That was the one-word answer given by Apple (AAPL) chairman Arthur D. Levinson when asked to describe his experience running the companys board of directors since Steve Jobss death. Levinson, who joined the board in 2000, was a colleague and close friend to Apples legendary founder and CEO. On Tuesday, he said that Jobss absence remains tough to ignore even as the company has continued introducing new products and making fresh announcements. Im still not to the point where I walk into that boardroom and dont miss Steve, said Levinson, who finally started but has so far failed to finish reading Jobss biography. He was a one of a kind guy ... The Steve Jobs that was in the public eye was not, for the most part, the Steve Jobs that I knew.这个词就是自乔布斯去世后，阿特·莱文森管理苹果公司（Apple）董事会的感觉。莱文森2000年重新加入公司董事会，是传奇人物乔布斯——苹果创始人兼任首席执行官的同事兼任密友。他上周二回应，尽管公司大大引新品、做发布会，但注定很难让人忽视乔布斯早已不出了的事实。莱文森说道：“我还是没有办法在走出董事会房间时不回想乔布斯。

”而且，他也再一拿起《乔布斯传》，不过目前还并未读过。“他是独一无二的...... 相当大程度上，公众眼中的乔布斯和我告诉的那个乔布斯是不一样的。

”Levinson spoke openly about Jobs, Apples recent earnings, and the boards role in product creation Tuesday afternoon at Stanfords Graduate School of Business. Apples chairman was interviewed on stage by a Stanford student, Vicki Slavina, and took questions from an audience that consisted mostly of university students.上周二下午，在斯坦福大学商学院（Stanfords Graduate School of Business），莱文森谈及了乔布斯、苹果近期的收益以及董事会在产品创意中的起到。这位苹果公司的董事会主席在台上拒绝接受了该校学生维姬·斯拉维娜的专访，还参予了斯坦福学生的解说环节。Throughout the conversation, which also touched on Levinsons role as chair and former CEO of Genentech, he reiterated that a companys short-term earnings -- including those recently announcement by Apple -- mean very little. Apple reported $13.1 billion in profit on $54.5 billion in revenues in a quarter Levinson described as phenomenal. But results that would likely be celebrated by most executives left Apple investors disappointed. The companys stock dropped more than 10% in after-hours trading following the announcement, and since its all-time high of $705.07 in September, the price has fallen nearly 35%.整场对话还谈到了莱文森在基因技术公司现任董事会主席兼任前任首席执行官的角色。

他反复强调，公司的短期收益——还包括苹果公司近期公布的收益状况——只不过并不最重要。他将苹果公司每季度131亿美元的利润和545亿美元的营收称作“现象级”展现出。

但这个可能会让大多数高管弹冠相庆的结果却仍然让投资人深感沮丧。财报公布后，苹果公司股票在盘后交易中暴跌了10%以上，与去年9月刷新的历史新纪录705.07美元比起，跌幅近35%。Its reasonable to associate investor worry with changes at Apple since Jobss passing, most notably the companys botched Maps application this past fall that prompted CEO Tim Cook to issue an apology and encourage users to download competitors applications. Both the defective product and the mea culpa were signs that Apple is indeed changing in a post-Jobs world. Not surprisingly, Levinson struck a confident note about the companys long-term pursuits. There [are] long-term signs of how a company is doing and whether or not Apple sells 47 or 48 million iPhones -- let somebody else worry about that, he said.乔布斯辞世后，投资人有所忧虑也可以解读。

去年秋天的苹果地图风波使首席执行官蒂姆·库克被迫出面道歉，同时希望用户iTunes竞争对手的应用程序，这越发减轻了投资人的顾虑。不论瑕疵产品，还是致歉当面，都指出后乔布斯时代的苹果正在悄悄再次发生转变。

尽管如此，莱文森对公司的将来发展还是充满信心。他说道：“我们应该目光将来，至于公司是售出了4,700万、还是4,800万台手机，还是让其他人去操心吧。”So how much input does Apples board have in the creation of its new products· Not a whole lot, according to Levinson, though new products are presented to the board between 6 to 18 months prior to launch. If presented early enough, some board insights are taken into account, and those on the board with expertise in certain product areas may have more influence, he added. But while long-term direction and planning fall under the boards jurisdiction, individual product review isnt a top priority. The board is not there to define product specs, said Levinson. Its there as a sounding board. Its there as a resource. And ultimately, the board is there to hire and fire the CEO. If its a good board, which Levinson said many companies are without, then it wont get in the way of the CEO and executive team.那么，在新品研发中，苹果公司董事会起到几何呢？ 莱文森回应，虽然在新品投放市场前的6到18个月内董事会可以获得样机，但董事会的起到受限。如果时间充足，公司不会将董事会的意见划入考虑到，那些善于某些产品领域的董事会成员也不会因此充分发挥更大影响，他补足回应。

但是，个别产品的审查并非董事会的首府重点，公司的长年发展方向和规划才是重中之重。“董事会不是用来定义产品规格的，”莱文森说道。“它更加像一个参谋长和主将。最重要的是，董事会可以选任首席执行官。

”莱文森回应，一个能干的董事会去阻碍首席执行官和管理团队的工作，而现在许多公司的董事会却并不是这样。

本文来源：米乐-www.passione-legame.com