You are a member of a dysfunctional billionaire media empire family. Your elderly father is a business world legend who built the company up from nothing but as a family man he’s an emotionally abusive, manipulative, narcissistic patriarch.
As a result of this upbringing, you and your siblings do not function very well as adults. For years now, you and your siblings have been played off against each over the will and positions at the company. If you disappoint or fail big daddy, then he will use tactics of adult cruelty to embarrass you and put you in your place.
You, your brother, one uncle, and your dad (who is the CEO) have membership on the 13 member company board.
In the recent month, your dad really angered you by telling the whole company for months that he’s stepping down as CEO and having you take over. However, this turned out to a “test” which you failed, not only does he stay as CEO but through it you were also tricked into signing some will rights away. From your new position, you saved the company from a 3 billion dollar debt by letting in new investors… your reward? Your dad calls you a worthless idiot because you let in other investors even though it was his judgment calls that led to the 3 billion debt in the first place.
Eventually you decide that it’s time to initiate a Vote of No Confidence at the next meeting and take over the company as the new CEO (to finally step out from your father’s shadow). You and your brother form an alliance and secretly convince 5 others to vote against your dad forming a super block of 7 votes.
You understand that your dad can’t vote since he’s the CEO and that he can count on 3 loyalist votes but you’re not too concerned. As a matter of historical precedent, the uncle (who hates your dad) and another corporate member NEVER attend this thing.
On the day of the vote you get a call from that one member who suddenly says they are determined to come to the meeting (days before, out of nerves you tried a little too hard to check up on whether or not they’re not coming so this tipped them off something big would happen). Feeling suddenly insecure, you fly on your private helicopter to that person’s home to talk to them and you convince them that your dad should be replaced as CEO. You are successful.
However, you can’t fly to the meeting in time because of a sudden terror alert grounding all flights. You take the car but get fatefully trapped in the traffic; you are now late for the meeting.
Your dad arrives at the meeting on time and forces the meeting to start. Your main ally stalls the meeting but is eventually forced to go through the thin list. Sensing something is off, your dad moves to close the meeting, thus forcing you to initiate the Vote of No Confidence over the phone (while you’re sprinting across entire city blocks).
Your father: I can’t believe it.
Your father refuses to leave the room. Your ally aggressively starts asking for people to raise their hands to support the motion. No one moves.
Over the phone you make a speech and then say your hand is raised. Your ally then raises his hand, another ally raises their hand too. Three people oppose the motion and support the dad. (3-3). A further call comes in to support it, making it 4-3.
Two of your remaining three allies decide to play politics and not anger either side so they both say they abstain after saying it’s a family matter.
Then to everyone’s surprise, the uncle who hates the dad shows up (somehow having been tipped off) and decides that despite his feud with Big Daddy he’s still family and stealing the company’s not cool so he votes for the dad; this locks it into a 4-4.
Your other ally says they have “no dog in this fight” and abstain, betraying the agreement as well.
As you reach the elevator, you realize that the final deciding vote will be cast by your brother.
Your dad gives him the death stare and tells him to think very very carefully. The brother is terrified as all hell because it all falls on him and you’re not in the room. He was going vote for but then crumbles and whimpers “Against, I vote against.”
Having been re-instated as CEO and once again having powers above the law, Big Daddy immediately fires off everyone who voted against him. When you show up in terror, Big Daddy tells you that 5-4 is the best you can do. A ton of guards are then summoned and all the fired parties are dragged away in a walk of shame sequence through the office.
Your brother and those who abstained or backed the father retain their positions at the company though your dad is seriously distrustful off them now.
…
Now completely disinherited and the target of a massive smear campaign focusing on your addiction problems by your dad’s corporation, you launch legal proceedings against your dad and his company for the unlawful firing of half the board (though you are somewhat certain it will amount to nothing because this is IM Verse Corporate America and Big Daddy is basically above the law except for that voting period). Meanwhile, you attempt to build your own business to plan for your return.
The discussion question is, how would you feel about the brother? Why?
Option 1: He betrayed me. It’s unforgivable. We are no longer brothers.
Option 2: I would be very very angry at him but after a few months/years, I would be able to forgive him because he acted out of cowardice and not malice or calculation.
Option 3: I would be very angry. But in a matter of weeks I would forgive.
Option 4: I wouldn’t be angry at him at all. The fault lies with me for not planning and executing this thing properly. I made too many tactical errors and expected him to find courage in an psychologically oppressive scenario.
I think I would go with option 2. I’d KNOW that a huge part of the fault lies with me for poor planning and execution (the voting day was filled with stupid) but being human, I think I don’t take well to perceived betrayal. I would have expected him to stand by our agreement because 200 percent if our positions were switched, I would have kept my word. Is it unfair to expect that if someone with a different personality? Maybe. However, he’s still family so ultimately I’d get over it.
