But especially in family businesses, we are reminded to look deeper - to the psychological roots of the decisions that business leaders make. Levinson focuses on psychological reasons that make change so difficult for once successful organizations. Past leadership is often paternalistic. The paternalism fosters loyalty, dependence and uni-dimensional thinking. Paternalistic heritage also makes affecting change very difficult for successors.
Successors feel guilty challenging the decisions of great predecessors.
Such narcissism promises denial of new realities. Success fosters organizational confidence in how things have been done and how the business is organized. The loyalty promoted by paternalism and the confidence in the proven way of doing things generates a homogeneous, in-grown management team. We find these forces are magnified in family businesses. For family successors to change the business is even more difficult.