Interview with Sally Bibb
Sales Director of the Economist Group and author of "The Stone Age Company: Why the Companies We Work For Are Dying and How They Can Be Saved" — April, 2006
The controversial tone of The Stone Age Company: Why the Companies We Work For Are Dying and How They Can Be Saved, part of the 'Truths About Business' series which she edits, and which confronts "fundamental business issues of power, ego and hierarchy", was "maybe a little direct in style for the liking of some senior managers", confides Sally Bibb.
And that probably accounts for the early invective from a swath of C-level executives who apparently recognised themselves in early drafts. Indeed she's gained some post-publication notoriety for attacking the likes of star of the BBC's 2006 season of the UK version of The Apprentice, Sir Alan Sugar, and the current boss of Cable & Wireless UK, John Pluthero, in a Guardian piece.
But, and here's the refreshing thing about this very untypical business book: "it wasn't written for the bosses", although they'd be well advised to read it. Sally has someone very particular in mind when she writes, and her work is reaching out to the deskbound, easygoing-but-frustrated employee, "an ordinary guy", fed up with hierarchy and macho so-called leadership ("overgrown school kids running companies"), someone in dire need of a "survival manual", plus a word or two of encouragement that it really is possible to "make an organisation better". Her other objective in writing this book, it seems, is to draw out from the apparent "groundswell, a community of people who share these values, are making a stand and putting their heads above the parapet"; a laudable aim, indeed.
Sally managed to find an hour in her post-book launch schedule, sandwiched between a meeting with Chethan Dhruve - author of the conservatively titled, "Why your boss is programmed to be a dictator", which he wrote for Seth Godins ChangeThis - and an appointment with her reflexologist (we agree that it's not unusual for reflexologists to have corporate clients; evidence, perhaps, that stone age companies may well be making way for more enlightened ones!), to chat to eWork-Out's David Feller.
So, cut to the chase, what is an enlightened company? "Put simply, it's one with strong values; companies that see their primary purpose as one of 'making a contribution'." Many of her examples of enlightened companies, such as Gore-Tex waterproof fabric manufacturer, W L Gore, the firm where nobody has a job title and where, to become a boss, you don't get promoted (you have to go out and find other employees who will agree to work with you), are from hands-on research.
To change from the Stone Age to the age of Enlightenment, some organisations will need "enlightened leaders with strong values, they will also need mainstream employees to show courage to get the company to change. Bosses operate in a corporate culture and environment, and cultural change comes from everyone in the organisation". The key lesson for any new manager is to "listen and ask questions". Too many bosses are on the defensive because they themselves have knowledge gaps, which they perceive as weakness. Their biggest fear is being "found out", for they are managers and, therefore, 'experts'.
While she holds a degree in social science and a Masters in Organisational Change, the book is unashamedly personal and anecdotal, rather than theoretical. And while that makes a change from many a pseudo-scientific, management-speak tome, there is a sense in which one cries out for more evidence that enlightened companies are more successful. Sally is convinced that City analysts are increasingly impressed by a company's organisational culture and leadership, as much as the more traditional indicators of success; and believes that the 'softer' dimension informs much of their assessments. But evidence for this tends to be sketchy and subjective; but she points me to the work of Jim Collins, for validation of the thesis. This is one example, though, of her optimism about the future of companies.
Sally has other projects on the go, including a collaborative work with "systems thinker", Russell Ackoff; "a 'conversation' between organisational pioneers" - an American in his eighties and a European half his age. The two different perspectives should be fascinating.
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