硅谷犹如一块磁铁，把许许多多禀赋特出的工程师、科学家、企业家从世界各地聚集来这里，一起追求成名致富，并投身于技术革命的大潮，其影响及于人类，必将远超过划时代的欧洲文艺复兴和产业革命。
With the rapid spread of the Internet，the information era is truly upon us，profoundly influencing and changing not only our lifestyle，but also the way we work，do business，think and communicate with others.The unprecedented success of the Valley is a testimony to the concerted international endeavours and contributions by people from all over the world，as well as the farsighted policies of the US government.
互联网急速普及，不仅深刻地改变了人们的生活方式，也改变了人们工作、贸易、思维以及彼此沟通的方式。硅谷成为世界电脑中心，其声誉无可动摇，靠的是美国政府的远见卓识和世界各地人才的不懈努力贡献。
It is noteworthy that close to 50%of its skilled manpower，including engineers，scientists and entrepreneurs，come from Asia.Prominent among them are Indians and Chinese，and not a few Singaporeans.They include such illustrious names as Vinod Khosla who co-founded Sun Microsystems，Jerry Yang of Yahoo fame and Singaporean Sim Wong Hoo，to name a few.
值得注意的是，硅谷地区的专业人力资源，包括工程师、科学家和企业家，有将近一半来自亚洲，尤其是印度和中国，也有不少来自新加坡。其中声名卓著者，略举数例，便有升阳微系统的创始人之一文诺·考斯拉、雅虎的创始人杨致远，以及新加坡的沈望傅。
Many countries have，or are in the process of creating，their own “Silicon Valley”.So far，none has as yet threatened the preeminence of the US prototype.What makes Silicon Valley such a unique entity？There are several crucial factors.
许多国家也有了自己的“硅谷”，或正在着手建设，但至今无一威胁到美国硅谷的领先地位。美国硅谷与众不同，究竟秘诀何在呢？笔者认为有若干至关重要的因素。
First and foremost，it has the largest concentration of brilliant computer professionals and the best supporting services in the world，and easy access to world-class research institutions，like Stanford University，which continually nurtures would-be geniuses which the industry needs in order to move forward.Without these advantages，the Valley would be a different place.
首先，硅谷有着世界最大最密集的优秀电脑专才群体、最佳的后援服务体系，并紧密联系着斯坦福大学等世界一流的研究机构，而后者正源源不断地培育出电脑业赖以发展的明日天才。若缺少这些有利条件，硅谷的面貌便会大不一样。
Secondly，it actively encourages，or even exalts，risk-taking.Hence，failure holds no terror and there is no stigma attached to a failed effort.On the contrary，they will try even harder next time round.Such never-say-die approach is the sine qua non for the ultimate triumph in entrepreneurship and technological breakthrough.
其次，硅谷大力提倡、甚至鼓吹颂扬冒险精神，因此失败并不可怕，出师不捷者也无人耻笑，反而会重整旗鼓、再接再厉。这种永不言败的风气，是创业成功和技术突破所不可或缺的。
A third decisive factor is the vital role of venture capitalists who willingly support promising start-ups with urgently needed initial capital to get them started.Some would even give failed entrepreneurs a second chance if convinced that a fresh concept might lead to eventual success.
第三，创业投资家也起了重大作用，他们乐于支持前途看好的新创企业，投入其急需的创业资本以助其起步。甚至对失败的企业，只要认定其概念新颖，最终有可能成功，有的投资家也会给予第二次机会。
Of equal importance，many bright young people and middle level professionals are keen to work for a new venture at substantially reduced remuneration，as it offers more scope for entrepreneurship and job satisfaction than the established companies.There is also a pride of achievement if their efforts contribute to its fruition.
同样重要的是，许多有为青年和中层专才并不热衷任职于老字号公司，反而不辞薪酬低下，宁愿为新创的企业效力，因为后者有更广阔的开拓前景，而工作所得的满足感也更大。他们为自身的努力推动了企业成功而自豪。
Intellectual challenges aside，it is a common practice for start-ups to offer generous share options to employees in order to attract the right talent into their folds.This is a powerful incentive to motivate the staff to do their utmost and to share in the company’s prosperity if it reaches its goal.Many regard this as the foundation of a successful enterprise.
除了给人专业上的挑战之外，新创企业为了延揽人才，还往往慷慨地给予员工们股票选购权。这一措施有力地激励员工们为公司尽心竭力，以期与公司共享成功。许多人认为这是企业成功的基础。
Those that have become high flyers，such as Netscape，Intel，Cisco and Yahoo，have turned many of their employees，including support staff like secretaries，into dot.com millionaires overnight，often at the relatively young age of 20s or 30s.
因此之故，网景、因特尔、思科、雅虎等出类拔萃的公司里，包括秘书等后勤职工在内的许多雇员成了网络公司的股东，往往还在二十几、三十几岁时便一夜致富而身家百万。
The Valley’s professionals are among the most hardworking people anywhere.A 15-hour day and 7-day week is not uncommon，especially during the start-up stage.They would give up social life，and curtail their family life too，in order to pursue the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.It is this single minded pursuit of excellence，supported by strong ethos of team work and esprit de corps，that sustain them until their mission is accomplished.
硅谷中专业人士工作之勤奋努力，举世罕见：每周七日、每日15小时工作司空见惯，尤其是在创业初期。他们不惜放弃社交生活，减少与家人共处的时间，为的是追求理想彩虹尽头的那一桶金。正是这样一心一意追求卓越，加上强大的齐心合力的团队精神，支撑着他们的奋斗，直至达到目标。
Paper qualifications，though useful，is not a be all and end all.More weight is given to a candidate’s proven abilities and aptitude for the job.This is amply demonstrated by industry icons like Apple’s Jobs and Wozniak and Microsoft’s Gates，all college dropouts who might not have emerged in a qualification-conscious community.
在硅谷，文凭虽然有用，却不是至高无上、一纸定终身，更重要的是求职者的才干须经得起考验，性情资质须与有关职位相合。最佳的事例，莫过于电脑业的偶像人物，如苹果电脑的创始人乔布斯与沃兹尼亚克，以及来自西雅图的微软的创始人盖茨，他们都是大学里的退学生，在讲究学历的社会里可能永无出头之日。
While racial prejudice no doubt still exists in the United States，albeit in a less degrading form as before，it is hardly discernible in the Valley.What counts most is one’s vision and track record，and not one’s nationality，skin colour or creed.This，together with its multiracial society，informal lifestyle and agreeable climate，lure foreigners to its shores.
种族歧视无疑仍存在于美国，尽管已不及当年的露骨，但在硅谷却近乎绝迹。评价一个人，重要的是看他有何见解，成就经历如何，而不是看他的国籍、肤色、宗教信仰。这一点，加上这里的多元种族社会、不拘礼仪的生活方式，宜人的气候，使得外国人才近悦远来。
Its phenomenal success has led to a worldwide fever to proliferate dot.com companies，both as a prestigious symbol and a quicker way to wealth.Singapore is part of this rising tide.In Consequence，many bright young people have given up their secure jobs to join in the race.But the reality is that，because of its high-risk nature，for every success story there are hundreds who will，perforce，fall by the wayside.Will they get a second chance，given their own operating environment？