ABSTRACT
Contemporary society stands at the crossroads between two eras. Now a choice has to be made as to which road to follow. The Age of Power produced a distinctive style in management and government, which depended on a general acceptance of Authority. In that culture authoritarian figures thrived. Underlings who accepted the leaders they were given felt secure and without them they felt lost. When an absolute monarch died, the masses looked expectantly for the next king. In the absence of an undisputed successor, someone had to be imported even if he came from another country and could scarcely speak the indigenous language. Society could not function without a monarch, or so it was believed. In a similar way at the present day many corporations consider they cannot function without a strong Chief Executive. The Age of Power continues, even though weakened, as the outgrowth of a long period of evolution in which aggression and dominance and respect for size was bred into the human psyche. Yet Evolution began to change direction as soon as Power ceased to offer territorial advantages for tribal or national expansion. The competitive advantage of the exercise of Power has waned because new forms of collective security now either punish or at least curb aggressors. It has waned on the 161social and industrial front because Power, even in its most civilized form, is failing to manage organizations in an adequately efficient, flexible and creative way and in a style that is acceptable to those who are being managed.
