Excerpt from “Selling the Invisible” by Harry Beckwith

Chances are, your organization runs on the Alpha Principle, Ideas do not follow the good thinking in an organization; ideas follow the power.

Most organizations work like the groups of apes from which we evolved. The alphas dictate what group the group does and thinks.

But are alphas better at decision making? Not necessarily. Alphas are just better at getting and keeping power. In most organizations, in fact, alphas are the people who just look and sound like they should have the power (a conclusion suggested by several studies that show that height, not business school performance, is the strongest predictor of an MBA’s starting salary).

If your smart people don’t kill your ideas, chances are the alphas will.

If you’re an alpha, learn to shut up. Imitate Ben Taylor, the alpha who runs the Executrain franchise in Minnesota, often the most successful of America’s very Executrain franchises. When asked to explain his success, Taylor’s first response is “I listen”

The bumper stickers are right: Question Authority. Question alphas.