Joe Keller, the central figure in All My Sons, is not presented as a cartoon villain. He is a father, a business owner, and a man who sees himself as having done what he had to do to protect his family and his company. That is what makes the play so useful for thinking about boards and family enterprises.

When succession feels stuck, the problem may be the choice the family is trying to make. Succession is often compressed into two either/or categories: founder in charge or founder gone; successor waiting or successor fully responsible. Under that framing, uncertainty can quickly become a verdict: the founder will not let go, or the successor is not ready. Families usually have more choices than those labels suggest. They can ask: • What does each person actually want? • Which

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