家族企业有本难念的生意经

    当今的职场人士大多腰里别着智能手机，随时与办公室保持联系，难怪许多人苦苦挣扎，希望能找到工作与生活的平衡。但在美国，有些人的“工作”与“生活”从来就没有分过家。实际上，如果追根溯源，美国企业中有许多都是从小型家族企业发展起来的。

    而且，在某些方面，家族企业依然保持着强劲的发展势头。美国人口统计局（U.S. Census Bureau）公布的2011企业主调查（Survey of Business Owners，2007年开始）结果显示，约有四分之一接受调查的公司为家族企业。但尽管将企业与家族基因结合具有优势，但有一个显著问题不容忽视：你不得不为亲人打工。

    这种情况会带来很大的压力。会计顾问公司Rothstein Kass的咨询师汤姆•安吉尔认为，首先“你必须把工作带回家，因为这就是你的生活。”

    与其他类型的公司相比，家族企业内部存在更为复杂的动态关系。即便像《天才小麻烦》中的一家人那样最和睦、沟通最顺畅的家庭也存在这样的问题。实际上家庭问题非常普遍，甚至于有一些咨询公司专门为家族企业提供服务。

    安吉尔便专门负责家族企业咨询业务，他说：“我既要当会计师，又要担任心理学家的角色。”

    这听起来像是真人情景剧中的桥段，但实际上确实存在。2010年，MTV电视台曾进行过一次演员选秀，挑选在家族餐厅工作的人。发行方称：“家庭越大越好。我们对居住在小城镇的家庭尤其感兴趣。”

    麻烦不断的家族企业或许成就一台好戏，但专业咨询师们的目的却是要减少因生意与家庭融为一体所导致的问题，从而避免引发心理上的问题。

    史蒂夫•麦克卢尔称：“是不是所有人都需要接受治疗呢？当然不是。我采取的方式适可而止，不会介入太深。”史蒂夫•麦克卢尔是家族企业咨询集团公司（Family Business Consulting Group）的负责人，专门为家族企业提供服务。

    企业家族的成员往往会忽视个人能动性对工作产生的影响。而咨询师的任务就是帮助他们发现问题所在，然后帮助他们制定方案，摆平麻烦。

    With smartphones at the hip and ceaseless access to the office, it's no surprise that many workers are struggling to find balance. But for a section of the American workforce, "work" and "life" have never been separate. In fact, American corporate enterprise traces its roots back to small, family-owned businesses.

    These businesses are still thriving, in some ways. Over one-fourth of businesses that responded to the 2011 U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners, taken in 2007, were family-owned. But despite the advantages of mixing business and genetics, there's always that elephant in the boardroom: you have to work with your relatives.

    This can be stressful. For one, "you're going to take the work home with you because it's your life," says Tom Angell, a consultant with Rothstein Kass.

    Family-owned businesses tend to have more complicated dynamics than their counterparts. That's true even for the most caring, communicative, leave-it-to-Beaver-like nuclear units. Family issues are so common, in fact, that a handful of consulting firms specifically cater to family-owned businesses.

    "I'm part accountant, part psychologist," says Angell, who specializes in family-owned business consulting.

    This might sound like fodder for a reality series. Indeed, it is. Back in 2010, MTV (VIA) put out a casting call for people who work in family-owned restaurants. "The bigger the family, the better," the release said. "We're especially interested in families who live in small towns."

    While dysfunctional family businesses might make good drama, specialized consultants aim to mitigate problems that come from the business-family crossover without necessarily opening a can of psychological worms.

    "Does everybody need therapy? No. And it's my approach to go no deeper than they need to," says Steve McClure, a principal with the Family Business Consulting Group, a firm that specializes entirely in family-owned businesses.

    Instead, consultants try to help families identify instances where they have overlooked how their personal dynamics affect work. Then consultants can work with families to come up with a plan to smooth out the bumps.