桑德伯格参加哈佛商学院毕业庆祝活动

    美东时间5月23日下午，也就是哈佛大学毕业典礼的前一天，哈佛大学商学院举行了纪念活动，Facebook首席运营官谢莉尔•桑德伯格受邀参加并发表演讲。这一天离5月18日Facebook闹哄哄的上市大戏只隔了几天，但Facebook已经遭遇了数不清的质疑和批评，说不定会令桑德伯格的演讲以尴尬收场。

    那么她的演讲上到底发生了什么？

    演讲总体还算顺利。当天碧空如洗，白云点点，只是天气炎热，人人汗流浃背。毕业典礼在哈佛商学院的贝克草坪上举行，一共持续了90分钟。当天的典礼由于前几日一位名叫南森•比利迈尔的二年级学生（31岁）的突然死亡而蒙上了一层阴影。比利迈尔上周日晚与朋友饮酒庆祝后，在缅因州的波特兰市失踪，本周二在波特兰的港口发现了他的尸体。他留下了一个怀孕的妻子。F班的毕业生卢克•马克林在致欢迎辞时说：“人生中有些事情非常艰难。”

    桑德伯格当天穿了一件比天空还蓝的蓝色裙子。她的开场白是：“今天本应是一个尽情欢庆的日子，但我知道今天它不是了。”然后她切入到事先准备好的演讲稿，演讲的重点是给毕业生们的职业建议（“如果别人给了你一个火箭飞船上的座位，别问是什么座位，只需坐上去就行了”），还讲了她作为一个女性在职场中的奋斗。比如她说，美国的企业高管中只有15%是女性，而且这个数据在过去十几年间几乎一直没有变过。

    桑德伯格对Facebook的窘境一字未提，只是在演讲结束时语气幽默地带过一笔：“明天随着你和你的同学们奔赴全球各地，走上商界舞台，我祝愿你们四件事：首先，希望你们通过Facebook继续保持联络，这对你们未来的成功非常重要。而且现在我们上市了。所以你们登录Facebook的时候能顺便点击一两个广告吗？”

    译者：朴成奎

    Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was the keynote speaker this afternoon at Harvard Business School's Class Day, which precedes commencement. Days after a tumultuous May 18 initial public offering, the social network has come under a barrage of questions and criticisms which could have made the event, well, awkward.

    So what happened?

    Not a lot. It was a hot and sticky 90 minutes under a blue, cloud-splattered sky on Baker Lawn on the HBS campus. The day's event was overshadowed by the heartbreaking death of second-year student Nathan Bihlmaier, 31, known as "Nate." Bihlmaier disappeared Sunday night in Portland, Maine, after a night celebrating with friends. His body was recovered Tuesday in Portland harbor. He left behind a pregnant wife. "Some things in life are just hard," said graduate Luke Marklin, Section F, in his welcoming remarks.

    Sandberg, who wore a dress bluer even than the sky, began her remarks: "Today was supposed to be a day of unbridled celebration, and I know that's no longer true." Then she cut to her prepared remarks, which centered on career advice ("When you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask what seat, just take it") as well as her struggles as a woman in the workplace. For example, she cited the fact that women today occupy only about 15% of C-level positions in corporate America, and the number's been stuck there for more than a decade.

    Sandberg made no reference to Facebook's (FB) struggles aside for one slightly humorous oblique mention at the end: "As you and your classmates spread out across the globe and walk across this stage tomorrow, I wish for you four things: First, that you keep in touch, via Facebook. This is critical to your future success. And we're public now. So can you click on an ad or two while you're there?"