Evolutionary Theory of Leadership: From Before the Birth of Humanity to the AI Era

February 14, 2022

There is no point in a leader appearing when the outcome is already decided. Only organizations in highly uncertain environments, where winning or losing is unknown, require difficult decision-making and guidance from a leader. Human society has lived alongside such uncertainty ever since history began.

Only organizations that overcame such uncertainty through leadership guidance have survived. I realized that human history is a history of selection at the organizational level, and behind it lies the evolutionary theory of leadership. I thought I might be able to provide a single axis for today's chaotic leadership theories. That was about five years ago.

Realizing that was the easy part. However, writing on this theme ultimately meant writing about human history. It took time to read the references, and even more time to check for errors. The fact that the publication date was significantly delayed due to COVID-19 was actually a blessing for me, as I wanted to secure more writing time.

I referenced research findings from many interesting fields, including biology, philosophy, history, sociology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, neuroscience, political science, psychology, and business administration. I enjoyed the writing process so much that I feel a bit lonely now that it's finished. In any case, I made an effort to ensure that the joy of learning was not lost in the writing of this book.

A leader is someone who fights major problems that emerge as events unfold. The polarization of wealth, the manifestation of environmental issues, conflicts, and a new Cold War are major emerging problems. However, on the scale of human history, these are stories that have happened many times before. Humanity has (somehow) overcome these problems. Therefore, while each of these issues is important, I believe they can surely be overcome.

However, the biggest problem we face now is something that has never appeared before in human history. I have named this misfortune the "Social Big Crunch" and have long feared it. A society that is truly discontinuous from the past is being born. I want to share this crisis with readers through this book and discuss it.

Evolutionary Theory of Leadership: From Before the Birth of Humanity to the AI Era

Jo Sakai

BOW & PARTNERS

408 pages, 2,200 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.