Seneca: appeasing the sting of management fears : Insights into management based on Seneca’s dialogues with Lucilius, Marcia and Helvia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look beyond the classic literature on managerial “best practices”, standards, organizational behavior and ready-made managerial discourses, and which have tended to deny the role of fear as a major issue in today’s modern enterprise. Lessons from Seneca allow us to understand how the phenomenon of fear, which has largely been hushed up by organizational culture, can be demystified and brought into the open. Design/methodology/approach – The aim is to prod further thinking, after the example of Seneca’s stingray, about the dominant ideology of management, which is under threat from four factors that have been allowed to spread like a numbing toxin. Findings – Seneca’s philosophy, then, should be viewed as rich in insight into how today’s disquieted managers might find peace of mind. Originality/value – Seneca asks us to consider fear as far more detrimental than the very adversities that we try to keep at bay. That does not mean we ought to deny fear, but, rather, attempt to better understand its inevitability, and hold it in check. No good can come from rushing headlong toward doom, in anticipation of ills that will not necessarily materialize, or, in any event, whose occurrence is beyond our control.