Who Really Matters: The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege, and Success [Hardcover]

The book's problems begin immediately with the introduction of the Core Group theory. What is it? Kleiner claims it is the people in an organization who matter - the ones with power. But how can it be applied to a particular company or organization? Is the president of the company part of its Core Group? Probably, Kleiner says, but don't assume it. What about his secretary? Possibly. What about the head of an important division in an organization? Maybe. Is it the people in the organization with the best titles or those who make the most money? Not necessarily. Can someone be part of the Core Group one month and then out of the group the next month? Yes. At one point, Kleiner even says the Core Group exists "in people's hearts and minds."

In other words, Core Group theory is a subjective notion. This lack of substance haunts the rest of the book. The people who matter in an organization are the people who matter. Period. Even if you are part of an organization, you can't be sure who matters. As Kleiner makes clear in the beginning of the book, you can't even be sure about your own status. You might think you matter, and indeed for a while you might matter, only to discover later on that you don't.

Despite this muddled beginning, Kleiner soldiers on as if he has given the reader something concrete to grasp. He mentions the history of some companies as examples to highlight his theory, but it's clear that with a theory this flexible, there is no company's history that can't be explained with it. Whatever decisions the company makes are due to the Core Group dynamics. If it appears that something the company did can't be explained by the Core Group theory, then you simply don't understand who belongs to the Core Group. There's a circularity to the theory that makes it impervious to any empirical proof.

Ignoring those difficulties, Kleiner moves on to give a solution to those left outside the Core Group: develop a shadow Core Group. Given that you can't be sure who is in the Core Group and who is not, this seems rather dangerous. I'm not aware of any organization that would look kindly upon an informal group set up within it that second guesses, however nicely, the formal organization's power structure. Kleiner acknowledges the difficulties, but says that with "a certain finesse, a fair amount of relationship and reputation equity, a willingness to experiment....Most of all, it takes...time and commitment that people generally do not invest in organizations." In other words, Kleiner believes that a shadow Core Group must be far more talented in their organizational and people skills and more dedicated to the company than the Core Group itself. This seems highly unlikely to happen.

I don't think Kleiner is really interested in looking at real-world organizations as they are so much as he's interested in dreaming up some catch-all theory to turn organizations (and ultimately the world) into what he wants them to be. And why not? There's a certain appeal to his theory. Almost everyone who's worked in an organization has at some point felt his or her talents and efforts were neglected by those in charge. Unfortunately, the real-life solution to such a problem was to either work harder and make the organization notice you, or cozy up to someone in the in-group. Kleiner's solution of making everyone part of the in-group sounds nice, but its pleasantness is of the same variety as fluffy talk of wanting everyone to be rich or happy.