如今的企業家應當以節儉爲榮
Governments and political parties can be broadly divided into those which believe it is their duty to carry out more and more public spending, and impose ever higher taxation (and take on ever more borrowings) to pay for their largesse; and those which focus on cutting spending and tax, and achieving better value for citizens. Ultimately the former administrations drive countries bankrupt, and immiserate taxpayers – because their priorities are wrong.
Similarly, I have found that companies fall in to one of two categories: those whose efforts are mainly directed towards increasing the top line, with little emphasis on costs; and those which understand that higher revenues are all very well, but know that controlling expenses is actually the secret to delivering a decent bottom line.
類似地，我發現企業也可以分爲兩類：一類集中全力提高營業收入，但很少注重成本；另一類明白提高營收當然很好，但實際上控制支出纔是實現可觀利潤的祕訣。I am acutely aware of this distinction at present. Most companies on whose boards I sit are grinding through the annual budget process, and trying to project 2015’s results. In doing so, organisations reveal their biases. Too many management teams are satisfied with a performance which is “good enough”: having been through a long recession, they are content with modest margins and returns. But feeble profitability means fewer resources for investment, diminished rewards for all stakeholders, and an impaired ability to withstand external shocks.
我現在對這一區別門兒清。我擔任董事的大多數企業眼下都在痛苦地制定年度預算並努力預測2015年的業績。在此過程中，企業會泄露自己的傾向。太多的管理團隊滿足於所謂“過得去”的業績：經歷了一個漫長的經濟蕭條期，他們滿足於不高的利潤和回報。但微弱的盈利能力意味着可用於投資的資源進一步減少，所有股東的回報縮水以及企業抵禦外部衝擊的能力受損。
Growth can be a marvellous phenomenon – more jobs, greater scale, new products – all laudable aims for any business. But if increases in sales become an overwhelming objective, and expenses are neglected, then normally grand plans run aground.
增長可以帶來神奇的結果——更多的就業機會、更大的規模、新產品的推出，這些對於任何企業都是值得稱道的目標。但是，如果銷售增長成爲壓倒一切的目標，成本開支被忽略，那麼再宏偉的計劃通常也會擱淺。Too often more sales are seen as the antidote to everything. It allows leaders to forget what they see as the drudgery of addressing bloated costs. Unfortunately, growth usually consumes cash in working capital – and if profits are anaemic, then the cash runs out.
太多時候，銷售增長被看作是解決一切問題的靈丹妙藥。它讓企業領袖能夠將自己眼中的苦差——解決成本膨脹問題——拋諸腦後。遺憾的是，增長通常要消耗運營資金中的現金，而如果利潤並不豐厚，那麼現金將耗盡。There are always a thousand excuses as to why costs cannot be cut. Managers are too embarrassed to ask for lower prices from suppliers; they are too squeamish to make surplus workers redundant; they lack the resolve to challenge how money is spent; they are comfortable with the status quo; they are too lazy to examine in detail where expenses arise, and find intelligent ways to reduce them; and they are too scared of losing customers to re-engineer products so as to generate a fair return.
總是有千百個理由來解釋爲何成本無法削減。經理們不好意思跟供應商砍價；他們顧忌太多，不願裁員；他們缺乏質疑資金究竟花到了哪裏的決斷；他們滿足於現狀；他們懶得去細查哪些部分的開支增加了，也懶得去尋找降低開支的妙招；他們太害怕失去客戶，因而不敢重新設計產品以獲得合理回報。Costs come in every shape and size, from travel and office equipment to software and utility bills. An attitude of mind should be developed which questions every line, every contract, and every quoted price. Small items can add up to big numbers. More can almost always be done with less, if circumstances require it. Waste does not simply damage financial outcomes; it is a moral issue.
成本的形式多種多樣，從差旅費、辦公設備、軟件、到水電雜費。應當形成這樣一種態度：質疑每一項支出、每一份合同和每一個報價。小項費用累積起來就是很大的開支。如果形勢需要，通過減少支出幾乎總是能辦成更多事情。浪費不僅損害財務收益，也是一個道德問題。While I dislike being involved in companies which labour under tough bank covenants, they do have one benefit: they force managers to take hard decisions about excessive costs, unneeded overhead, and lavish spending. Similarly, companies in crisis learn that almost everything is negotiable. Expert turnround bosses are masters at cost-cutting. They know that a successful war on costs is always a better outcome than liquidation. By contrast, companies which sit on piles of cash almost never examine capital expenditure proposals with as much rigour as they should – and that is how they come to misallocate funds.
雖然我不喜歡跟在苛刻的銀行貸款條款制約下苦苦經營的企業有牽連，但這樣的企業有一個好處：企業經理人被迫就過高的成本、不必要的費用和大手大腳的開支做艱難的決定。同樣，企業在危機中學習到幾乎一切都是可協商的道理。擅長讓企業起死回生的老闆都是削減成本的高手。他們知道，打贏一場成本仗永遠比破產要好。相比之下，現金充足的企業從不拿出應有的嚴格態度來審查資本支出申請，這就是爲什麼這些企業會出現資金配置失誤。The reason why most companies have to be unsentimental and even mean about expenditure is that they operate in highly competitive sectors: few have the luxury of powerful patent protection, a legal monopoly or compelling brands. They slug it out for market share and engage in hand-to-hand combat every day.
之所以大多數企業都必須在開支上做到無情甚至吝嗇，是因爲它們所在的都是高度競爭的行業：沒有幾家能奢享強大的專利保護、合法的壟斷或擁有讓人心動的品牌。它們爲了市場份額爭得你死我活，每天都經歷着“肉搏戰”。But even ordinary companies can win through determination and stretching themselves. Strong businesses make productivity and efficiency an overriding imperative; it becomes embedded in their culture, from top to bottom. Employees learn to be creative and forceful in eliminating extravagance and surplus. They realise that few costs are cast in stone, and that being adaptable over outlays means a more prosperous, enduring future. No one should feel guilt about cutting costs, or finding cheaper ways to do things. Every entrepreneur should be proud to be frugal.
但即使是普通的企業也可以通過決斷和努力來獲得成功。強大的企業把提高生產力和效率視爲高於一切的目標，這已經融入了企業上上下下的文化之中。員工學會如何創造性地、有力地消除浪費和過度支出。他們認識到沒有幾項成本是鐵打的，只有在支出上能伸能縮，才能擁有更加繁榮、更持久的未來。任何人都不應因削減成本或找到更省錢的做事方式而感到內疚。每個企業家都應爲節儉感到自豪。The writer is chairman of Risk Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and The Centre for Entrepreneurs
本文作者爲私人股本公司Risk Capital Partners董事長，獨立智庫The Centre for Entrepreneurs主席
