[elevation]

> That's not structure, that's leadership. [...] one guy at the top [...] said no.

Yeah, there's no rule structure that can't be skirted and subverted by new owners with different objectives. The most resilient way to preserve your values is to:

    Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, 
    lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, 
    and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.
    
    Teach them to your children and to your children's children.

Your successors don't need to be your literal children, but if you turn your company over to "strangers with money" you can't be surprised when they do what they want with their new possession.

[eries]

It is true that most companies fail the test of succession. Even in the comment that you've made here, we've left unanswered the question of who will decide who should be chosen as the successor? That is something that can be influenced, but only at the institutional or structural level of an organization. Obviously, more details in the book.