Frederick Winslow Taylor was a Quaker, so was repulsed by waste. With only a stopwatch and a clipboard, he set about inventing a productivity revolution. Using modular parts made it possible for laborers to specialize, and specialists were quicker to master competencies and to produce widgets at scale. We can trace the origins of scientific management, industrial engineering, and the lifelong pursuit of efficient returns on capital to Taylor. People often refer to these ways of working as Taylorism.
To this day, many do not question Taylorism, primarily because it was the foundation of many business, engineering, and marketing texts. All of these professions built their knowledge atop the same foundation—which is as old as the Harvard Business School, making it roughly the same age as game-changing innovations like the assembly line and incandescent light bulb.
For over a century, workers in most spheres—from manufacturing to the front lines of service counters to the back office—have been held captive by the idea that the division of labor is the right approach. The tacit acceptance of Taylorism by most business leaders has had a huge impact on the workforce. Has anyone ever asked you to critique this idea or propose an alternative?
Those who live by the aphorism “Anyone can have an idea, but only rock stars can implement them” might pause to reflect on the 115 years over which Taylorism has influenced everyone’s working lives.
