A New Era for Culture, Change, and Leadership

摘要

When social psychologist Edgar Schein joined MIT's Sloan School of Management in the 1950s, it had just launched the great experiment of teaching management through formal disciplines like mathematics, social psychology, economics, and history. That was a radical departure from expounding "the practice of management" through cases taught by professors who had been managers most of their careers. The new approach sparked close, unlikely collaborations and deep, innovative thinking about leadership, group cultures, and organizational change all nascent fields of study at the time. It was in this environment that Ed and his colleagues embarked on what he calls "an exciting quarter century of model building," which helped define how people thought about and engaged with organizations.Decades later, in a digital era, it is time for a new model, one that is built on close professional relationships, openness, and trust. That is what Ed and Peter Schein, his son and collaborator, have been working on for the past couple of years. Peter spent most of his career as a strategy executive in a number of Silicon Valley companies before he decided to join Ed in analyzing and describing the changes afoot as the tasks of management become more complex, interdependent, and volatile. In this conversation, they share their perspectives on organizational life, a brief history of ideas leading up to this moment, and their thoughts about the future.REPRINT 60415