Ground Floor: There are still websites devoted to the glitzy soap operas, Dallas and Dynasty, which were practically obligatory viewing during the late 70s and early 80s.
Millions of people tuned in to follow the dynastic fortunes of the Ewing and Carrington families and most of the storylines involved back-stabbing (or poisoning, or shooting) in the families as different members tried to claw their way to the corner office, dump the incumbent and drive the business to even bigger and better things.
The main plot-line problem with programmes like this is that - despite high profile succession grooming in some cases (Gavin O'Reilly or Tony Smurfit, for example) in many business dynasties very few family members really do want to take over the reins. Barron Hilton might still be the Chairman of the group, but neither Paris nor Nicky has shown much interest in a job at reception!
Not everyone wants to be part of a dynasty. Lachlan Murdoch, part of one of the biggest family business dynasties of recent times, has had enough. Lachlan is the son of Rupert Murdoch, founder of News Corporation, and his resignation as Deputy Chief Executive Officer came out of the blue. Lachlan was widely tipped to succeed his father at the helm of the organisation. Now, like his sister Elisabeth before him, he's walked away.
Rupert Murdoch is quoted as being "particularly saddened" by the decision of yet another of his children to resign from a senior position within the family firm, while industry observers haven't yet decided whether Lachlan's decision was based on his comment that he was "tired of New York and travelling" or whether it was that he wanted to take the company in a different direction to his father and couldn't wait. Most people find it hard to believe that someone can simply walk away from a business because they want to spend more time with their family, but Lachlan has said that he's looking forward to going back to Australia with his wife and young son and living in his beachfront home in an upmarket Sydney suburb.
The dynasty has all gone a bit awry for Murdoch senior who now only has one son, James, directly involved in the business. Back in November 2003 (and in defiance of strong opposition from some investors) James was appointed Chief Executive of BSkyB. Since taking up the reins he has increased the number of subscribers to the service, although not everyone is happy that the subscriber increase has been at the expense of profit. Now he's being looked at as the heir apparent. However, despite the fact that many people say that James (a Harvard dropout) might ultimately be the best Murdoch of the next generation, he may still not be the best person for the job. But News Corporation is a family dynasty and Rupert Murdoch still calls the shots. Investors want to know whether or not he's calling the right ones.
Very few people have the same emotional attachment to a company as its founder. Nevertheless smaller family firms can pass on from generation to generation and continue to do well even though the decisions made by the younger members of the family may not be the ones that the older generation might have taken. All the same, if the founder can take a back step, these firms can flourish.
The real problems arise if the company decides to go public because then it isn't a family firm any more. It's usually difficult, however, for the family to see it that way. Many regard the investors who have pumped money into the company and who now want a return on that investment as outsiders who don't understand the business. However the outsiders understand investing. And understand that the best person for the job isn't always the founder's son or daughter.
For other employees of a dynastic company, the route to the top can be difficult. Tony Ball, James Murdoch's predecessor, announced his decision to quit amid speculation about James's potential appointment.
Peter Chernin, who is currently second-in-command at News Corporation, must still wonder what he has to do to take the top spot from a Murdoch. It's all very well getting paid a telephone number salary like Chernin (about $18 million - €14.75 million - plus bonuses) but at some point you surely want to exercise your muscle as the person in charge and not have to defer to someone 30 years your junior just because he's the boss's son.
Without knowing anything about the discussions (and arguments) that have gone on within the Murdoch family, my sympathies are with Lachlan. He doesn't need sympathy, of course, having shedloads of money to make his desire to return to Australia with his wife and child a trouble-free accomplishment, but it can't have been easy growing up in the shadow of a powerful man who was making plans for his career from the moment he was born. There must be a conflict between a child's desire to please its parents and a desire to do its own thing.
Lachlan Murdoch's press statement thanked his father for what he had taught him "in business and in life". The words hide a wealth of experiences and it's hard to believed that all of them have been good ones. And although he will remain as a director of News Corporation it's unlikely that he'll take any active role in the future.
His mother, Anna Murdoch-Mann (now divorced from Rupert), wrote a Dynasty-style novel in 1988 about a family torn apart by battles to control the company after the founder dies without naming a successor. By leaving now, Lachlan has ensured that the back-stabbing fictional portrayal will stay between the covers of the book or in the memories of TV viewers; though it must be frustrating for News Corporation that they can't give the story the full tabloid treatment.
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