What the Roy Family Teaches Us About Succession: Lessons from HBO Series

HBO's Succession captivated millions with the story of Logan Roy and his children fighting over a media empire worth $18 billion. The show ended in 2023. For many family enterprise owners, it was not entertainment; it was uncomfortably familiar.

Logan Roy built Waystar Royco from nothing into a global conglomerate. He had four adult children, all involved in or around the business: Connor, Kendall, Siobhan (Shiv), and Roman. Despite decades of "preparing" them, Logan never actually chose a successor. Instead, he pitted them against each other, testing loyalty over competence, changing his mind constantly, using business control as emotional leverage.

He died suddenly in Season 4 without a clear succession plan. The children immediately turned on each other. Within weeks, the company was sold to Swedish tech billionaire Lukas Matsson. The Roy children lost everything their father spent fifty years building.

What Was Missing: Three Critical Governance Failures

1. No Succession Plan, Only Succession Games

Logan had no timeline, no objective criteria, no development plan for his heirs. His children never developed real leadership skills because the rules changed daily based on Logan's mood. They learned manipulation and survival, not management and strategy.

2. No Separation Between Family Relationships and Business Power

Logan weaponized business control in family relationships. Giving someone more responsibility meant "I love you today." Taking it away meant "you have disappointed me." Business decisions were personal verdicts. Personal conflicts eventually became business crises.

The structure made it impossible to have both healthy family relationships and healthy business operations.

3. No Independent Governance or Oversight

Logan controlled the board completely. There were no truly independent directors, no family advisors representing the system's interests. Every advisor, whether it is Garri or Frank, was loyal to Logan personally, not to the family or the business as an institution.

When Logan died, there was no structure to contain the conflict. His children had no framework for making decisions together. They only knew how to compete for their father's approval – and he was gone.

What Family Governance Would Have Changed

1. A Clear Succession Timeline With Objective Criteria

A plan created 10 years before transition. Specific competencies required for leadership: operational experience, board management, crisis handling, stakeholder relationships. Development milestones with third-party assessment. A defined date when transition would occur, regardless of the founder's readiness to let go.

What changes: Logan would have been evaluated his kids objectively, not emotionally, and the successor would have legitimacy. The company might still have been sold eventually. But the family would have made that decision from positions of competence and unity.

2. Separation of Family Council and Operating Board

A family council where all Roy family members (including spouses, eventually) make ownership decisions: dividends, major investments, selling the company. An independent operating board that runs Waystar day-to-day, with maybe one family member and primarily professionals.

What changes: Logan could have been a controlling shareholder without being CEO, his children could have disagreed with business strategy without destroying family dinners. Each could have been evaluated for roles matching their actual capabilities: Kendall as a potential CEO based on competence but not submission, Shiv as a strategic board member, Roman in creative or business development – rather than all competing for the single prize of "Logan's approval."

3. Independent Family Advisors and Governance Board

Neutral advisors representing the family system's long-term interests. Independent board members with real authority. Regular family governance meetings facilitated by someone outside the emotional dynamics. Clear protocols for conflict resolution before disputes become warfare.

What changes: When Logan's health declined, someone could have said: "The family needs a succession plan now, regardless of whether Logan is ready." When the children started fighting, there would have been structured mediation. When the company was under threat, decisions would have been made by governance process, not emotional manipulation. Logan might have resisted initially. But proper governance would have constrained even him.

How We Help

• Digitize Your Family Constitution: Store, share, and evolve your values, mission, and governance rules in one secure, living document.
• Engage the Next Generation: Educate and onboard rising members through a modern interface designed for long-term engagement.
• Map Roles & Responsibilities: Visualize decision-making rights, voting protocols, and family structures with clarity and transparency.
• Enable Communication & Decision Making: Facilitate structured discussions, voting, and consensus-building with secure tools that keep every family member informed and aligned.
• Enable Secure Collaboration & Planning: Provide role-based access for family members, advisors, or office staff, with full control and visibility.

The difference between Succession and your family is that you know how the story ends for the Roys. You can choose a different structure.

If your family holds significant assets and succession feels uncomfortably uncertain, schedule a confidential consultation to discuss our secure family governance software.