Management Secrets of the Roman Republic

I spend a lot of time reading. Or at least more than my wife would like and less than I would if I didn't have to work for a living. Recently, I've been reading Rubicon, a book on the decline of the Roman Republic, actually spurred some thinking which has to do with my general management concerns. Now, I think that the genre of high concept books based on the management secrets of everyone from Moses to Jesus to the founding fathers is oversaturated. I do think that the story of Rome, or at least its success, has something to say about management consulting. And its not just how to get your slaves to row faster and harder with less food.

In a phrase, we learn from ancient Rome that an absolute apparent mess can actually be very functional. I am pretty much a complete novice when it comes from Roman History. But one quickly learns when reading about Rome that its government was a set of competing institutions, powers, offices that grew up over time but would never had been created if someone had thought about it first. Lines of authority and power were often anything but clear. Competing interests rose and fell. Yet, somehow this system lasted for over 450 years holding together a vastly diverse population and conquering much of the world.

I'm not a particular admirer or Rome. Its brilliant success was built on the backs of millions of slaves and a thirst for never ending conquest. Yet, one has to acknowledge that in terms of meeting the goals of its key constituents, he Roman Republic was very, very successful. Even though its storied constitution was anything but logical and consistent. Yes, eventually it fell but how many companies as long as it did?

Consultants, and especially It consultants, hr directors hate disorderly messes. The fundamental tools of our trade—flow charts, org charts, process diagrams—are all about creating order from chaos. Our goal is to help straighten people out. Too often we don't ask whether there's a value to the mess? Is the company growing and changing so fast that making things orderly would destroy them? Are there multiple creative executives who need to be excessively coddled but who bring in the business? Before suggesting any "organization", we always need to ask whether making things organized would also destroy the very creativity which drives the business.

November 28, 2008 | Email Us

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