Organization 21C: Someday All Organizations Will Lead This Way

Born-to-Lead School

The military historian John Keegan identified hunting as a central concern of primitive societies. The deeds of the huntsmen required all to be heroes, for all had to take risks so that the tribe could eat. As all were heroes, the lack of exceptional behavior made all heroes ordinary, thus reducing huntsmen to being no heroes at all. Similarly, in the battlefield, there were no heroes, as the expectation of the primitive warrior was to “fight as you hunt.” Exceptional behavior was not exhibited by the warrior, but by the elders who mediated between disputing groups when violence went beyond tolerable limits. So negotiation, the settlement of claims, the cajoling, the persuading, and the pushing led to the emergence of the ...