Corporate Strategy as an Art (XI): The Bronze Age – An introduction to Ancient Egypt.
Gruezi Mitenand.
This week is the turn of Egyptian Civilization and the land of Canaan. Before continuing with my saga, let me explain why do we need to read about history before helping you with corporate strategy. I can´t cover my insights and wonderings, without putting you in the context of each of the civilizations that we are visiting during this saga “Corporate Strategy as an Art”. As I told you I am not an expert in archaeology, neither in history, and I must rely on third-party sources, outside my area of domain in relation to history and archaeology. I have tried to filter the sources of information too. I do hope I have not chosen the wrong ones. And if I do it, please let me know.
The Temple of Denderah.
My aim is not to give you lessons of history or archaeology, but simply to contextualize you in the main societal, organizational and economic aspects for each of the cultures we are visiting. In addition, I have tried to avoid the religious context for each ancient culture, not because it wasn´t important, but because of lack of time. Nevertheless, keep in mind, that particularly in ancient civilizations, the religious motives were inherent to their artistic representations or architectural vestiges. Our Bronze Age Leaders were capable to produce those artistic vestiges because they had the economic resources to do it (probably to pay the artists who did them). And in order to rule their kingdoms or empires, they had to convince their populations that they were Gods, or were connected themselves to the Gods in which they believed. All the artistic representations (including monuments, temples, and cities) express those connections clearly.
Again, my job with this saga is to connect the dots between the art pieces and the inference of their leader’s corporate strategy. As you know, the corporate strategy is done by those who are owners or founders, and we simply wish to connect their remains or art with how they got the sources of funds (wealth). We also must admit, those artistic objects were produced or made by specialists in each field (painters, sculptors, scribes, dancers, engineers, law erudites, etc). These specialists are what we define as artists. These artists wanted to register and preserve everything. And through those vestiges, they have told us the corporate strategy of those societies.
The Temple of Hatshepsut
I don´t want my blog publications about this saga to end up becoming classes of history or archaeology. This is not my purpose. I am sure by now, you can perceive that the best strategists in the world do work with multidisciplinary teams, including historians and archaeologists to provide the best solutions to the most difficult problems they are hired to solve. Indeed if I were hired to become the CEO for Bain&Company, or Deloitte, or Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey, instead of investing in how to help companies to adapt for the next Fourth Industrial Revolution, I would remake the history of consulting by hiring a team of archaeologists and historians who could help me to provide holistic and integral solutions to our current problems which are beyond technology or digital transformations. And if I were the CEO for any of these companies, I would have all the resources to make this blog prettier for you.
For instance, in this specific case of Egypt cultures during the Bronze Age, as I did it with the China Bronze Age, I have decided that I won´t spend time describing the history. It is up to all to know it. Nevertheless, I would provide links and a general video which can help us to recall history. These sources of information know better than me about those historic details. I will leave the historians and archaeologists to help me to fill the historical context in my blog. To begin with, I have chosen a general video about Ancient Egypt from the National Geographic, which will help us to travel in time to Egypt and will set us up in the general context at that epoch.
After watching this video, let´s visit the general timeline of Egypt Ancient Civilization during the Bronze Age:
If you wish to download the last slide in PDF, please click here: Eliescalante Corporate Strategy as an Art-Bronze Age Egypt timeline
Finally, surprise-surprise: Today I wish to leave you with homework. If you wish to understand my next publication, please read at least three of the following links about ancient Egypt history. You are free to google other sources of reference. What I need is that you are ready to proceed with me with the analysis between Egypt Bronze Age Remains and their corporate strategy. Otherwise, you won´t be able to grasp or understand it. Thank you.
These are the relevant links that I recommend you to read before my further analysis of the Egyptians Corporate Strategy based on their artistic legacy.
https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/introduction-to-ancient-egyptian-art/
https://brewminate.com/beyond-hieroglyphs-the-art-and-architecture-of-ancient-egypt/
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ancient_Egypt
https://www.timemaps.com/encyclopedia/ancient-egyptian-history/
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/search/?search-term=ancient+egypt
https://www.historyonthenet.com/ancient-egypt
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/ancient-art/egyptian.htm
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ancient_Egypt
Disclaimer: All the presentation slides shown on this blog are prepared by Eleonora Escalante MBA-MEng. Nevertheless, all the pictures or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.
Eleonora Escalante Strategy 
