Management Consultancy (One of) The Oldest Professions?

It has been pointed out that Management Consultancy is one of the oldest professions (not the oldest we hasten to add!).

As reported in the Old Testament, following the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, their leader Moses found himself the sole judge of disputes which arose among the people. (It was not then standard practice to include dispute-resolution processes in Enterprise Bargaining Agreements and the like!)

Moses was rather overworked, and the number of disputes made him, as solitary judge, something of a bottleneck. As a result, the people “stood by Moses from the morning into the evening” waiting for him to make decisions.

Seeing an obvious need, Moses’ father-in-law Jethro decided to launch his management consulting career. In what has been noted as the earliest recorded set of recommendations from a management consultant, Jethro offered a range of advice:

Jethro's Advice

“And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work they must do.”
(Exodus 18:20)

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place such over them, to be rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties and rulers of tens.”
(Exodus 18:21)

“And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so it shall be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.”
(Exodus 18:22)

Translated into Modern Management Dialect

Establish policies and standard practices; prepare job descriptions; define performance standards; and conduct job training.

Set up an effective organisational structure: first line supervisors to have ten subordinates; second line supervisors to have five subordinates, etc; define supervisory and managerial competencies; appoint men who posses these competencies.

Delegate authority, with routine problems to be decided down the line, but exceptional problems to be brought to higher authority; require collective responsibility and accountability. (The source is silent as to whether Jethro also proposed a group incentive scheme.)

To Moses’ great credit he seems to have embraced this inspired advice from his consultant!

Credit: The earliest version of the above we have been able to identify appeared in a 1986 issue of “Roundup”, a newsletter produced by the Interchurch Trade and Industry Mission (ITIM).