Staying in the year around 1500, another family which dominated the events in history was the Borgias. In a book about the Borgias written by Clemente Fusero, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1972,  the Borgia family was originally from Spain and one of the ambitious sons moved up the leadership levels of the Catholic Church to eventually become Pope. In the 1500’s, being Pope was different than it is today.

When the father became the Pope he was in his 60’s and his trusted advisors were his children. The dad had the ambition, knew how the structure worked, over the years had a variety of enemies and was very good at strategic planning. His sons were the muscle, cunning, liked battles and torture. They also followed Dad’s orders and for that action, they were protected and rewarded. When the Pope died, the abilities of the father soon lead to the downfall of the family, for the remaining son had either learned little as he constantly made bad decisions.

Linking to dividend providing stocks, no one person runs a company. The founder had the vision, the dream, and the company achieved market share, but there were others who had skills that enhanced the founder. It is the reason, why who the others are is always important to look at. The President has the final stay in terms of strategy, as long as money is made at the expected return, the President will have a long career. The President is helped by people who feel they could run the company, and the President has to do the great balancing act, which is the reason why successions at companies often do not work well. It is possible to read the biographies of the executive team, but it is more important to research how well they really work together. Often times, bad events bring out the real personalities.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions