Chapter 1
The birth of the boss
Chapter 2
The organizational machine
Chapter 3
Global styles of leadership
Chapter 4
The era of the superstar
YOUR GOAL
Master of The secret history of the corner office
Ch 1 · The birth of the boss
marcus The Birth of the Boss
Who's the boss, who's the boss? Draw the lines so we don't get lost.
marcus The Standard Oil Trust birthed the robber baron archetype, where a single executive committee controlled entire national markets
Fun Fact
First org chart: The first modern organizational chart was drawn in 1854 using a tree design to map out the Erie Railroad's complex management structure.
Quiz
What major oil trust did John D. Rockefeller organize in 1882 to consolidate the industry?
Quiz
What does the historical acronym VOC stand for in the context of the early Dutch corporate era?
Quiz
Which industry created the first modern organizational chart in the United States during the 1850s?
Quiz
What corporate shift did economists Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means identify in their landmark 1932 study?
Quiz
Before the rise of professional managers, who typically ran businesses during the early Industrial Revolution?
Quiz
Which company issued the first public shares in 1602, inventing the board of directors?