HBO’s Succession. Afterthoughts About Logan, Kendall, Roman, Shiv, Frank, Karl, Gerri, Greg, Tom, Ewan, Connor – & Stewy.

The incredibly popular HBO series – Succession – just ended with the implosion of multiple personalities. Does the ending describe reality? Was it too far-fetched? Board intrigue, personal loyalties (and disloyalties) or as Sondheim would say, “all the wolves, all the lies, the false hopes, the good-bye’s, the reverses.” All true or just business fantasy? If you’re in business, you know that “all the wolves, all the lies, the false hopes, the good-bye’s, the reverses” are ever-present. If you’ve never seen any of this, you should stop reading this post now.

Let’s summarize what I’ve already posted on Succession:

• The money chase is absolutely, positively real.
• Deals are orgasmic to executives.
• Inappropriate personal relationships are everywhere.
• Succession’s old guard are more than ready to cash out.
• Leadership is “situational.”
• “Nepo” leadership is real.

All that still describes the playing field. But there’s more to say about the finale of one of the most interesting, relatable (!) and realistic series we’ve ever seen. I don’t know about you, but I’ve met all of the characters in Succession in my career – and I’ve never been on an HBO set. Maybe that’s too bad for me – and probably you – unless you’re one of them.

Let’s take a closer look about the intersection of people, leadership and Succession.

Fragile, Inconsistent, Insecure & Vengeful

Do these words describe anyone you know? Logan, Kendall, Roman and Shiv – and maybe some colleagues of yours – exhibit these and other qualities which provide a counter-balance to the sometimes media portrayal of “businessmen” and “businesswomen” as omnipotent, ethical and even empathetic – not the awful, evil corporates the Roys are. Until they leave office. Then they’re vilified in books written by fragile, inconsistent, insecure and vengeful authors trying make some money.

We assume that “leaders” can solve lots of problems, that they really want to solve problems and that those around them respect them and want them to succeed. Maybe they just want the money, the title and the power. Karl, Frank and Gerri no longer care about solving problems (Logan did). They care about making money and having some fun. At the end of the of finale, you hear references to golden parachutes. They’re not fragile, inconsistent, insecure or vengeful. They’re looking for ripcords.

Stupidity & Treachery

Greg is an idiot – far too annoying, stupid and self-serving to be real, right? Look around again. If you haven’t seen him around, I sure have. Gregs have relationships that keep them alive and sometimes make them very successful. But they’re also treacherous, willing to sell anything to the highest bidder. Connor? Another one without grounding in reality – and a presidential candidate who spent $100M to embarrass himself with absolutely no self-awareness. Tom? What can we say about Tom. He’s the perfect hypocrite, a world-class architect of treachery. (You did not see that ending coming either.) When he extended his hand to Shiv in the limousine and Shiv accepted, well, that was the perfect axis of evil already plotting how to screw the world. This could never happen, right?

And Then There’s Stewy

You just have to love Stewy. He’s completely transparent. Sure, he’s happy at lunch and angry at dinner, but everyone knows what he likes to eat. Love how he blows in the wind with the smell of money.

Conscience

Logan’s brother – Ewan – is the conscience, or at least tries to be, recognizing that somewhere down the road he failed to save his brother from the monster he became.

Relationships

One of most enlightening aspects of the series is the relationship between media and manipulation – and how money trumps everything. There are lots of comments about the ATN business model. The partnership with Mencken is a perfect example – as is Roman’s speech about disinformation, his quote about how his dad saw the country and Matsson’s desire to infect the country with his own biases. Guess we’ll all have to think more about who these references might resemble.

Lessons from Succession

Let’s try to list 11 in no particular order:

• Business is blood sport (and don’t ever forget it)
• Lies are energy (by everyone, all the time)
• Money is the currency of corporate life (what else is there?)
• Leadership is always situational (good sometimes, but never all the time)
• Side deals are everywhere (they’re the lifeblood of corporate existence)
• Loyalty is non-existent (especially when everyone professes to be loyal)
• Transparency is rare (and hides behind process and self-interest)
• Insecurity is ubiquitous (among the very best leaders)
• Revenge is required (always kill one’s enemies)
• There’s lots of stupidity (much more than you might imagine – or not)
• “Greed is good” (like it always was) …

Other lessons?

Succession demonstrates that the gap between leadership fact and fiction is gone. The series describes “leaders” who are awful, disturbed human beings who are “acting” in a contrived environment that flirts with just enough reality for us to simultaneously accept and reject the corporate premise. It’s where a TV show normalizes corporate chaos under the cover of fiction – which is Succession’s perfect trick: it enables acceptance and rejection of its message by people who have lived in business and those who haven’t. Business people see themselves, friends and enemies everywhere in the show; those who’ve haven’t spent time in C-Suites or boardrooms are free to see Logan as JR Ewing and the series as the reincarnation of Dallas where media is the new oil — which is perhaps what the show always was anyway.

Leaders can use Succession in several ways. They can use it as an assessment tool. They can ignore it. They can embrace it. They can confess to its – and their – sins. They can try to understand it. They can look in the mirror. If nothing else they should look at the 11 lessons and honestly ask themselves how much of Logan, et al. are really in them, or at least how many others see Logan, et al. in them. Put another way, leaders should ask some confidants about their leadership to determine how many of the 11 lessons apply to them.

Leaders should also select a favorite character. Mine is Stewy.