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原文标题：BartlebyThe lure of the family businessThe pros and cons of following in your parents’ footsteps巴托比专栏家族企业的吸引力 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.

家族企业会产生精彩的剧集。问问那些最近收看HBO《继承之战》最后一季的观众就知道了。

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.

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.

为一个直系亲属经营或拥有多数股份的公司工作的困境在小说中已经够惊人了，更不用说现实生活中的案例了。

And nepotism can be plenty dramatic even without the plot twists.即使没有跌宕起伏的情节，裙带关系也足以引起剧烈反响。

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

如今，裙带关系受到谴责——大多数上市公司和专业公司都禁止这种关系。

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，家族企业占全球企业总数的90%以上。确切地说，其中许多是小本经营的夫妻店。

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.

有些是小型经济体中的大型企业，比如雅典一家企业，这位名叫巴托比的客人刚从大学毕业，就被任命负责管理与机构投资者的关系。

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). 少数是全球巨型公司：想想鲁珀特·默多克的媒体帝国（据称《继承者之战》受其启发）或伯纳德·阿诺特4600亿美元的奢侈品集团LVMH（事实上，它通过收购其他家族企业（如宝格丽和芬迪）而不断壮大）。

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Regardless of size, all family companies face common challenges.

无论规模大小，所有家族企业都面临着共同的挑战。

Filial

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

子女忠诚和多代思维可能会演变成对变革的抵制，如果一家家族企业有外部股东，这可能会与他们的利益发生冲突。

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.

代际交接的过渡过程可能会特别耗费精力，让那些非家庭成员的员工感到沮丧，还会引发社会流动性或缺乏流动性等不安问题。

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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.

对于企业继承人来说，在满足家庭期望、延续家庭与实现个人成就方面可能会产生大量矛盾，正如曼恩书中精彩描写的那样。

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

即使在坚持择优录用的公司中，你也没有任何技能能够说服你所有的同事，你实际上是靠自己的能力获得了这份工作。

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.

任何现有的家庭矛盾都可能进入企业。反之亦然：企业上的意见分歧可能会导致家族纷争，通常是兄弟姐妹之间的纷争。

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，穆克什和阿尼尔·安巴尼在他们继承的商业帝国“信实工业”之间的激烈纷争持续了多年，因为他们的父亲去世后没有留下遗嘱。

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

难怪有些继承人会选择保留股份，或者留一个董事会席位，但他们会去其他地方追求职业生涯。

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.

并非所有的沃尔顿家族成员都在沃尔玛工作；在瑞士制药巨头罗氏公司的高管中，很难找到霍夫曼家族的成员，该公司由他们的祖先于1896年创立。

They thus avoided being accused of belonging to the “lucky 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.

这样，他们就避免了被指责为“富二代”。沃伦·巴菲特称呼那些可能拥有领导大型组织的管理能力，但从未像前辈一样经历过同样考验的人为“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.

希尔顿和万豪这两家全球最大的酒店连锁企业，以及玩具巨头“乐高”都是没有产生强有力接班人最终由职业经理人接管的例子。

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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.

对于那些仍然决定在家族企业中扮演积极角色的人来说，这并不一定有害。

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

历史上家族企业世袭的逻辑仍然站得住脚。

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，指定继承人——比如阿诺特先生的5个孩子，他们现在都在管理LVMH的部分业务——早早地就被培养出来了，因此当他们准备接管时，他们已经通过潜移默化的渗透影响获得了一些行业知识。

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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.

在个人层面上，工作不仅仅是关于金钱，还关乎赋权和声望。墙上的家族名字会赋予你一种使命感。

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

只要继承人表现出激情和毅力，这对保护家族企业的遗产是有益的。

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.

当谈及到办公室八卦时，他们可能会忘记自己的身份，但他们可以通过谦虚和努力赢得同事和下属的尊重。

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

认真的继承人知道，仅仅因为比自己冒险更容易而出现是不够的。

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

最终，被家庭成员委托经营一家企业，是你自己赢得的而不是理所当然。

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.”

正如谚语所说，“家族企业不是你从父母那里继承的企业，而是你从孩子那里借来的企业。”

Disregard for this nugget of wisdom is what makes “Succession” such riveting television—and Waystar Royco so dysfunctional.对这句智慧金玉良言的无视，正是使得美剧《继承者之战》如此精彩的原因——也是传媒帝国“Waystar Royco”功能失调的原因。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量778左右）原文出自：2023年4月8日《The Economist》Business版块。

本文翻译整理: Irene

【重点句子】（4个）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.为一个直系亲属经营或拥有多数股份的公司工作的困境在小说中已经够惊人了，更不用说现实生活中的案例了。Filial loyalty and multi-generational thinking can morph into resistance to change, and if a firm has outside shareholders, clash with their interests.子女忠诚和多代思维可能会演变成对变革的抵制，如果一家家族企业有外部股东，这可能会与他们的利益发生冲突。

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.任何现有的家庭矛盾都可能进入企业。反之亦然：企业上的意见分歧可能会导致家族纷争，通常是兄弟姐妹之间的纷争。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.在个人层面上，工作不仅仅是关于金钱，还关乎赋权和声望。墙上的家族名字会赋予你一种使命感。

自由英语之路

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