Tech & Mythology Project Snapshot – Jan 2025

Time for another project snapshot. There were earlier snapshots in Jul 2020, Oct 2020, Feb 2021, and Nov 2021.

The Goldman Sachs ogregore

A recent Goldman Sachs reorg demonstrates an exception to my claim that “leaders love to take credit for corporate success, bolstering the impression that CEO's determine corporate action.” There’s no mention in the coverage of the CEO.

Hidden complexity in brains and ogregores

Susan Tonkin gave me an intriguing reason why it’s hard to “see” ogregores for what they are, in response to my post Bad Outcomes make it easier to see group agency. She noted that while it’s simple to delimit an organization’s make-up (listing the employees, for example) and easy to see its outputs (like products, jobs, and stock price), we have great trouble thinking through the complexity in the middle. 

Another one ducks the blame

 I've observed that leaders love to take credit for corporate success, bolstering the impression that CEO's determine corporate action, but they disappear when things go wrong. American Airlines failed business travel overhaul offers the latest example.

Loki as Fixer

I’ve come to to doubt the universal description of the Norse god Loki as a trickster. Perhaps “fixer” would fit him just as well, or better.