Corporate Man

Main Characteristics: Big on security, low on risk. A follower not a leader, though makes a very effective middle or senior manager. Follows the mission statement, high on air miles, though can be trust to always returns home.

Also known as Company Man and in Japan, Salaryman.

This type of man proliferated throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, though becoming less common now – not many Gen Z are Corporate Men – they don’t trust organisations and aren’t inclined to invest their lives and identity working for the likes of Shell, Apple, Toyota or Proctor and Gamble. Frankly, I don’t blame them.

But there are still a lot of Corporate Men around. And one can understand why; the organisation protects, nourishes, and values them – in return they give the organisation the best years of their life. This is what sociologists call a ‘symbiotic relationship’; body and soul in exchange for lifetime protection and security. Both parties get something out of it and indeed, organisations couldn’t exist without corporate men.

Though it is just as well at Gen Z is disinclined to become this type of man because he’s fast being replaced by AI around the world. One global company, the pharmaceutical giant Bayer, only this week (January 2024) sacked 5000 managers.

As I wrote in my 2022 book, Total Inclusivity at Work, it’s good to love your job but very risky to love an organisation. Why? Because the organisation cannot and will never, love you back.

I’ve known a few corporate men during my lifetime, though not surprising as they were very common during the 60s and 70s, the era when companies went global and needed managers, usually men, to fly around the world on business. The corporate men I knew did a lot of flying around and did very well out of it. One corporate man, a friend of mine, joined a multinational company at the age of 18 and stayed with it for the next 50 years until his retirement. Very unusual nowadays.

Most Corporate Men are, by definition, invisible. They don’t usually make the news. Examples of the few Corporate Men who made it to the very top:

J. Edgar Hoover – the man who set up and led the FBI for nearly 50 years. Also, his loyal deputy, Clyde Tolson.

Tim Cook, current CEO of Apple – took over from the late Steve Jobs in 2011. (Note: Steve Jobs was not a Corporate Man – he was a very different type of guy, a rarer species).

Steve Balmer, joined Microsoft in 1980 and over the next 34 years rose through the ranks – ended up as CEO.

James Dimon at JP Morgan Chase: With the company nearly two decades and totally committed to it. Archetypal Corporate Man.

Charlie Munger: VC of Berkshire Hathaway for 45 years; the conglomerate controlled by Warren Buffet.  Was still VC when he passed way, in 2023 aged 99.

Points:
· Predictable, into routine, not adventurous. Safe pair of hands.

· Can be trusted to return home though don’t expect him to stay away from the girlie bars during his business trip to Bangkok or Manila.

· Good family man. Reliable and loving - will ensure he’s around for the kid’s birthday. Rather traditional guy so will prefer his wife to be a homekeeper not the breadwinner.

· Not particularly romantic though can be trained to be – e.g. always bringing his wife a nice gift back from whatever business trip he’s just beeb ib.

· Could you work for a Corporate Man? Chances are you already have done or will do. They do get promoted – eventually.  You’ll see them every morning rushing to their office, dressed in their black suits, on the London underground, Seoul metro, New York subway and Tokyo metro.

· Does he make a good friend? Sure, one of the best. Look out for him on a Sunday morning down at his golf club or the younger and more energetic ones playing football with their mates.

· His idea of excitement: tending the garden or doing some DIY around the home. As for holidays, he likes the familiar. Expect him to spend every summer at the same resort in Ibiza or the Caribbean.

Corporate Man’s life revolves around the company. He is loyal, trustworthy, and reliable. A nice guy to know but perhaps a tad boring at times. Corporate Man loves his family though in truth he lives for the job, the organisation, and especially the feeling of being indispensable. Though inevitably one day he will join all the other ‘indispensable’ Corporate Men, the archetypal middle managers, in the graveyard.

Listen to Stephen and Jay discuss 'Corporate Man':