IMD's De Massis: Homer's Odyssey Is a Manual for Family Business Succession

Nearly 3,000 years after Homer wrote The Odyssey, one of the world's most-cited family business scholars argues the epic's real hero is not Odysseus but his son Telemachus — and that the distinction carries a direct lesson for succession planning in family enterprises.

Alfredo De Massis, IMD Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business and holder of the Wild Group Chair on Family Business, makes the case in a new essay published by IMD. A recent bibliometric study ranked De Massis as the most influential and productive author in family business research over the past decade.

His timing is deliberate. Christopher Nolan's new film adaptation of The Odyssey has pushed the epic back into popular culture, portraying Odysseus as a master strategist, innovator and symbol of resilience. De Massis sees another reading, one that speaks to how founders hand power to the next generation.

"As a scholar of family business, every time I return to Homer's epic, I am struck by the feeling that the true protagonist is not only Odysseus. It is also Telemachus," De Massis writes.

The parallel is concrete. For 20 years, Telemachus lives in the shadow of a father who has become a legend — present everywhere in Ithaca precisely because he is absent, surviving only in stories, comparisons and expectations. De Massis says many business successors grow up alongside founders who built companies from nothing and became mythical figures as a result. The risk, he argues, is believing succession simply means taking the founder's place.

What does the epic say about legitimacy?

De Massis draws a hard line between inheriting authority and earning it. Inherited authority can be handed down. Earned authority must be built over time through decisions, achievements and the trust of employees, customers and stakeholders.

His research, he writes, "has consistently shown that the most successful generational transitions are those in which successors do not attempt to replicate the founder but instead reinterpret the founder's legacy in light of the challenges of their own time."

Homer's text, in his reading, already models this. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, he does not immediately reclaim his throne. He observes, listens and tries to understand what has changed. Then he fights alongside Telemachus rather than replacing him.

"Succession, therefore, is not about handing over a business to the next generation. It is about preparing the next generation to lead it," De Massis writes.

Why does preparation matter more than the asset transfer?

The most valuable asset one generation can pass on is not economic, De Massis argues. It is the capacity to assume the responsibility of leadership. That translates into investment in education, diverse experience and the next generation's autonomy, judgment and leadership capability — long before any handover takes place.

"The family firms that navigate generational transitions most successfully are not those that excel at transferring wealth, but those that excel at preparing people," he writes.

The mentorship structure in the epic is literal. During Odysseus's absence, Telemachus is entrusted to Mentor, the king's faithful friend — the origin of the modern word. Athena herself assumes Mentor's appearance when she pushes Telemachus to embark on his journey and take responsibility. In business families, De Massis notes, the mentor role can be played by the founder, independent directors, non-family executives or trusted advisors.

Who holds the family together?

The essay's less visible argument concerns Penelope. For 20 years she safeguards the household, preserves the family's legitimacy and holds the kingdom together without formally exercising power — relying on patience, resilience, wisdom and mediation.

Family businesses depend on similar figures, De Massis writes: people without formal leadership positions who keep the family united, mediate conflicts and preserve trust across generations.

"Research on family businesses consistently shows that continuity depends not only on those who lead the firm, but also on those who hold the family together," he writes.

The long-running theme for De Massis is continuity through change, not despite it. The longest-lasting family firms, he argues, turn change into continuity, treating tradition as a platform for innovation rather than a constraint.

His closing framework reads like an org chart: succession is never the responsibility of a single individual but the product of a leadership ecosystem — the founder who creates, the successor who evolves, the mentor who prepares, and the guardian who preserves continuity. Remove any one role, and the transition becomes significantly more fragile.

The test of generational success, De Massis concludes, is not whether a family produces another Odysseus — it is whether every Telemachus gets the confidence, capability and freedom to become a leader unlike any who came before.