Like many readers out there, I’ve taken an interest in Mike Duncan’s podcast The History of Rome. Among other merits, Duncan effectively describes the Roman world as it transitioned from Republic to Principate to Dominate.
This takes me to today’s topic in the Corporate Politics 101 series. For anyone who doesn’t know quite how to think about a CEO and their role, try starting with a Roman Emperor. Especially a Roman Emperor of the Principate era.
Like the Emperors of the Principate, CEOs usually don’t demand the total subservience of their employees. They take care to create at least the illusion of worker (or at least middle manager) governance. But they’re still CEOs, not consuls or (god forbid) tribunes.
And much like in the Roman Empire, the overall experience of what it’s like to work at a company can change quite a bit based on the whims of the CEO. The company run by a Caligua or a Commodus feels much different from one run by a Marcus Aurelius or Hadrian. This holds true even if – again, much like the Roman Empire – broader social forces govern the actual performance of the company.
