????但家族企業(yè)特別容易陷入某些特定的麻煩之中，主要是圍繞繼承問題。即便龐大的新聞集團（News Corp）默多克家族也難以幸免。據(jù)《名利場》雜志（Vanity Fair）12月份的一篇文章報道，默多克家族曾與一位心理學(xué)家討論過家族繼承問題。周五，奧本海默家族將其持有的鉆石礦業(yè)公司德比爾斯（De Beers）40%的股份出售給英美資源公司（Anglo American），據(jù)稱后者涉及更為嚴(yán)重的繼承問題。

????麥克盧爾認(rèn)為，總體而言，家族企業(yè)中的年輕一代在三十歲時，會焦躁不安地渴望改變。這也符合公司進行結(jié)構(gòu)性改革的需求——原因主要在于兩代人之間發(fā)生的技術(shù)進步，以及不斷變化的消費者需求。

????家族企業(yè)咨詢師艾德?羅森菲爾德稱：“代溝不可避免。年長一代通常更愿意守成，為退休后的生活保障做打算。而年輕一代為了能在更短時間內(nèi)把企業(yè)做大而倍感壓力，否則他們就無法享受自己想要的生活方式?！?/p>

????人們總是會被自己的家庭角色所束縛，即便是涉及公司業(yè)務(wù)也依然如此。家族成員會記得哪位親戚總是一事無成，誰是麻煩制造者，誰又是家中的金童玉女，但實際上這些角色根本不會影響工作能力。麥克盧爾經(jīng)常建議家族企業(yè)未來的接班人暫時離開自家的公司一段時間，到其他公司證明自己擁有杰出的才能，這樣一來就可以打消人們對他能力的質(zhì)疑。

????他說，能力問題之所以常會引起注意，是因為家庭與企業(yè)在互動方式上存在很大的區(qū)別：在家庭中，最弱勢的人通常會得到最大的協(xié)助，而最能干的人遭遇則恰恰相反。麥克盧爾稱，他所在的公司建議親人之間利用家庭關(guān)系，而不是工作關(guān)系，來幫助有需要的家庭成員。

????但人們可能很難接受這樣的建議。安吉爾說：“在理智和邏輯上，他們可以理解，但在情感上他們不能接受。”

????實際上，Rothstein Kass的研究顯示，最成功的家族企業(yè)與其他類型的企業(yè)沒有太大的差別。公司的獨立顧問行使著董事會的職責(zé)，他們的意見通常會得到公司的重視。這些公司的決定不會過于偏袒特定家族成員，而且當(dāng)家庭中出現(xiàn)問題時，公司并不會受到影響。

????麥克盧爾稱，要想打造一家成功的家族企業(yè)，無需所有家庭成員一齊上陣；如果他們在進入公司時能甩掉作為家族成員角色的包袱，他們將受益匪淺。

????譯者：阿龍/汪皓

????Nonetheless, family businesses are susceptible to certain troubling patterns, mostly surrounding succession. Even the mighty Murdochs have hit succession problems at News Corp (NWS). The family has had discussions with a psychologist over succession troubles, according to a December article in Vanity Fair. And on Friday, the Oppenheimer family sold its 40% stake in diamond miner De Beers to Anglo American, which some have described as part of a larger succession problem.

????Across the board, the younger generation in a family-owned business tends to grow restless for change when they reach their thirties, McClure says. This can also coincide with a need for organizational changes at the company – technology advances between generations, and customers' needs evolve.

????"Differences are unavoidable between generations," says family business consultant Ed Rosenfeld. "The senior generation generally has an interest in preserving what they've built and an economic incentive to protect their retirement. The younger generation feels pressure to grow the pie in a shorter time frame, or they're not going to get the lifestyle that they want."

????People tend to get locked into their family roles, even when they enter the business. Families still remember when their relatives were screw-ups, troublemakers, or golden children, though those roles may not affect competence at work. McClure often advises a young family member who is a potential successor to leave the business for a short period of time and prove his or her prowess at another company, which can relieve tension about the person's merit.

????Merit questions surface often, he says, because of a key difference between family and business dynamics: in a family unit, the neediest person generally gets the most assistance, as opposed to the most competent person. McClure says his company urges people to use the family network, not the business network, to support needy members.

????It can be tough for people to hear that advice. "They'll understand it mentally and logically, but emotionally is where they have the trouble," says Angell.

????In fact, the best-run family-owned businesses, according to Rothstein Kass' research, are difficult to distinguish from any other company. They tap into insight from independent advisers that serve the same purpose as a board. They make decisions that do not favor certain family members excessively, and the business portion of their lives doesn't dissolve when there's trouble at home.

????A family doesn't even really need to be entirely functional to run a successful business, says McClure. But it helps if they can drop all the baggage that comes with being a family when they step foot in the office.