Whither the Nepo Lambs of Corporate Whoredom?
The second generation ruins companies.
This is a statement of fact fortunately or unfortunately – majority family businesses have this plague where the founder (often a man) has a misguided notion that his children are going to be like him. They are not. And this mismatch leads to lots of issues for the people concerned and the unfortunate staff who have to deal with it.
I have had the (mis) fortune of dealing with many family empires and the lack of professionalism between the generations and resultant mismanagement is truly appalling. It’s neo-feudal in its very foundation and as a result fails in a modern professional capitalist setting. More often than not, the company ends up on a downward trajectory where the sycophant mediocre staff linger on and the talented smart ones leave or are asked to leave. Because the children hate anyone to be smarter than them – their entire identity is built on their family, the legacy and not themselves. Hence, they are often insecure in the face of their legendary parents. Dealing with that pettiness is arduous to say the least.
Last night I saw the son of a well known business family at a bar. He’s the latest generation being groomed to take over. But he was alone. And every time someone would come up and shake hands and ask how his father was etc. you knew they were flocking because of whose who he was. Not out of any love for him. He looked lost and alone – quite the contrast to the image portrayed by his socials and family PR. I almost felt sorry for him. It can’t be easy having to constantly perform like a monkey for the outer world closely watching him while deep inside he would still be human. And he would of course have no choice but to like and do as his father wishes, regardless of what he truly wants.
My seeing him was in the wake of news that his father had fired overnight a long standing director of the company. I wasn’t surprised – I knew the beast and hence the actions are not surprising. I am surprised that people are surprised at his actions. This is not his first arbitrary dismissal. To know the measure of a man – see how he treats his inferiors.
I wondered about the other nepo kids I have encountered along the way. Some – the pits. Some – decent. Still, they will bear that mark of being the next generation and how wisely they handle it will always remain to be seen. I remembered a staff member sharing with me her concern for when the next generation will take over – “he is nice now, but you don’t know what he will be like when he gets all that power”.
No shit. I am eternally grateful for having left the shackles of the family nightmares I have had to deal with where dinnertime issues and petty family differences become our problem. That is not professionalism – that is a circus. And circus acts are clearly more common than we realise. Personally, I would ensure severe regulation of family companies because the staff who work with them – not factory, the executive floor – are constantly abused as a result. It is not acceptable or ethical. This is the 21st century, not medieval Europe. The mindset needs to shift and it needs to start with the men who want family legacies. It’s the same issue with politics – this mania for family legacies is ruining people more than they realise.
In a way things do go full circle – the empire is built and destroyed by the very hands and generations after that built it. Hence, it is poetic justice in a sense but the rest of us can’t be collateral damage in the quest of world dominance by power hungry old men and their nepo lambs.
