領導人該不該公開健康狀況
The president has cancer.
總統患上了癌症。
It is 31 years since Steven Rosenberg, a member of the surgical team that removed a tumour from President Ronald Reagan’s colon, made that announcement to the world.
31年前，史蒂文•羅森堡(Steven Rosenberg)向全世界宣佈了這一消息。他所在的外科醫生團隊從美國前總統羅納德•里根(Ronald Reagan)的結腸中取出了一顆腫瘤。
What I remember, from watching on television, is not only how calmly definitive Dr Rosenberg, chief of surgery at the US National Cancer Institute, was, but how clearly he described Reagan’s condition and its consequences.
當時我是從電視上看到的，我記得的不僅是美國國家癌症研究所(US National Cancer Institute)外科主任羅森堡當時是多麼鎮靜和確定，還有他多麼清晰地描述了里根的身體狀況及其後果。
There are many forms of cancer, he said.
他表示：現在有很多種癌症。
As this one had not spread, the president’s chances of living a normal lifespan were excellent.
這種癌還沒有擴散，總統活到正常壽命的機率很高。
Reagan lived another 19 years, dying in 2004 at the age of 93.
里根後來又活了19年，於2004年去世，享年93歲。
Harold Bornstein, Donald Trump’s doctor, has been less authoritative.
唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)的醫生哈羅德•伯恩斯坦(Harold Bornstein)則沒有那麼權威。
In a four-paragraph letter, addressed to whom my (sic) concern, which he says he wrote in five minutes while a Trump team car waited outside, he described the Republican candidate’s health as astonishingly excellent and said that he would be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.
在一封致窩（原文如此）關心的人的總共4段的信中，他稱這位共和黨總統候選人的健康狀況好得驚人，並表示他將是有史以來當選總統的人中最健康的一位。他表示，他是在5分鐘內寫完這封信的，當時特朗普團隊的一輛汽車在門外等候。
Hillary Clinton’s doctor wrote a more detailed account, mentioning the Democratic candidate’s underactive thyroid and a concussion in 2012, but said she was in excellent physical condition and fit to serve as President of the United States.
希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)的醫生描述得比較詳細，她提到這位民主黨總統候選人患有甲狀腺功能減退，在2012年有過一次腦震盪，但她表示，希拉里身體狀況非常好，能夠擔任美國總統一職。
The only problem is that the letter was written more than a year ago.
唯一的問題在於這封信是一年多前寫的。
Do we have a right to know the details of our political leaders’ health? And does the same apply to business leaders, responsible for hiring, firing and making potentially far-reaching acquisition and disposal decisions? Should we hear when they become ill?
我們是否有權知曉政治領導人的具體健康狀況？商界領導人的呢？他們負責招聘和解僱人員、做出可能意義深遠的併購和處置決定，當他們生病，我們是否有權知曉？
Apple attracted criticism for revealing too little about the pancreatic cancer that killed Steve Jobs, its founder, in 2011.
蘋果(Apple)曾因對導致其創始人史蒂夫•喬布斯(Steve Jobs)在2011年去世的胰腺癌透露的信息太少而受到批評。
But other chief executives have kept us up to date on their ailments.
但還有一些首席執行官一直及時向外界披露自己的病情。
In 2012, investor Warren Buffett announced that he had prostate cancer, that he would have daily radiation treatment for two months, but that his condition was not remotely life-threatening or even debilitating in any meaningful way.
2012年，投資大師沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)宣佈，他患上了前列腺癌，需要連續兩個月每天放療，但他的身體狀況根本不會危及生命甚至不會真正影響他的精力。
In 2014, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, announced that he had throat cancer and, five months later, after treatment, that his tests had come back completely clear.
2014年，摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase)首席執行官傑米•戴蒙(Jamie Dimon)宣佈，他患上了喉癌，5個月後，在結束治療後，他表示測試結果顯示他已完全康復。
Last September, Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, announced that he had lymphoma.
去年9月，高盛(Goldman Sachs)首席執行官勞埃德•布蘭克費恩(Lloyd Blankfein)宣佈，他罹患淋巴癌。
He said he would need several months of chemotherapy and would cut down on his travel but that he would otherwise work substantially as normal.
他表示，自己需要接受幾個月的化療，並將減少出差，但他表示將在很大程度上像往常一樣工作。
He said his condition was highly curable.
他表示，他的病情是完全可康復的。
Not all business leaders have curable conditions.
並非所有商界領袖所患的疾病都能康復。
In 2013, SABMiller announced that Graham Mackay, its chief executive, was stepping down three months early after undergoing surgery for a brain tumour.
2013年，SABMiller宣佈，該公司因爲腦瘤接受了手術的首席執行官格雷厄姆•麥凱(Graham Mackay)，將提前3個月離任。
Mackay, who was SABMiller’s leading figure as it turned itself from an apartheid-era South African company into an international brewer, returned briefly as non-executive chairman.
在SABMiller從一家種族隔離時期的南非公司轉變爲一家國際性釀酒商的過程中，麥凱曾發揮主要作用。提前離任後，他曾以非執行董事長的身份短暫迴歸。
He died that year.
他於同年去世。
When a previously robust person is suddenly presented with a shocking-sounding Medical diagnosis, the desire to keep it private is often strong.
當之前非常健康的人突然被診斷出患有一種嚴重疾病時，祕而不宣的願望通常是很強的。
What business is it of anyone else?
這關其他人什麼事？
But in these corporate cases, disclosure seems to have been the better option.
但在這些公司的例子裏，披露消息似乎是更好的選擇。
If people in the public eye appear to be under-par, as Jobs did, rumours start.
如果這個人在公衆的眼中表現得有失水準，就像喬布斯那樣，流言就會出現。
It is better to get the truth out.
把事實公之於衆會更好。
Apart from stopping the gossip, talking about illness serves two other positive purposes.
除了止住流言，談論病情還有另外兩個正面作用。
It alerts people, whether employees or not, to possible problems with their own health.
它會提醒人們（不管是不是員工）關注他們自己可能的健康問題。
Mr Blankfein said he had felt unwell for several weeks before his lymphoma was discovered.
布蘭克費恩表示，在他被診斷出患有淋巴癌的前幾周，他已經感覺不舒服了。
Anyone reading that who felt similarly low might be encouraged to make an appointment with their doctor.
有類似不適感覺的人聽聞此言，可能會馬上預約去看醫生。
It might also aid their discussions with their doctors about what treatment they need, or if they need treatment at all.
這還可能有助於他們與醫生的討論：他們需要什麼治療，或者是否需要治療。
Marc Garnick, a Harvard Medical School professor, wrote that if he had had an octogenarian patient with Mr Buffett’s condition, he would have advised active surveillance rather than radiation treatment.
哈佛大學醫學院(Harvard Medical School)教授馬克•加尼克(Marc Garnick)寫道，如果他有一位80多歲的病人患上了巴菲特那種病，他會建議積極監測而不是放療。
The second and more important reason for knowing about our leaders’ health is that it breaks down the idea of the all-knowing imperial boss.
瞭解我們的領導人的健康狀況的第二個也是更重要的原因是，它打破了認爲老闆高高在上、無所不知的看法。
Leaders, like the rest of us, are incomplete.
與我們其他人一樣，領袖也並非完人。
They are not always at their best.
他們並非總是處於最佳狀態。
Illness reminds us of that.
疾病提醒了我們這一點。
A chief executive slowing down while having hospital treatment is no bad thing.
一位首席執行官放慢工作同時接受醫院治療並非壞事。
The next breakthrough will be when companies and their leaders feel they can be equally candid abut depression and mental health.
下一個突破將是企業及其領導人認爲他們可以對抑鬱和心理健康狀況同樣地開誠佈公。
If chief executives need to step back because they are ill, they should, if they have done their jobs properly, have deputies who can take over, and teams that can take the strain.
如果首席執行官的工作做得到位，當他們因爲生病需要退出管理職務時，應該有可以接替他們的副手、可以接過重擔的團隊。
The US presidency is the mightiest post on earth, invested with more authority than any reigning monarch’s.
美國總統是全世界最有權勢的職位，比任何在位統治者的權力都大。
Yet no president can function without a strong team, because commanders-in-chief have bad days too, and they suffer health problems.
然而，沒有一個強有力的團隊，任何總統都是無法正常開展工作的，因爲即便是三軍統帥也有狀態不佳的時候，他們也會出現健康問題。
As we live longer and work until we are older, top managers, along with everyone else, will discover there is more that can go wrong with their health.
隨着我們壽命的變長以及退休年齡的延遲，最高管理者以及其他所有人都會發現，他們的身體可能出現更多毛病。
There is no shame in that, provided they have people around them to help manage it.
只要周圍有人幫忙應對，這沒有什麼丟人的。
Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton should provide detailed up-to-date accounts of their health, preferably from doctors who can write in measured, professional tones.
特朗普和希拉里應提供有關他們健康狀況的最新詳細描述，最好由醫生以慎重、專業的態度寫就。
