原文標題：
Bartleby
The lure of the family business
The pros and cons of following in your parents’ footsteps
巴托比專欄
家族企業(yè)的吸引力
跟上父母步伐的利弊

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FAMILY BUSINESS makes for compelling drama. Just ask anyone tuning in to the final season of “Succession”, which has recently begun airing on HBO.

家族企業(yè)會產(chǎn)生精彩的劇集。問問那些最近收看HBO《繼承之戰(zhàn)》最后一季的觀眾就知道了。

This Bartleby prefers “Buddenbrooks”, Thomas Mann’s chronicle of the decline and collapse of a German merchant family over the course of four generations. That novel, first published in 1901, drew heavily on the author’s personal experience.

本欄作者更喜歡托馬斯·曼恩的《布登勃洛克一家》，這部小說記錄了一家德國商人家族四代人的衰落和崩潰。這部小說于1901年首次出版，深受作者個人經(jīng)歷的影響。

The dilemmas of working for an organisation which an immediate family member runs or in which they own the majority sound alarming enough in fiction, never mind real life.

為一個直系親屬經(jīng)營或擁有多數(shù)股份的公司工作的困境在小說中已經(jīng)夠驚人了，更不用說現(xiàn)實生活中的案例了。

And nepotism can be plenty dramatic even without the plot twists.
即使沒有跌宕起伏的情節(jié)，裙帶關系也足以引起劇烈反響。

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These days it is frowned upon—most publicly listed companies and professional firms ban it.

如今，裙帶關系受到譴責——大多數(shù)上市公司和專業(yè)公司都禁止這種關系。

Still, family businesses make up more than 90% of the world’s enterprises. Many of them, quite literally, are mom-and-pop shops.

然而，家族企業(yè)占全球企業(yè)總數(shù)的90%以上。確切地說，其中許多是小本經(jīng)營的夫妻店。

Some are large-ish businesses in smallish economies, like the one in Athens where this guest Bartleby, straight out of university, was put in charge of managing relations with institutional investors.

有些是小型經(jīng)濟體中的大型企業(yè)，比如雅典一家企業(yè)，這位名叫巴托比的客人剛從大學畢業(yè)，就被任命負責管理與機構(gòu)投資者的關系。

A handful are giant global corporations: think of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire (which allegedly inspired “Succession”) or Bernard Arnault’s $460bn luxury conglomerate, LVMH (which, as it happens, has grown by acquiring other family firms, such as Bulgari and Fendi).
少數(shù)是全球巨型公司：想想魯珀特·默多克的媒體帝國（據(jù)稱《繼承者之戰(zhàn)》受其啟發(fā)）或伯納德·阿諾特4600億美元的奢侈品集團LVMH（事實上，它通過收購其他家族企業(yè)（如寶格麗和芬迪）而不斷壯大）。

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Regardless of size, all family companies face common challenges.

無論規(guī)模大小，所有家族企業(yè)都面臨著共同的挑戰(zhàn)。

Filial loyalty and multi-generational thinking can morph into resistance to change, and if a firm has outside shareholders, clash with their interests.

子女忠誠和多代思維可能會演變成對變革的抵制，如果一家家族企業(yè)有外部股東，這可能會與他們的利益發(fā)生沖突。

The process of generational transition can be particularly draining and frustrating to the staff members who are not family, raising uncomfortable questions about social mobility, or the lack thereof.

代際交接的過渡過程可能會特別耗費精力，讓那些非家庭成員的員工感到沮喪，還會引發(fā)社會流動性或缺乏流動性等不安問題。

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For the corporate heir, meeting family expectations and continuing a legacy while achieving personal fulfilment can generate a mass of contradictions, as Mann splendidly illuminated.

對于企業(yè)繼承人來說，在滿足家庭期望、延續(xù)家庭與實現(xiàn)個人成就方面可能會產(chǎn)生大量矛盾，正如曼恩書中精彩描寫的那樣。

Even in companies that insist they are meritocratic, no amount of skill will convince all your colleagues that you have actually earned your job.

即使在堅持擇優(yōu)錄用的公司中，你也沒有任何技能能夠說服你所有的同事，你實際上是靠自己的能力獲得了這份工作。

Any pre-existing domestic frictions might make their way into the business. And vice versa: disagreements over the business can breed feuds, often between siblings.

任何現(xiàn)有的家庭矛盾都可能進入企業(yè)。反之亦然：企業(yè)上的意見分歧可能會導致家族紛爭，通常是兄弟姐妹之間的紛爭。

In India, the bitter dispute between Mukesh and Anil Ambani over their inherited empire, Reliance Industries, lasted for years after their father died without leaving a will.
在印度，穆克什和阿尼爾·安巴尼在他們繼承的商業(yè)帝國“信實工業(yè)”之間的激烈紛爭持續(xù)了多年，因為他們的父親去世后沒有留下遺囑。

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No wonder some heirs decide to hold on to their shareholdings, perhaps a board seat, but pursue a career elsewhere.

難怪有些繼承人會選擇保留股份，或者留一個董事會席位，但他們會去其他地方追求職業(yè)生涯。

Not all Waltons work for Walmart; it is hard to find Hoffmanns among executives at Roche, the Swiss drugmaking giant founded by their forebear in 1896.

并非所有的沃爾頓家族成員都在沃爾瑪工作；在瑞士制藥巨頭羅氏公司的高管中，很難找到霍夫曼家族的成員，該公司由他們的祖先于1896年創(chuàng)立。

They thus avoided being accused of belonging to the “l(fā)ucky sperm club”, as Warren Buffett calls those who might well possess the managerial skills to lead a large organisation but never had to jump through the same hoops as everyone else.

這樣，他們就避免了被指責為“富二代”。沃倫·巴菲特稱呼那些可能擁有領導大型組織的管理能力，但從未像前輩一樣經(jīng)歷過同樣考驗的人為“富二代”。

Hilton and Marriott, two of the world’s biggest hotel chains, as well as Lego, a toymaking giant, are examples of companies which did not produce a strong successor and eventually ended up in the hands of professional managers.

希爾頓和萬豪這兩家全球最大的酒店連鎖企業(yè)，以及玩具巨頭“樂高”都是沒有產(chǎn)生強有力接班人最終由職業(yè)經(jīng)理人接管的例子。

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For those who nevertheless decide to take an active role in the family business, it does not have to be a poison.

對于那些仍然決定在家族企業(yè)中扮演積極角色的人來說，這并不一定有害。

Some of the logic that historically made family firms de rigueur continues to stand.

歷史上家族企業(yè)世襲的邏輯仍然站得住腳。

For example, designated heirs—like Mr Arnault’s five children, all of whom now run parts of LVMH—are groomed early on, so by the time they are ready to take over they have already acquired some industry knowledge by osmosis.
例如，指定繼承人——比如阿諾特先生的5個孩子，他們現(xiàn)在都在管理LVMH的部分業(yè)務——早早地就被培養(yǎng)出來了，因此當他們準備接管時，他們已經(jīng)通過潛移默化的滲透影響獲得了一些行業(yè)知識。

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At the personal level, work is not solely about money but also about empowerment and prestige. Your name on the door may bestow a sense of purpose.

在個人層面上，工作不僅僅是關于金錢，還關乎賦權和聲望。墻上的家族名字會賦予你一種使命感。

Preserving the legacy of an empire can be rewarding, so long as the heir displays passion and persistence.

只要繼承人表現(xiàn)出激情和毅力，這對保護家族企業(yè)的遺產(chǎn)是有益的。

They can probably forget being one of the gang when it comes to office gossip, but they can earn their colleagues’ and subordinates’ respect with modesty and hard work.

當談及到辦公室八卦時，他們可能會忘記自己的身份，但他們可以通過謙虛和努力贏得同事和下屬的尊重。

The serious heir knows that showing up simply because it is easier than venturing out on their own doesn’t cut it.

認真的繼承人知道，僅僅因為比自己冒險更容易而出現(xiàn)是不夠的。

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Ultimately, being entrusted with a business by people who share your DNA is something you ought to earn, not expect.

最終，被家庭成員委托經(jīng)營一家企業(yè)，是你自己贏得的而不是理所當然。

As the adage goes, “A family business is not a business you inherit from your parents, it is a business you borrow from your children.”

正如諺語所說，“家族企業(yè)不是你從父母那里繼承的企業(yè)，而是你從孩子那里借來的企業(yè)?！?br>

Disregard for this nugget of wisdom is what makes “Succession” such riveting television—and Waystar Royco so dysfunctional.
對這句智慧金玉良言的無視，正是使得美劇《繼承者之戰(zhàn)》如此精彩的原因——也是傳媒帝國“Waystar Royco”功能失調(diào)的原因。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量778左右）
原文出自：2023年4月8日《The Economist》Business版塊。

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學習交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡）
《繼承之戰(zhàn)》圍繞國際媒體巨頭Roy一家的家庭丑聞內(nèi)幕，劇中Logan Roy及他的四個孩子控制著全球最大的娛樂媒體集團之一，年邁的父親（Brian Cox飾）開始退出公司，而他的孩子則思索如何抓緊機會繼承這帝國? 。2010年，阿姆斯特朗將該劇本命名為《默多克》，講的就是默多克家族在傳媒界的壟斷地位以及家族內(nèi)部紛爭的故事，但是這一劇本一直無人敢投資。該劇本一直在過去幾年中得以反復修改，直至被HBO采用，拍出了美劇《繼承之戰(zhàn)》?！独^承之戰(zhàn)》的第二季豆瓣評分高達9.3。很多人稱，這是一部完全被低估的作品。

《Buddenbrooks》是一部由Thomas Mann于1901年創(chuàng)作的小說，講述了一個富有的北德商人家族四代人的衰落，順便描繪了1835年至1877年漢薩同盟資產(chǎn)階級的生活方式和風俗。這部小說是Mann的第一部小說，當時他只有26歲。隨著第二版在1903年出版，《Buddenbrooks》成為了一部重要的文學作品。這部作品使Mann在1929年獲得了諾貝爾文學獎;盡管諾貝爾獎通常認可作者的作品，但瑞典學院為Mann頒發(fā)獎項時指出，“他偉大的小說《Buddenbrooks》”是他獲獎的主要原因。

富二代“Lucky sperm club”是指那些出生在富有家庭的人。巴菲特曾在一次采訪中談到他與比爾·蓋茨的關系以及他們對繼承財富的共同鄙視時，直言不諱地否定了將他的大部分財富給予他的三個孩子的想法。他說：“我不相信世襲財富”，并稱那些在富有環(huán)境中長大的人為“幸運精子俱樂部”的成員。

【重點句子】（4個）
The dilemmas of working for an organisation which an immediate family member runs or in which they own the majority sound alarming enough in fiction, never mind real life.
為一個直系親屬經(jīng)營或擁有多數(shù)股份的公司工作的困境在小說中已經(jīng)夠驚人了，更不用說現(xiàn)實生活中的案例了。

Filial loyalty and multi-generational thinking can morph into resistance to change, and if a firm has outside shareholders, clash with their interests.
子女忠誠和多代思維可能會演變成對變革的抵制，如果一家家族企業(yè)有外部股東，這可能會與他們的利益發(fā)生沖突。

Any pre-existing domestic frictions might make their way into the business. And vice versa: disagreements over the business can breed feuds, often between siblings.
任何現(xiàn)有的家庭矛盾都可能進入企業(yè)。反之亦然：企業(yè)上的意見分歧可能會導致家族紛爭，通常是兄弟姐妹之間的紛爭。

At the personal level, work is not solely about money but also about empowerment and prestige. Your name on the door may bestow a sense of purpose.
在個人層面上，工作不僅僅是關于金錢，還關乎賦權和聲望。墻上的家族名字會賦予你一種使命感。