關鍵印刷 分家不散夥的商界夫婦
Working side by side in their new sunlit prem in Oakland, California, making custom-made books in leather and cloth, everything seemed to be coming together for husband-and-wife team Ivar Diehl and Danya Winterman, co-founders of The Key Printing and Binding. But their marriage was in difficulties and last year they separated. But first they made a vow: “We promised that if we split up we would try to keep our business partnership going. It would have been too great a shame to destroy something we had built together,” says Mr Diehl.
作爲關鍵印刷裝訂公司(The Key Printing and Binding)共同創始人，伊瓦爾迪爾(Ivar Diehl)和丹尼亞溫特曼(Danya Winterman)組成的夫妻團隊（上圖），在位於加利福尼亞州奧克蘭市的充滿陽光的新房子中並肩工作，用皮革和布料製作着定製書籍——一切似乎都是兩人共同打拼來的。不過，兩人的婚姻卻遭遇了困難，並於去年離婚了。然而，他們做的頭一件事，就是發下了一個誓言。迪爾表示：“我們承諾，就算我們分開了，我們也會努力將我們的商業夥伴關係維持下去。毀掉某種我們共同打造的東西，那是太大的遺憾。”
Co-founder couples who remain wedded to their business after ending their marriage may not be common but they are becoming less rare. Abba, the double-couple band that became double-divorced, continued to record hits after Agnethaand Ulvaeus split, although the next divorce brought the curtain down. Eighteen years after separating from the hairdresser Nicky Clarke, Lesley Clarke still directs the business side of the eponymous salon and haircare brand. The restaurateur Rick Stein and his former wife Jill divorced eight years ago but continue to open new ventures together, with Ms Stein designing the interiors.
共同創業的配偶在結束婚姻後保持商業上的密切關係或許並不常見，但這種現象正變得不那麼少見了。Abba樂隊就曾由原本的兩對夫婦，變成兩對離異夫婦。在阿格妮莎輠斯克格(Agnetha)和比約恩攠瓦爾斯(Bj爀渀 Ulvaeus)離婚後，該樂隊依舊創作出了成功的歌曲——儘管另一對夫婦的離異終於令樂隊散夥。在和美容師尼基克拉克(Nicky Clarke)離婚18年後，萊斯莉克拉克(Lesley Clarke)仍主管着同名美髮護髮品牌的商業事宜。餐館老闆裏克斯坦(Rick Stein) 8年前和前妻吉爾(Jill)離婚，卻繼續和她一同開辦新的分店，並由斯坦女士設計內部裝潢。
And in start-up land, couples who go into business together and fall out of love are a recognised phenomenon. “It’s an archetype we see more and more because succeeding at marriage is hard enough without the added stress of running a business together,” says Mich Crosby, co-founder of Wevorce, a San Francisco-based business that helps couples in business divorce amicably.
在初創企業方面，配偶共同創業而又不再相愛是一種並不難見到的現象。Wevorce共同創始人米歇爾克羅斯比(Michelle Crosby)表示：“這種典型現象我們見得越來越多，因爲即便沒有共同運營企業的額外壓力，要取得婚姻的成功也已經夠難了。”Wevorce是一家總部位於舊金山的企業，致力於幫助商界配偶友好離婚。
Some estranged couples cannot to buy each other out and soldier on as business partners out of necessity. Ambition, loyalty to staff and respect for each other’s talents can all be influential too — the flamboyant Mr Clarke, for example, has said that without the guiding acumen of Ms Clarke he would not have had a brand. But when couples can no longer live together, what hope is there that they will see eye to eye as business partners?
部分離異配偶財力還沒有雄厚到能買斷對方股份的地步，出於必要而以商業夥伴的身份繼續走下去。此外，對未來發展的雄心、對員工的忠誠以及對彼此才能的尊重，也都會影響到這一決定的做出。比如，張揚的克拉克先生就曾表示，沒有克拉克太太敏銳的領導直覺，他不可能打造出一個品牌。然而，當配偶們不能再生活在一起時，又如何能作爲商業夥伴做到意見一致呢？
Before addressing the commercial of a break-up, Ms Crosby, who is divorced, advises couples to tackle the pain — especially if one side has been unfaithful — in order to the emotional needs from the legal and financial resolutions that must be reached. Otherwise the likelihood is that resentment will fester and make working together impossible. “What we often see is ‘the betrayer’ throwing in a lot of money in an attempt to fix things, and in six months the settlement comes unstuck because the betrayer no longer feels guilty and the other party is still angry,” Ms Crosby says.
已經離異的克羅斯比建議配偶們，在解決離異帶來的商業衝擊前，先處理它造成的痛苦——尤其是如果一方有不忠行爲的話——以便將情感上的需求從必須達成的法律和財務決定中摘出來。否則，雙方的憎恨情緒很可能會惡化，從而抹煞了相互合作的可能性。克羅斯比表示：“我們經常見到的情形，是‘背叛者’試圖扔出一大筆錢彌補過失，而6個月後雙方的和解卻走向失敗，因爲背叛者不再感到愧疚，而另一方卻仍然憤憤不平。”
Sometimes estranged couples are doing fine professionally; then a wound reopens, emotions resurface and the whole thing starts to unravel. One co-founder, who asked not to be named,how office relations soured when she began dating again. “[My ex] began behaving as if he could no longer trust me [with the even though our break-up was amicable.”
有時候，離異配偶在生意上原本相處得不錯，然後雙方間的傷口卻被再次揭開，種種情緒再次表露出來，整個局面開始走向崩潰。一位要求不公開名字的公司聯合創始人還記得，當她再次開始約會時，她和前夫的辦公室關係開始變味。“（我前夫的）行爲方式開始變得好像他（在財務上）不能再信任我——儘管我們是和平分手的。”
Perpetual fireworks are probably a sign that the estranged couple are no more compatible as business partners than as spouses, but occasional upsets are generally survivable so long as both sides share a goal and are willing to be generous, say those with personal experience. Ms Winterman and Mr Diehl agreed for the sake of their baby daughter and their business to treat each other with the consideration due to old friends, taking breaks to cool off when the stress of meeting production deadlines and dissolving their marriage at the same time became too much.
離異配偶間持續不斷的戰火，或許表明雙方做商業夥伴的相容性並不比做配偶高。不過，那些有過親身體會的人表示，只要雙方擁有共同目標並願意慷慨相待，偶爾的不快通常是沒有問題的。爲了年幼的女兒以及他們的企業，溫特曼女士和迪爾先生達成了協議，以對老朋友的心態對待彼此。當產品按時交貨的壓力與同時襲來的婚姻解體壓力超出他們的承受能力時，他們會休息休息，冷卻一下。
“When you know someone so well, a tone of voice that’s a little off can be a really emotional thing,” says Ms Winterman. The levelheadedness of a third co-founder who is a trusted friend has them navigate “some of the weirdness”, of the situation and “kept us slightly better behaved than we might otherwise be”, she adds.
溫特曼女士表示：“如果你對某人如此熟悉，語氣上的一點點過火，都可能實實在在地影響到雙方的情緒。”她補充說，還有一位共同創始人是他們信賴的朋友，這位朋友的冷靜幫助他們部分克服了這種關係中的“古怪”，並“讓我們採取更好的行爲方式，否則我們可能做得比這糟糕”。
Strategies that conventional business partners employ to avert gridlock — from consulting a neutral party to flipping a coin can also help exes resolve workplace disagreements peaceably. Ms Crosby, who once hired her ex-husband as her operations head, warns that when former spouses argue, old patterns of confrontation resurface.
那些普通商業夥伴用於避免出現僵局的策略——從諮詢中立方到扔硬幣——對離異配偶和平解決生意中的分歧也有幫助。曾聘用前夫做運營主管的克羅斯比警告稱，曾經的配偶爭辯時，舊的對峙模式會再次出現。
To avoid being sucked into fights, she advises couples to heed normal office etiquette in their dealings with each other. Recalling a pricing disagreement with her ex that turned personal in public, she reflects that “an ex knows what buttons to push [to rile you].”
爲避免陷入衝突，她建議配偶們在與對方相處時注意保持正常的辦公室禮節。她還記得，有一次與前夫在定價上的分歧演變成了當衆的個人衝突。對此，她反思道：“你的前任知道按哪個鈕（能激怒你）。”
Keeping rumour-mongers at bay is often a concern when co-founder couples split, as suppliers may fret that the business will fold and employees fear for their jobs. British couple Louisa Scott and Jez John over what to tell staff at their jointly owned businesses Webstars, a digital agency, and Make My Day, a music business, when they separated in 2006.
如何堵住謠言，往往是共同創業的配偶離異時的一大顧慮，因爲供應商可能會擔心該企業會散夥，員工則會擔心丟掉他們的工作。2006年，英國夫婦路易莎斯科特(Louisa Scott)和傑斯約翰(Jez John)離婚時，他們大傷腦筋，不知該如何告訴他們共同擁有的企業Webstars和Make My Day的員工。Webstars是一家數字化代理商，而Make My Day則是一家音樂企業。
Eventually, Mr John broke the news matter-of-factly during an office briefing devoted mainly to plans for expansion. In the following months, the couple spoke often — and even joked in public — about their separation, emphasising that nothing other than their domestic arrangements were about to change. “I think initially the staff worried that the family feel in the office would change. But the fact that we were very open, coupled with Jez’s bad jokes, helped to take away the awkwardness of the situation,” says Ms Scott.
最終，約翰在一個主題爲企業擴張規劃的公司通氣會上，實事求是地披露了這一消息。在之後幾個月，兩人經常談到他們的離異——甚至還會當衆用這個話題開玩笑。在談話中，他們強調除了他們家庭內部的安排，其他方面都不會改變。斯科特表示：“我想，員工們起初擔心公司裏家庭般的感覺會發生變化。然而，我們極其開放的態度，再加上傑斯拙劣的笑話，幫助消除了這一局面帶來的尷尬。”
A domestic break-up will oblige co-owners to rethink how they make decisions and share information. Divorcees Rick Rivera and Lisa Layton, co-owners of American Car Craft, an auto accessories business, say they work better as business partners than they ever did as a couple. But they miss the nonstop talk that spilled over from the office into domestic life. “We discussed business all the time, even in bed,” says Ms Layton. “I feel it takes us longer to make things happenwe had regular meetings the business would grow faster.”
家庭的破裂會迫使企業的共同所有者重新思考決策和信息分享的方式。已離異的裏克里韋拉(Rick Rivera)和莉薩萊頓(Lisa Layton)是汽車配件企業American Car Craft的共同所有者。他們表示，作爲商業夥伴，他們的合作比作爲夫妻的任何時候都好。不過，他們很懷念從公司延伸至家庭生活的不停歇的談話。萊頓表示：“我們會在一切時間討論生意——甚至是在牀上。我感覺現在做事情花的時間要長一些……如果我們定期召開會議，企業的成長會快一些。”
For some couples a break-up highlights a need to adapt as the business matures. Mr John and Ms Scott say they now run decisions past each other rather than assume that they know the other’s opinion.
對某些夫婦來說，隨着企業走向成熟，離異會愈發凸顯出調整的必要性。約翰先生和斯科特女士表示，如今他們會先徵求對方意見後再做決定，而不是假定自己知道對方的看法。
Having to pay the bills for two households while carving out a business niche has prompted Mr Diehl and Ms Winterman to diversify from purely bespoke work into making notebooks and journals decorated with graffiti art for galleries and writers’ stores.
由於要擔負起兩個家庭的開銷，還要同時爲自己的企業打造一席之地，迪爾和溫特曼已把業務從純粹的定製拓展開來，製作飾以塗鴉的筆記本和日記本，在畫廊和麪向寫作者的店鋪出售。
Working in the sight line of an ex is nevertheless awkward, Ms Winterman reflects. “In the past, Ivar would often show up for me an hour late. Now he runs out of the office to meet his girlfriend at the exact right moment. That’s really annoying to watch.”
不過，在前夫視線下工作確實很尷尬——溫特曼反思道。“過去，伊瓦爾往往會爲了我加班一個小時。如今，一到點他就跑出辦公室去見女友了。這確實叫人看着心煩。”
