Now the CEO report by Alan Murray
下面是阿兰·默里供稿的CEO报告
Warren Bufett speaks to CEOs going political
CEO聊政治 沃伦·巴菲特有话说
WHEN WARREN BUFFETT held his annual investor-fest at the beginning of this month,
本月初，在举行一年一度的投资者大会时，
he weighed in on CEOs taking stands on social issues.
沃伦·巴菲特就CEO们对社会问题表明自己的立场发表了自己的看法。
While he certainly airs his own political views from time to time,
虽然他自己也会不时地发表自己的政治观点，
his stance is that he doesn’t want to speak for shareholders.
但他的立场是，他不想当股东们的传声筒。
Bufett’s view on this subject was once standard CEO fare.
过去，巴菲特对这个问题的看法也是CEO们的标准姿态。
But that’s changed: think Salesforce CEO Marc Beniof’s campaign against Indiana’s religious freedom law,
但这种情况已经变了：不妨想想Salesforce的首席执行官马克·本尼奥夫发起的，反对印第安纳州宗教自由法的运动吧，
Merck CEO Ken Frazier’s resignation from President Trump’s advisory council after the Charlottesville riots
想想夏洛茨维尔骚乱后，从特朗普总统的顾问团队辞职的默克公司首席执行官肯·弗雷泽
or Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s decision to cut discounts for NRA members after the Parkland shootings—to name a few.
或者想想帕克兰枪击案后，决定降低给美国步枪协会会员的折扣的达美航空首席执行官艾德·巴斯蒂安——随便举几个例子。
None of those would have happened a decade ago.
换作十年前，这些事一件都不会发生。
So why are they happening now?
那今天为什么就发生了呢?
In many cases, employees and customers are demanding that CEOs speak out.
很多情况下，员工和客户都会要求CEO们畅所欲言。
But Bufett is right to note that this gets tricky quickly.
但巴菲特指出，这个问题很快就会变得棘手起来，他的判断是对的。
When Frazier made his stand, he was not giving his personal views but signaling “what kind of company we are.”
弗雷泽表明他自己的立场时，他并不是在发表自己的个人观点，而是在暗示“我们是一家怎样的公司”。
Beniof and Bastian were doing the same.
本尼奥夫和巴斯蒂安都是如此。
At some point, taking such stands risks alienating customers and adding to polarization.
从某种程度讲，表明这类立场可能会疏远客户，加剧公司极端化。
The old line separating business from politics has clearly moved.
商业与政治之间传统的分界线已经发生了明显的移动。
But many CEOs are still struggling to understand where the new line should be drawn.
但这条新的界限到底应该画在哪里，很多CEO都还很吃力地在想这个问题。
