Talent Tectonics

Introduction: How We Managed People in the Past Will Not Work in the Future

Why Are We Still Using Management Methods Created During the Roman Empire?

Many roads and buildings in Europe can be traced to the Roman Empire. In some cases, people literally walk on stones placed more than 2,000 years ago. Many other inventions created by the Romans also continue to shape our lives. Some endured because they still work, such as crop rotation in farming. Others are still used because they are familiar, even if they are not very effective. Hierarchical organization structures and the associated “org charts” used by companies belong in this category (see Figure I.1). Org charts categorize workforces based on how they are connected via higher level leadership positions. If the person in the role of “Governor of Imperial Provinces” on the left of Figure I.1 had an issue with the “Administrator of Rome and Italy” on the right they would first go to their leader the “Amici Caesaris,” who would talk to the “Proco. Imp. Maius,” who would then communicate to the “Consilium Semestre,” who would finally tell the “Admin of Rome and Italy.” This top-down method for workforce management has been familiar to leaders since the Roman Empire, but it has significant limitations when applied to the modern workforce.

Hierarchical organizational structures were created to manage workforces during a time when work was largely defined by geography. Prior to the 21st century, where people physically lived ...