　　On January 1 people resolve to change their behaviors， in spite of the fact that such resolutions hardly ever stick for more than a day or two. You have wisely skipped this stage and are resolving to change others instead. The popular belief is that changing others is harder than changing yourself， but this isn't true - at least it isn't if you are the boss.

　　1月1日，人们会决心改变自己的行为，不过事实是，这种决心很难坚持一两天以上。你聪明地跳过了这个阶段，而是希望改变其他人的行为。人们通常认为，改变别人比改变自己更难，但事实并非如此——至少如果你是老板的话，就不会如此。

　　Punctuality is about power， and if you are in a position of power over your colleagues it should be perfectly possible to get them to show up on time.

　　守时与否事关权力大小，如果你的权力大过你的同事们，那么他们完全有可能按时到场。

　　You simply make sure the meeting starts on time， and that the door is then firmly closed - or， better still， locked. Latecomers will have to knock and be admitted in disgrace. You can make a big deal of every late arrival， and say in the most schoolmasterly fashion "so kind of you to drop in" or similar. That should do the trick.

　　你只需确保会议按时开始，然后把会议室的门紧闭——或者更棒的是，把门锁上——迟到的人必须先敲门，然后得到允许，再一脸羞愧地走进来。你可以对每个迟到者小题大做，用最具教训式的口吻说"你能来造访真是太好了"或者类似的话。这应能解决你的问题。

　　However， if you are not the boss， you can do whatever you like and it will not have the slightest effect. Punctuality or lack of it is deep-seated. I have a friend who is so terminally late for things he even missed his own wedding. Whereas I am like you： constitutionally incapable of being even 30 seconds late and enraged by a lack of punctuality in others. I have experimented with being five minutes late， but found it so stressful it wasn't worth it. I have also tried making the other party feel bad by saying "what kept you？" or by looking at my watch and sighing. Mostly this makes me feel petty， so it isn't the answer either.

　　然而，如果你不是老板，你可以做任何你喜欢做的事情，但它不会产生任何影响。守时或不守时的习惯往往根深蒂固。我有一个朋友，他迟到的过于离谱，甚至错过了自己的婚礼。不过，我和你一样：迟到30秒都觉得是在犯罪，其他人不守时同样也让我愤怒。我曾试过迟到5分钟，但发现这样做压力太大，不值得如此。我也曾试过让对方感到不舒服，我会跟他说"什么事耽搁啦？"或者一直看着表叹气。多数情况下，这让我感到自己有些小心眼，因此这也不是个好办法。

　　The only way out is to arrange fewer meetings. This way one saves not only the time one would have wasted waiting， but the time in having the meeting too， leaving one free to get some work done instead.

　　唯一的方法是减少会议。这样做，人们不仅可以省掉本来要浪费在等其人上的时间，还节省了开会的时间，人们有时间来完成一些工作。