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Pyramid Climbers
A penetrating new look at today's corporation man and his perilous climb to the executive suite.
- GenresSociologyNonfiction
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Vance Packard
102 books56 followersVance Oakley Packard was an American journalist and social critic. He was the author of several books, including The Hidden Persuaders and The Naked Society. He was a critic of consumerism.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 23, 2017
This is the fourth book I have read by Vance Packard. It concerns big business in America, how it is structured (as a pyramid though not to be confused with today's pyramid schemes) and how employees climb that pyramid to executive, company president, and chairman of the board.
Though it is one of the driest yet of Packard's books, it was interesting to read about the amount of control and influence those companies wielded over their executives in the early 60s. It mattered what sort of wife they had, where they bought their homes, what clubs they joined. People of color, Jews, women, and recent immigrants stood little chance of reaching executive positions.
Personality and psychological testing came into common use beginning in the mid 1950s. Regular assessments of how a man was doing on the job and how he was perceived by his superior and co-workers were conducted. Demands for increased production year after year led to unethical practices in order to meet the quotas.
It all paints a picture of these big corporations as almost a cult. The early 60s were a time of transition from promoting within the companies to using head hunters to steal men away from other companies. It was also the beginning of the overseas branches and multinational conglomerations that led to the situation we have today of out-sourcing and its accompanying unemployment in America.
Basically WASPs ran everything and a corporate culture of blandness rather than the outrageous types who we now call the Robber Barons were being replaced by executives bound by their Boards of Directors and shareholders.
Sometimes the author fell prey to generalities though he attempted to show differences between various kinds of industries. Aside from that complaint and the boredom that comes from reading too many statistics, I felt I learned as much as I wanted to know about the transitions in business that led to where we are now.
My husband and I were both children of fathers who worked for a major corporation: Ford Motor Company and United States Steel. Neither of us has ever had a desire to follow that path. My father-in-law made it pretty far up the pyramid and died of a massive stroke at age 52. My father chose to not angle for promotions and took early retirement. He had some health problems later in life but lived to be 85.
Being a person who is concerned about climate change and the unsustainable culture we have today, I got a glimpse of the inner workings of businesses based solely on profits and growth. Where will it all end?
Though it is one of the driest yet of Packard's books, it was interesting to read about the amount of control and influence those companies wielded over their executives in the early 60s. It mattered what sort of wife they had, where they bought their homes, what clubs they joined. People of color, Jews, women, and recent immigrants stood little chance of reaching executive positions.
Personality and psychological testing came into common use beginning in the mid 1950s. Regular assessments of how a man was doing on the job and how he was perceived by his superior and co-workers were conducted. Demands for increased production year after year led to unethical practices in order to meet the quotas.
It all paints a picture of these big corporations as almost a cult. The early 60s were a time of transition from promoting within the companies to using head hunters to steal men away from other companies. It was also the beginning of the overseas branches and multinational conglomerations that led to the situation we have today of out-sourcing and its accompanying unemployment in America.
Basically WASPs ran everything and a corporate culture of blandness rather than the outrageous types who we now call the Robber Barons were being replaced by executives bound by their Boards of Directors and shareholders.
Sometimes the author fell prey to generalities though he attempted to show differences between various kinds of industries. Aside from that complaint and the boredom that comes from reading too many statistics, I felt I learned as much as I wanted to know about the transitions in business that led to where we are now.
My husband and I were both children of fathers who worked for a major corporation: Ford Motor Company and United States Steel. Neither of us has ever had a desire to follow that path. My father-in-law made it pretty far up the pyramid and died of a massive stroke at age 52. My father chose to not angle for promotions and took early retirement. He had some health problems later in life but lived to be 85.
Being a person who is concerned about climate change and the unsustainable culture we have today, I got a glimpse of the inner workings of businesses based solely on profits and growth. Where will it all end?
April 16, 2020
Reading The Pyramid Climbers made me recall the accuracy of Michael Korda's books, Success! and Power! in the corporate world.
The seven characteristics of successful executives in this book are eerily similar to what Korda advised people in Power!. The successful executive:
1) Has a high tolerance for frustration;
2) Encourages full participation;
3) Continually questions oneself;
4) Understands the rule of competitive hostility;
5) Expresses hostility tactfully;
6) Controls one's emotions;
7) Snaps out of defeats without being shattered;
Success! and this book advise the same regarding executives: executives should be lean (p. 94).
Finally, drive is the most important characteristic in a successful executive. Although that may be the goal of many people, Packard ends his book with the effects of the executive's work on his health, his family, and of other people: maybe being atop the pyramid isn't as beautiful as it seems.
The seven characteristics of successful executives in this book are eerily similar to what Korda advised people in Power!. The successful executive:
1) Has a high tolerance for frustration;
2) Encourages full participation;
3) Continually questions oneself;
4) Understands the rule of competitive hostility;
5) Expresses hostility tactfully;
6) Controls one's emotions;
7) Snaps out of defeats without being shattered;
Success! and this book advise the same regarding executives: executives should be lean (p. 94).
Finally, drive is the most important characteristic in a successful executive. Although that may be the goal of many people, Packard ends his book with the effects of the executive's work on his health, his family, and of other people: maybe being atop the pyramid isn't as beautiful as it seems.
April 1, 2018
Basically American as for the data he analyzes, out of date for the most of it, but still interesting in some parts.
July 11, 2018
a classic on org functioning, structures and interactions...
August 16, 2007
Getting to the top in these big organizations.
January 21, 2010
I read all of Vance Packard's books when I graduated college. They were actually recommended by a professor as a way to ease into a non-academic lifestyle.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews