It is fun to fantasize about the origins of modern business management originating in prehistoric times. The first time I heard the word “anachronism†was while studying Shakespeare in high school when he wrote of a “striking clock†in Julius Caesar. Maybe that was setting the stage for believability that the Flintstones could have foot powered cars, television, and garbage disposals. In Prehistoric Origins of Business Management I wrote about the first service industry founded by a caveman who learned that keeping employees in a hostile environment impacts the company brand and the product. Good morale doesn’t make money in the short term and impatience usually doesn’t allow long term thinking. Without bashing all managers and human resources professionals, it is easy to examine some archaic practices that appear to be remnants of the Paleolithic Era.
The Caveman span of control is not an issue where management by intimidation and authoritarian rule determines the daily actions of employees. However, there is inevitably a time when growth exceeds the ability to dominate, so trusted subordinate dominators are brought into the confidence of the CEO to do his bidding. When the ability of these intermediaries to rule is spread too thin, we see the origins of middle management. Perhaps the actual pyramids were devised after the hierarchical structure of caveman business organizations. It is highly likely that modern silos originated from managers protecting themselves from the big boss and others by building defensive walls around them and their subjects.
Top down communication was and still is the major force in getting things done. Squawks from underlings are not tolerated unless it happens to be from one of the favorites and then it may be given lip service to placate the individual and not cause dissention in the ranks. Too many squawks and that worker will join the ranks of those deemed incapable of performing and terminated. The punishment for questioning “Because I said so!†orders is usually banishment or worse because “I told you so!†Performance is rated on one factor: Did they do what I told them to do or not? Sometimes even when outcomes are not favorable because the prescribed course of action did not work, blame is always placed on the worker, not on management. This was the origin of the phrase about feces always traversing the terrain in a descending manner due to natural forces of gravity.
For all the talk about culture in modern business, most of the battle to carve out a better work environment is always a grand compromise between the goals of the organization and the needs of the employees. When either side dominates, the measures of productivity are undermined. Engagement is the new buzzword for creating a productive and happy workplace, but engagement without objectives is going nowhere. The talent for making a company profitable means overcoming the knee jerk caveman instinct. Perhaps the reason that it takes so long to see a change in culture materialize is due to these prehistoric human tendencies that get in the way of our thinking.
So, just how ridiculous are the negative examples about caveman thinking that were mentioned in this article. I can assure you that each one represents a person or situation from my experience as a management consultant. We are quite fortunate that these are the exceptions rather than the rule, but how close are we to seeing a pendulum swing back to native instincts?
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