????《互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是我的信仰》（The Internet Is My Religion）一書的作者是社區(qū)管理平臺(tái)NationBuilder的創(chuàng)始人兼CEO吉姆·吉列姆,。第一次讀到這本書的草稿時(shí),，我便被它的誠(chéng)實(shí)及其揭示的信息所深深吸引,。我與吉姆相識(shí)已有一段時(shí)間,，但對(duì)他其實(shí)不是特別了解。這本書（7月22日出版）透過(guò)吉姆的視角講述了他的故事,，首先他告訴讀者,，他從小被培養(yǎng)成一位基督教原教旨主義者。之后,，他講述了自己與癌癥的艱苦斗爭(zhēng),，以及信仰體系的徹底崩塌。吉姆分享了其斗爭(zhēng)史中最隱秘的時(shí)刻,，正是這些斗爭(zhēng)將他磨練成一項(xiàng)新運(yùn)動(dòng)的重要領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,。

????在閱讀這本書的過(guò)程中，我們將發(fā)現(xiàn)與我們自身有關(guān)的新秘密,。對(duì)我而言,，我找到了一個(gè)古老且重要的問(wèn)題的答案——偉大的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者是天生的,，還是后天發(fā)展出來(lái)的？由于我會(huì)在CEO身上進(jìn)行投資,，并為他們提供咨詢,，所以我非常關(guān)心這個(gè)問(wèn)題。優(yōu)秀的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者是否天生便擁有驅(qū)動(dòng)其他人做大事的魅力,、決心和勇氣,？抑或，這些素質(zhì)源自豐富的經(jīng)歷和大量培訓(xùn),？有許多人看起來(lái)“天生”便是領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,，但沒有人承認(rèn)自己天生如此。但如果領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者是后天培養(yǎng)的,，為什么真正的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力幾乎無(wú)法言傳,？

????對(duì)于這個(gè)問(wèn)題的答案，我一直不太滿意,，直到我完全理解了吉姆的故事,。我們第一次見面的時(shí)候，他正在努力說(shuō)服我的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司投資他的公司,。吉姆解釋說(shuō),，NationBuilder出售的軟件旨在幫助領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者與他們的支持者們溝通，組織粉絲社區(qū),。這是一種突破性的概念,，包括互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)在內(nèi)的一系列技術(shù)突破使其變成可能。

????這款軟件會(huì)幫助領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者建立一個(gè)支持者數(shù)據(jù)庫(kù),，然后通過(guò)各種技巧培養(yǎng)和鼓勵(lì)他們,。它能夠連接到所有現(xiàn)代社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)和電子郵件，使領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者可以隨時(shí)隨地與支持者交流,。此外,，這款軟件提供的許多工具可以用來(lái)培養(yǎng)下級(jí)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，激勵(lì)支持者,，幫助領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者實(shí)現(xiàn)自身目標(biāo),。

????與NationBuilder同樣有趣的是，它在技術(shù)方面依舊存在一個(gè)問(wèn)題,，我們親切地稱之為“自展問(wèn)題（bootstrapping problem）”,。“自展”源自19世紀(jì)的一個(gè)短語(yǔ),，是指啟動(dòng)一個(gè)自我維持程序,。例如，在將操作系統(tǒng)安裝到存儲(chǔ)器之前,，你如何啟動(dòng)計(jì)算機(jī),？你需要一個(gè)在啟動(dòng)程序之前的程序,。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力軟件非常了不起，但領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者又從何而來(lái),？

????為了解NationBuilder對(duì)自展問(wèn)題的解決方案,，首先我需要了解吉姆。

????吉姆身材瘦長(zhǎng),，臉色蒼白,，看起來(lái)不像是那種傳奇式的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。他靦腆的個(gè)性和局促不安的樣子,，更是增強(qiáng)了這種感覺,。除此之外，吉姆在職業(yè)生涯當(dāng)中也沒有為偉大的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者工作過(guò),，而且缺乏正規(guī)的管理培訓(xùn),。

????但吉姆確實(shí)是一位真正的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。他有清晰的,、吸引人的愿景,。他能激勵(lì)人們?nèi)〉脗ゴ蟪删汀Ｋ麑?duì)工作非常專注,，如果你妨礙了他,，他會(huì)用目光在你身上燒出洞來(lái)。他取得了許多了不起的成就,，如將晦澀的紀(jì)錄片電影變成大片,，此外他創(chuàng)建的一個(gè)社區(qū)，在他的肺被化療燒壞之后,，幫助他找到了一對(duì)新肺?，F(xiàn)在，在沒有背景和人脈的情況下,，他創(chuàng)建了這家非常有前景的新公司——需要說(shuō)明的是,，我的公司投資了這家公司，我也在其董事會(huì)任職,。

????如果吉姆的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)能力既非天生也不是后天得來(lái)的,，那它到底從何而來(lái),？這個(gè)身材瘦長(zhǎng),、有些笨拙的人如何學(xué)會(huì)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)？秘訣是什么,？

????在讀完《互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是我的信仰》一書后,，我找到了這個(gè)問(wèn)題的答案，也解答了一個(gè)更大的問(wèn)題,。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者既非天生也非后天得來(lái),；領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力是被發(fā)現(xiàn)的,。書中講述了吉姆如何發(fā)現(xiàn)自己內(nèi)心的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者。所有領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者都要經(jīng)歷這樣一個(gè)發(fā)現(xiàn)之旅,，只是幾乎沒有人講述這個(gè)過(guò)程,。你要學(xué)會(huì)獨(dú)立思考，用最有效的,、最有影響力的方式分享你所知道的,。我希望你在讀這本書的過(guò)程中，能夠找到內(nèi)心的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,，為這個(gè)世界帶來(lái)更多奇跡,。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????本文作者本·霍洛維茨是風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司安德森霍洛維茨的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人兼普通合伙人，該公司位于加利福尼亞州門洛帕克,。

????譯者：劉進(jìn)龍/汪皓

????審校：任文科

????When I read the first draft of The Internet Is My Religion, the new book by NationBuilder founder and CEO Jim Gilliam, I was blown away by its honesty and what it revealed. I had known Jim for quite some time—but I did not really know him. The book (July 22) tells Jim’s story through his eyes, beginning with his upbringing as a Christian Fundamentalist. It takes us through his harrowing battle with cancer and the comprehensive collapse of his belief system. Jim shares the most intimate moments of his personal struggle, which lead to his emergence as an important leader of a new movement.

????Through this journey, we learn new secrets about ourselves. For me, I found the answer to an old and important question: Are great leaders born or made? Because I invest in and advise CEOs, it’s a question which I care deeply about. Do great leaders come out of the womb with the charisma, grit, and courage to move men and women to do great things? Or are they forged from intense experience and great training? There are many seemingly “natural” leaders, but almost none of those would say that they were born that way. But if leaders are made, then why is true leadership nearly impossible to teach?

????I never really became comfortable with my answer to this question until I fully understood Jim’s story. I first met Jim when he came to pitch my venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, to invest in his company. NationBuilder, Jim explained, sold software meant to help leaders communicate with and organize their followers. It was a breakthrough concept, made possible by a series of technological breakthroughs including the Internet and social networking.

????Essentially the software helps a leader build a database of his or her followers, then grow and encourage that base through a variety of techniques. It connects with all of the modern social networks as well as email to enable the leader to communicate with his or her followers where they are. It then provides tools for building sub-leaders, incentivizing followers and generally helping a leader accomplish his or her goals.

????As interesting as NationBuilder was, it still had what we affectionately refer to in technology as “a bootstrapping problem.” Bootstrapping, a term derived from a 19th century phrase, refers to starting a self-sustaining process. For example, how do you start a computer before loading the operating system into memory? You need a process before the process. Leadership software was great, but where would the leaders come from?

????To understand the solution to NationBuilder’s bootstrapping problem, I first had to understand Jim.

????Exceptionally tall, impossibly thin and white as ghost, Jim does not look like a storybook leader. His shy personality and awkward manner reinforce this perception. On top of that, Jim has not worked for great leaders in his career and lacks formal management training.

????But Jim is a real leader. He has a clear, compelling vision. He inspires people to greatness. He leads with a focus so intense that if you get in his way, he’ll burn a hole in you with his eyes. He has accomplished amazing things in life, from turning obscure documentary films into blockbusters to rallying a community that he created to help get a new pair of lungs after chemotherapy burned out his original pair. Now, with no background and no connections, he has built this very promising new company—one, I should note, in which my firm invests and on whose board of directors I sit.

????If Jim the leader was neither born nor made, where did this come from? How did this gangly, awkward man learn to lead? What was the source?

????After reading The Internet Is My Religion, I learned the answer this question and to my larger question as well. Leaders are neither born nor made; they are found. This book is about Jim’s journey to find his inner leader. It’s a journey that all leaders must go through, but one that almost nobody ever talks about. It’s about learning to think for yourself and sharing what you know in the best and most impactful way possible. I hope that as you read this book, you will find your inner leader and lead the world to great things.

????Ben Horowitz is co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, Calif.