• Disruption Times

  What Business Leaders Can Learn From Stone Age Tools

  Posted by ashleymartin on August 19, 2024 at 4:18 pm

  As I recently wandered through Ethiopia’s National Museum in Addis Ababa, passing the skeleton of our most famous ancestor “Lucy,” an unexpected caption on a nearby display board caught my attention: “Standardizing Tool Production.” Wait! Standardizing tools? This part of the museum which has Lucy and other artifacts is mostly dedicated to the Paleolithic era. (approximately 2.6 million to 10,000 years ago). During this era, humans had barely started to network across social groups, let alone standardize anything. Had I missed something in school? Was the cartoon portrayal of The Flintstones rooted in reality, depicting real factories and workplaces?

  Once I had wandered through the excellent ethnographic museum and reflected upon the parallels between ancient human evolution and the modern business challenges of tools like AI, I became fascinated with the similarities. The history of the evolution of tools has a few recurring patterns. These are sociological in nature. This means that modern business leaders can learn from the journey of standardizing and adopting tools from the Stone Age.

  Standardized Tools vs. Standardized Processes for Manufacturing Tools
  Back in the National Museum in Addis Ababa, I had misunderstood the meaning of “standardizing tool production”. No two Stone Age tools were exactly the same. For instance, while Projectile Points (i.e. arrowheads or spear points) were generally shaped the same way, they lacked the uniformity of say the modern 16oz household hammer. It dawned on me that the focus was not on standard tools themselves, but on standardizing the processes used to make them. It was this process standardization that arguably contributed significantly to human evolution.
  To clarify, the tools in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) period from 280,000-25,000 BCE did fall into specific standard types. And these types have been found all over the world – in regions ranging from the Horn of Africa to Central Europe and beyond. They included Projectile Points (e.g., arrowheads capable of penetrating animal hide), Blades (e.g., flakes with sharp edges used for cutting), Scrapers (e.g., tools used for scraping hides or wood), Burins (e.g., chisel points used for engraving or carving), Tips (e.g., small tools used to make holds in bone or wood), Axes (e.g., heavy-duty tools for chopping), and Grindstones (e.g., tools used to grind and polish other materials).
  However, what is more fascinating is what drove the methods of manufacturing all types of tools to become standard across continents, thousands of years ago.
  Standard Processes for Manufacturing Stone Age ToolsDistinct standard processes existed to make each of these types of tools. It included methods like Flint Knapping (shaping via a harder object), Pressure Flaking (using controlled pressure to remove small flakes), Core Reduction (removing flakes from a larger core), Retouching (modifying edges for cutting), Hafting (adding a handle to a stone tool), and Grinding (for shape or texture). Much as my geek nature would love to elaborate on these, I realize that most people would consider this to be a form of medieval torture. And so, I’ll control myself — and subject you to only a tiny bit.

  Let’s focus briefly on Flint Knapping. Initially, a suitable hard material like flint, chert, obsidian, or quartz was selected and shaped into a “core.” This core was anchored on a stone anvil, and a striking platform was prepared to facilitate flake detachment. Using a hammerstone, controlled strikes were delivered to the core’s edge, producing flakes that were subsequently shaped into blades, points, or scrapers through additional percussion. The whole point of subjecting you to this tortured explanation was to underscore the sophistication of these procedures. They could not have independently evolved in disparate parts of the world to become standardized for each tool type. This highlights the sociological impetus for standardizing processes.
  Standardizing Processes and SociologyThis “pull” for standardizing processes in the Stone Age was a result of necessity. These skills were passed on from group to group and generation to generation. The pace of change was slow, but the need was high. That dynamic has changed over time. The industrialization of society has led to a faster pace of change, but the perception of the need for certain tools and processes has become, well, complicated.

  Let’s take the question of whether AI as a tool is needed in all areas, at the same pace, at the risk of job losses, or with certain existential risks. The fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) related to this issue are valid because this isn’t a simple yes or no issue. However, this FUD becomes challenging to leaders who are trying to implement responsible AI changes in processes and tools. The FUD in people doesn’t always discriminate between needed change and unhelpful change.
  The Single Question to Ask

  The lesson from our Stone Age ancestors may be relevant here and it is a hopeful one. There’s an important human behavior at play regarding tools. At the end of the day, all change in processes and tools is sociologically driven. Human behavioral programming around the desire to use needed tools has been passed on over generations from our Lucy-like ancestors to you and me. That’s actually helpful! Human beings are programmed to “pull” change when there is a clear need. However, in the modern fast-paced, results-driven era, we often default to the push instead of the pull. Leveraging the human desire to “pull” is ignored.

  So, the single question for leaders driving business process change or business tool change is simple – Have I created the conditions where even our Stone Age ancestors would pull for this change?

  Keep disrupting!

  Tony

  ashleymartin replied 3 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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