“HE INSPIRED NEITHER love nor fear, nor even respect…He originated nothing, he could keep the routine going—that’s all.” As a description of your typical middle manager, it is hard to surpass Marlow’s view of the boss at a river port in Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. The novella is a critique of colonialism in Africa, and an exploration of power and morality. It is also a guide to dealing with corporate bureaucracy. Marlow’s steamboat is in tatters and the manager is useless—Marlow must solve the problem himself. It sounds like an ordinary day at a Fortune 500 company.
Bookshops are stuffed with management
→ Continue reading at The Economist
