Succession, the mesmeric HBO series featuring Brian Cox (the actor not the scientist) and Matthew Macfadyen among a superb cast, is back on Sky Atlantic for its final series, but what does it tell us about business, and more to the point, HR?
If there was ever a company that needed a firm hand on the HR tiller it would be media and leisure giant Waystar Royco. Logan Roy (Cox) the founder and CEO rules largely through fear and intimidation, encouraging a culture of cronyism and obsequiousness among his senior executives. Meanwhile, Logan’s scheming offspring – Connor, Kendall, Shiv and Roman – constantly plot against their dad and each other as they vie for power and a route to inheriting their elderly father’s throne. Their mother, incidentally, is extremely distant from proceedings and emotionally separated from her children’s lives.
There are so many themes pertinent to businesses: mergers and acquisitions, succession planning, nepotism, due diligence (and its lack), workplace culture, staff wellbeing etc. But the firm is essentially a bloated, rotten ego-vehicle driven ruthlessly for profit at the expense of all else, certainly at the expense of family relationships.