50 Years of Mintzberg’s Truth: Are Indian Managers Lost in the 2025 Mess?

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It’s been 50 years since Henry Mintzberg dropped his game-changing The Manager’s Job: Folklore and Fact in HBR back in 1975. (I read the article in early 2000s, I am his big fan). They’re celebrating it this month (March 2025)—I’m diving into that soon! Mintzberg flipped the script on what managers do, but fast forward to 2025, and it feels like his ideas are fading, especially the last 15 years. What’s he saying about this mess? Let’s unpack it.

Mintzberg’s 1975 Wake-Up Call

Back in ‘75, Mintzberg watched real managers hustle and threw shade at the old-school view (cheers, Henri Fayol) that they just plan, organize, coordinate, and control. Nah, he said—they’re chaos warriors, juggling short, messy tasks at a relentless pace, thriving on chats over reports. He smashed four myths:

1. Myth: Managers are calm, systematic planners. Nope—they’re action-driven, half their tasks done in under 9 minutes.
2. Myth: Good managers skip routine stuff. Wrong—they handle ceremonies, negotiations, and gossip to keep the wheels turning.
3. Myth: Top dogs need fancy data. Nope—they prefer a quick call or chai-time gossip for the real scoop.
4. Myth: Management’s a science. Nope—it’s an art, lived, not taught.

He gave us ten roles—interpersonal (figurehead, leader, liaison), informational (monitor, disseminator, spokesperson), and decisional (entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, negotiator). It was gritty, human, and spot-on for decades.

2025: Lost in the Last 15 Years

But since 2010, post-2008 crash, Mintzberg’s vision feels like a ghost. Indian managers—you see this, right? The chaos-taming, gut-driven manager he loved? Buried under a pile of caution and corporate nonsense. Here’s how it unraveled:

• Fear Took Over: The 2008 meltdown made job security king—Bengaluru rents, EMIs, school fees—no one’s risking it. Managers turned cautious, not bold.
• Data Overload: Mintzberg’s quick-handshake vibe? Swapped for 30-page docs and dashboards. Decisions crawl, paralysis rules.
• Bureaucracy Boom: Regulations tighter than a Delhi metro rush, fake awards, and certifications killed agility. Managers are paper-pushers now—meetings, reports, MIA from teams.
• Short-Term Greed: Quarterly wins trump big bets—his entrepreneur role’s toast.
• Life’s a Mess: Nuclear families cracking, everyone’s stressed—managers can’t focus when home’s a warzone.

Mintzberg’s Reaction: The Last 15 Years Through His Eyes

Mintzberg, now 85, isn’t blind to this. He’s been vocal—on his site, X, and in chats—about how management’s gone off the rails since 2010. In a 2019 interview, he said we’re obsessed with “change over continuity,” leaving managers disconnected, remote-controlling teams like a TV. His another piece, “Managing on the Edges,” nods to pandemics and tech shifts, but he’s pissed—managers still cling to rigid, top-down habits, not the ground-level hustle he championed. On X, he’s tweeted stuff like, “Metrics over meaning—this is management’s slow death,” slamming the data craze you and I hate.

He’s still roasting MBAs—Managers Not MBAs (2004) vibes live on—saying they churn out analysts, not leaders, worse now with AI hype. In a 2021 blog, he called out “leadership narcissism” post-2008, how it’s left firms gutless, chasing shareholder value over real impact. He’s pushing “communityship”—less hero CEOs, more team grit—but admits it’s rare ‘cause the system’s too bloated. He’s not shocked, just frustrated: the last 15 years proved his point—management’s human art got crushed by fear, tech, and greed.

Can We Fix It?

I’m not holding my breath. This sludge—red tape, cowardice, short-termism—is deep. We need a Drucker or Peters to torch it, but Mintzberg’s skeptical too—says we’re stuck unless we ditch the MBA playbook and get real again. HBR’s new piece might spark something—I’ll update you. Till then, Indian managers: are you trapped in this caution crap too? Hit me up below!

Karthik

21/3/25

12Noon.