非诚勿扰(20090109期):家人是家族企业最大问题该怎么办

http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/03/11 18:30  《Speak 2 Me》

What do you do when a family business’ biggest problem is the family?
Families fight all the time, but normally these quarrels only result in some broken dishes and sleepless neighbors. But fights within family-owned businesses can result in sleepless nights for thousands of employees and investors.
Reliance Industries, founded by a former gas station attendant, is India’s largest private company. The founder planned to leave the company to his two sons, Mukesh and Anil Ambani, but the old man died in 2002 without leaving a will, and the two brothers have been at each other’s throats ever since. Since the brothers collectively control the company, but can’t agree on how to manage it, thousands of Reliance employees and investors have been holding their breath to see how the story plays out.
As long as there are family businesses, there will be family business feuds. In 1995, Maurizio Gucci, heir to the Gucci fortune and grandson of the company’s founder, was murdered outside his Milan office. It turns out the gunmen were hired by Gucci’s wife, furious that her husband was planning to leave her for another woman. With Maurizio out of the way, she figured there was nothing to stop her from taking over the company herself.
While few family business arguments end in murder, many do end the firm. Fewer than 30% of family businesses survive the death of the founder: incompetence, apathy and mistrust among siblings and their spouses usually combine to kill off the parent’s life’s work.
Some companies try to avoid this fate by handing over day-to-day operations to professional managers. Business schools have also begun offering special programs to train the second and third generation owners in the difficulties of managing a family firm.
An old proverb says, “From rags to riches and back again in three generations.” Given the way the Ambani brothers are acting, their grandchildren might end up working as gas station attendants, just like their great-grandfather.

家人是家族企业最大问题该怎么办
家人常常吵架，但这些争执的结果通常只会造成几个盘子被摔坏，让邻居睡不着觉。但是家族企业中的争执，结果可能造成几千个员工和投资者睡不着觉。
“信赖工业有限公司”的创办人曾经当过加油站服务员，它是印度最大的民营公司。创办人计划将公司留给他的两个儿子慕凯西和阿尼尔-安巴尼，但是父亲在2002年过世时没有留下遗嘱，这两个兄弟从那时起就一直争吵至今。虽然两兄弟共同控制这家公司，却在经营方式上无法彼此认同，几千位信赖工业公司的员工和投资人都屏息等待这个故事的结局。
只要有家族企业，就会有家族企业的累世宿仇。在1995年，古驰财富的继承人及该公司创办人之孙莫里齐奥-古驰，在他的米兰办公室外被谋杀。结果证实枪手是古驰的妻子请来的，她因为丈夫将为另一个女人离开她而极为愤怒。她认为少了莫里齐奥碍事，就没有任何事可以阻止她自己接管公司。
虽然家族纠纷以谋杀收场的很少，但最后让公司倒闭的却很多。创办人过世后还撑得下去的家族企业不到30%：不称职、漠不关心、手足和配偶间互不信任通常合起来毁了父母一生的心血。
有些公司试着将日常运作交给专业管理者经营，以避免这种命运。企业管理学校也开始提供特殊课程来训练这些在困境中经营家族企业的第二代和第三代老板。
有句古谚语这样说：“富不过三代。”考虑到安巴尼兄弟的行为，他们的孙子们最后可能会沦为加油站服务员，就像他们的曾祖父一样。