The '60s Kids in the Corporation: More Than Just “Daydream Believers”

Jim, the marketing manager, approaches Hank, the engineering project leader. "Hey, Hank. When can we get this model ready for display? You know, that sales convention is coming up in two weeks, and Jane claims that if we don't show, the competition is really going to close in." "Sorry, Jim," Hank explains. "We're just not satisfied with the speed of this computer. We need at least six weeks; before that there is just no way. My people won't tolerate getting it out earlier if it's not perfect. They've worked too hard to do that." "Okay, Hank," Jim continues. "How about just a prototype for people to look at with a promise of the increased speed to come later?" "Forget it, Jim," Hank insists. "Engineers don't work that way. You can't just promise, you have to deliver. Besides, sending the prototype would be dishonest. Tell Jane to come down here, and I'll explain it to her." This scenario, which actually occurred, is repeated all the time in literally thousands of bureaucratic settings, not just with engineers but also with health professionals, financial professionals, lawyers, teachers, scientists, and so on. Most professionals insist on doing things "right." In this particular case, not only did Hank and his professional group insist on conformity to technical specifications; they maintained a value system that could not justify a loosening of standards, an easy-out approach. Further, they challenged their corporate executive (Jane was the marketing vicepresident) while demanding to be involved in the final decision. Isn't this insubordination beyond the acceptable limits of corporate practice? How can any organization tolerate this kind of behavior and remain productive? To finish the story, it's necessary to point out that Hank was raised in the 1960s. Although he wasn't a campus radical per se, he did pay heed at a gut level to the protests against the Vietnam War that occurred during his college days. He was sympathetic to that cause and even wrote couple of articles about the Pentagon for his college newspaper. He delayed entering the corporate world for several years after graduating with a degree in engineering, refusing to work for any organization with any connection to war-related mater*ials or processes. Finally, he joined a computer start-up company that became very successful. He turned down several offers to move into higher-paying management positions but eventually agreed to serve as the leader of a high-performance product team. He was known as brilliant but somewhat arrogant. Hank worked his own hours, but he got things done. Jane would come down and talk to him. In this instance, Hank's project team missed the demonstration. Hank convinced Jane that the performance of the machine would outstrip any advantage the competition would derive from being first out. It turned out he was right. There are many Hanks who have infiltrated our modern-day organizations, no longer as protestors, campus radicals, or even troublemakers. Indeed, many of them are serious, devoted, professional employees who are retained, as Hank was, if only for their record of extremely high performance. Yet they're different from nonprofessional employees and even from other salaried professionals. They're still '60s kids. They still believe in full participatory rights in their local society. They're interested in assuming positions of responsibility and autonomy, if not power, but they won't be denied the opportunity to use their individual initiative in solving organizational problems. These are the '60s professionals, and in this article I'll tell you not only who they are and what they're like, but how, like Hank, they can successfully be assimilated into bureaucratic life.