为什么有些企业能存活几百年
Most companies are short-lived. The average large firm survives only a few decades before it is bought, broken up, or simply fades away. And yet, scattered across the world, a small number of businesses have endured for centuries, some passing through more than forty generations of the same family. Their longevity poses a genuine puzzle.
大多数企业都很短命。一家大公司平均只能存活几十年，便被收购、拆分，或干脆悄然消失。然而，散布在世界各地，有极少数企业延续了数百年之久，其中一些甚至在同一个家族中传承了四十多代人。它们的长寿，构成了一个真正的谜题。
One might assume the secret is aggressive growth or bold innovation. In fact, the opposite is often true. Studies of these ancient firms find that they tend to be cautious, even conservative. They avoid taking on heavy debt, resist the temptation to expand too fast, and keep enough reserves to survive the lean years that inevitably come. Survival, not spectacular success, is their organising principle.
人们或许以为，秘诀在于激进的扩张或大胆的创新。事实上，情况往往恰恰相反。对这些古老企业的研究发现，它们往往谨慎，甚至保守。它们不背负沉重的债务，抵制扩张过快的诱惑，并保留足够的储备，以熬过那些必然到来的艰难岁月。它们的组织原则，是活下去，而非惊世骇俗的成功。
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