????美國西北大學（Northwestern University）凱洛格商學院（Kellogg School of Business）的經濟學教授伊弗萊姆?本米萊克與波士頓大學（Boston University）的同事卡羅拉?弗里德曼合作研究完成了這份報告。他表示，擁有軍旅經歷的首席執行官學會了“如何在戰斗和競爭的極端條件中的重重壓力之下做出決定。”

????他們表示自己“想弄明白哪些特質會對首席執行官的行為方式產生影響”，還打算將這項研究發表在《金融經濟學期刊》（Journal of Financial Economics）上。他們列出了1980至2006年期間美國大型公司的首席執行官清單，找出了其中擁有軍旅背景的人。20世紀80年代，大約60%的公司都有來自軍隊的首席執行官，而這個比例目前已經降到了不足10%。

????研究人員隨后跟蹤了1994至2004年間132例記錄在案的公司欺詐事件，發現接受過軍事訓練的首席執行官所在的公司涉案的比例比一般背景的首席執行官所在的公司要低大約三分之二。

????研究人員還發現，這類行伍出身的首席執行官在行業出現蕭條時表現出色。他們提到，士兵出身的首席執行官“在困難時期表現得更好。”

????即便是在和平時期，嚴格的直線管理方式也會對業務成果有所幫助。本米萊克和弗里德曼發現，接受過軍事訓練的首席執行官比起一般課堂訓練出的同事在研究和發展的投資這些方面花費更少，盡管這些公司的估值差不多一樣。

????現有的大部分研究中都贊揚了老兵們的領導能力，但它們也同樣得出結論：服兵役與公司取得成就之間沒有必然聯系。實際上，本米萊克和弗里德曼在報告中指出：“心理學文獻發現，服兵役會導致人們具有侵略性，自負，更愛冒險”，但是“其他領域的證據也不能明確地推斷服兵役會對人們后來的決策產生什么樣的影響。”

????全球高管獵頭公司光輝國際（Korn/Ferry International）在2005年對沙場老兵和公司領導力進行研究后得出了類似結論。這是為數不多的探討軍事背景和公司業績之間關系的研究之一。這項研究發現：“很明顯，即便是服兵役使得軍隊的高層領導能夠進入企業的最高管理層，也保證不了他入職后的表現。”

????光輝國際（Korn/Ferry）的艾林?亞歷山大曾擔任過陸軍上尉，他表示，即便如此，了解軍隊的領導情況也十分重要，因為“在未來的幾年內，這些加盟的中層管理者都會成為高層領導。”

????光輝國際的克拉克?哈維納正在幫助沙場老兵將自己的軍旅經驗應用到日常工作中。他表示，現在有幾位前任將軍正在積極地爭取進入公司董事會，他們會給公司帶來不小的影響。

????哈維納說：“商界很重視軍旅經歷，因為這表明人格的成熟。如果兩位求職者其它條件相當，軍旅生涯將是公司看重的額外加分項。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????

????CEOs with military experience have learned "how to make decisions in extreme conditions in combat and cope in periods of stress," says Efraim Benmelech, a finance professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Business, who conducted research for the report with colleague Carola Frydman of Boston University.

????The researchers, who plan to publish the study in the Journal of Financial Economics, say they "wanted to understand what kind of characteristics shape the way CEOs act." They compiled a list of CEOs at the helm of major U.S. companies between 1980 and 2006 to find those with military backgrounds. About 60% of those companies had military veteran CEOs in the 1980s, but that portion has shrunk to less than 10% now.

????The researchers then tracked 132 recorded cases of corporate fraud between 1994 and 2004, and found that, based on those cases, companies with military-trained CEOs were about two-thirds less likely than their counterparts with civilian backgrounds to be engaged in fraud.

????Also, such soldier-CEOs performed well in periods of industry distress, the researchers found, noting that such soldier-CEOs "perform better in tougher times."

????Even during tranquil periods, walking the straight-and-narrow management path can help shape business outcomes. Benmelech and Frydman found that military-trained CEOs tend to spend less on investments, like research and development, compared to their civilian-trained counterparts, although company valuations among such companies were about the same.

????Most available research praises veterans for their civilian leadership, but it also concludes that there is no guaranteed link between military service and corporate outcomes. In fact, Benmelech and Frydman noted in their report that "literature in psychology finds that military service leads to aggressiveness, overconfidence, and increased risk taking," but that "evidence from other disciplines does not provide clear-cut predictions on how service in the military affects individual decision-making later in life."

????A 2005 study of veterans and corporate leadership by global executive recruitment firm Korn/Ferry International reached a similar conclusion. That study, one of the few to delve into the link between military backgrounds and corporate performance, found that "it is clear that even if military service contributes to a former military executive's ability to reach the C-suite, it is no guarantee of his performance once he arrives."

????Even so, understanding military leadership is important, notes Aileen Alexander, a former Army captain who works for Korn/Ferry, because "in years to come, those being recruited for middle management will become the top leadership."

????Right now, former generals have an impact on corporations as they are actively sought to fill company board seats, says Clarke Havener of Korn/Ferry, which is working to help veterans translate their military experience into civilian jobs.

????"Companies value military experience because it's seen as demonstrating maturity," Havener says. "All things being equal, it's that extra plus that companies want."

????