When a business outgrows its mother:
The boss wife of a steadily developing medium-scale business--if she is lucky and has money, a happy marriage, leisure time and genuine power--can fully enjoy the fruits of many years of diligence. Naturally, many people find her an object of envy. But if the company is to take a further step of expansion, the boss wife's role must further undergo a degree of adjustment. Often the boss wife must give up the enterprise she herself cultivated over many years. Shen Hsiao-ling observes that after medium- and small-scale family businesses have gained a substantial position, they may wish to grow into a major enterprise. The first step is to construct a system of controls and a professional division of labor. In this kind of circumstance, the boss wife who has always been difficult to classify, who has always been in charge by virtue of her human relationships, may often face the dilemma of finding no formal position.
One business management consultant sighed. Like so many mothers who help their children to grow up only to find that they themselves have not grown, so many boss wives devote themselves to fostering the growth of their family business, while they have had no time for personal development.
The cause is perhaps not difficult to understand. When the company is in need of professional services, they may take the painful step of spending an amount of money to send an employee to be trained. But the boss wife, always on duty and entangled with little details, has few chances indeed for advanced study. After the company has grown big, personnel with university backgrounds or professional managers come in with the latest management knowledge. Thus, the boss wife who lacks a professional background appears even more backward in the eyes of the staff.
Shen Hsiao-ling has seen many a boss wife, in the midst of the process of business expansion "slowly change from the company's most valuable resource to a millstone that can not be cast aside!" Most commonly, the boss wife becomes obviously unfamiliar with recent developments in the business, yet she still tries to take charge, placing an order that should not be placed, wanting to purchase materials from companies with whom they formerly had good relations, not trusting the analyses of professional managers, and so forth.
When confronted with this kind of predicament, Shen Hsiao-ling advises the boss wife to think clearly. Just as children must leave their mother's side when they have grown, so the company has also reached maturity and no longer needs its proprietress. In other words, now that her business is becoming more systematized, the boss wife has a few options. One option is to strictly abide by the company's new institutions and perform a single task, being a professional worker who does not meddle in every affair. Otherwise, she can straightforwardly remove herself from the formal structure of the company and simply act as her husband's behind-the-scenes partner or consultant.
Staking her claim:
Shen Hsiao-ling emphasizes that the boss wife's position and role should always accommodate the changes and differences in the company's stage of development. If she does not adjust well, then she will be unhappy, and this will have a negative impact upon the entire enterprise. Despite the fact that the alternatives available to the boss wife are numerous, she must consider them calmly and clearly. "When giving in to change, she should also stake her claim to what she wants," Shen Hsiao-ling points out.
For instance, if she wishes to become the company's professional manager, she should first ask herself, should she have the special privilege of not clocking in? Is she able on her own to follow the strictures of a nine-to-five schedule and avoid early retirement? When she encounters disagreement in opinions with other managers, is she able to set aside personal vanity and solve problems smoothly without needing to "maintain the boss wife's prestige"? Especially when the company has gone public on the stock market, every little housewife who owns a few shares is technically a proprietress; the original boss wife should not hold too many privileges.
At the same time, Shen Hsiao-ling points out that the boss wife has yet another option in changing her role: to gradually move from her original position of "keeping the peace within" to working along with her husband in "challenging the forces without." In effect, she can help her husband to create good public relations and marketing, to expand human relationships. Nevertheless, whether the boss wife ought to be so utilitarian as to completely conform herself to the needs of her husband is a matter deserving some deep thought.
Huang Shu-chen (assumed name) is an example. After their company went public, her husband decided to move into the world of politics. Only half by her own will, she agreed to accompany him to all kinds of functions. In order to cater to her husband's partiality for chi-pao, a traditional gown of Chinese women, she ordered up more than 60 chi-pao in all sorts of colors, and she began to carry herself splendidly in many social occasions.
Nevertheless, in the end her husband decided that the political world did not suit his personality. He changed his mind and wished that his wife no longer be so publicly active. Huang Shu-chen could only restrain her desires to gain friendship and a sense of accomplishment in social gatherings. She made a rule for herself: "When my husband is not out of the house with social appointments, I must refuse invitations to important functions, too!"
The graciousness of the boss wife is the best testimony that "behind every great man is a great woman." Through the many buffetings of life, the boss wife has had many experiences and has acquired the wisdom to comprehend worldly matters. Chen Ping-chi recalls that when she and other boss wives gather together, no one bothers to carefully bedeck herself with jewelry, and no one compares their husbands' businesses or fortunes. "Everyone has their own life to lead; the richest person isn't necessarily the happiest. "After passing through the trial of diligently seeking to resolve all the interlocking concerns of one's personal life and domestic and business affairs, why not lead a life without regret and achieve the fullest measure!
[Picture Caption]
p.40
She must do her business; likewise, household affairs cannot be ignored. The boss wife, holding her child as she manages her store, takes on all challenges as a matter of course.
p.43
The professional boss wife, besides handling all kinds of miscellaneous details, must also boost morale and act as a bridge of communication between employees and the boss.
p.44
Quite a few women take part in arts and crafts classes during their free time. More often than not, boss wives choose to attend such classes as human resource management, finance or tax management. (photo by Vincent Chang)
p.45
Singing karaoke is a recreation that quite a few women partake in; hard-working boss wives rarely have the time to enjoy it. (photo by Diago Chiu)
p.46
The Matsushita Electric Company's Women Distributor's Association is attempting to make use of the boss wives' outstanding talents in promoting sales, reflecting the opinions of the marketplace and other such endeavors.
p.47
Often dressed smashingly, going in and out of boutiques, the boss wives of a medium-or large-scale businesses are a group that commands envy in terms of material possessions.
p.48
Participating in charity sales and philanthropic activities can mitigate feelings of loneliness and can also make a contribution to Society. But usually the husband must agree to it first. (photo by Diago Chiu)