Roy Logan built up a multi-billion empire in telecommunications and the media. He’s in his seventies and thought it was about time to retire. He has four children; all in their forties and all with the ambition to take over from him. Such ambitions that he has nurtured in a somewhat perverse fashion with promises made to each child at different times that he (or she in the daughter’s case) would be the chosen one. The conflict ongoing among them all is only worsened by Roy not quitting and remaining as the head of the group executive management team and taking all the decisions alone. In contrast with a life of great opulence, the second generation of the Logan family instead boils down to a set of frustrated individuals, lost and highly dysfunctional, without the minimal conditions to take over from their father. Roy seems to gain enormous pleasures from pitting his children against each other but also understands that, in sum, he has also failed in guaranteeing the preservation of his empire – simply because he was unable to choose and prepare a successor at the right time. Roy and his family are the stars in the HBO series “Succession”. Irrespective of the plot being largely based on a well-written script and the depth of dysfunctionality of each character and in addition to referring to a fictional television series, this picks up on a theme that conveys the naked reality that the greatest risk to any family based group is a failed succession. Throughout decades of study of the dynamics of family owned groups and consultancy at the highest level to various large-scale family groups, we have witnessed various successful successions but also an unusual number of failures, some well-known and demonstrating the importance of managing the leadership succession process. Still today, in the majority of cases there are no clear ideas but rather false certainties, worries and above all more questions than there are answers – who do I have with potential in the following generation and how should I prepare him/her or them? When and how should I show enthusiasm and prepare candidates motivated for the time when it becomes necessary to take over at the helm? And how should I manage the transition? And how to involve my family shareholder colleagues (when the case) to keep them on my side throughout this process? Should I open the door to ‘non-bloodline’ members of the family – a son-in-law, a sister-in-law…? And should I not have anybody with potential in the family or members who I want to make the next CEO but who are still very young, in what conditions may I successfully hand over the group for a transition phase under a professional CEO? And just what profile and characteristics should this CEO have? Do I have anybody with such characteristics already in the group or do I have to search externally? The reality is harsh – in Portugal and in other countries, there are too many succession processes that are neither well-prepared nor well-managed. Furthermore, any failure may have serious results – we may all recall national groups in which the leader chose a son as a successor who was not up to the challenge to then act, with the business already suffering, to remove that son and appoint another son, nephew or grandchild. This is no easy task for any leader and far less so when dealing with their own children… To a large extent, these situations are avoidable but they demand dedication, discipline and perseverance – the family head has to perceive succession as a vital issue for the group, defining potential solutions with plenty of foresight (at least ten years) and having to set in motion and manage in detail all of the communications and preparation processes throughout these many years before, right at the end, carrying out the leadership transition. These are difficult and delicate processes better facilitated by consulting from specialists external to the trust of the shareholders and with experience in this field. This external support strengthens the ‘momentum’ and the security of the process and applies an external, professional and independent vision that may prove crucial at various stages – when evaluating the potential internal candidates, advising on career preparation programs for the candidates or simply guaranteeing that the discussion ongoing within the family remains objective, which is, in itself, a tremendous challenge when we are placing sons and daughters side by side with shareholder parents. In practice, a good succession process for internal candidates departs from a program defined in due time and attaining consensual agreement across the core of family shareholders, with the identification and evaluation of potential candidates, group internships under good mentors, university education at the highest possible level and a career plan built up outside the group at leading global benchmark companies in areas of relevance to the group. This is followed by a career stage in the group in an executive position and, should the evidence given over the course of this process prove convincing, beginning the coaching prior to the actual transition phase – which may naturally last years. It is a fact that in Portugal and throughout much of the western world, large scale family owned groups make up the backbone of the economy. While the success of any company depends on the quality of its leadership (vision, risk management, capacity for motivation…), succession may be a determinant factor for national economic growth and everything possible should be done to ensure this subject acquires a higher profile reflected in timely, thorough and detailed programs persistently followed through to the moment of transition. Out of egocentrism and even narcissism, Roy Logan never bothered about the day when he would not be in a position to manage his business. The series has not yet ended (the third season is due to premiere soon) but it is hardly difficult to foresee that neither the family nor the business are going to have a happy ending.