Are management theorists on way to extinction?

Yes. And here is why: because, they see things in the retrospect.

As soon as we have a unicorn, they will start thinking about how it all started. They will use elaborate and nonsensical models to explain everything, do really really in-depth interviews with people to learn how they did it, and then, a few years later, they will come out of their theoretically induced hibernation and proudly present a ground breaking rules book for success for unicorns. An elixir for the world business.

However, unlike research which is static, context is in a constant state of journey. It’s not static. So most of the rules of thumb of success by these "acclaimed management theorists" will make no sense as the context would have moved on. Some of the unicorns they studied may already be packing up for the day after bursting a bubble or two. And market models may have changed significantly.

And, it's not just management theorists who are out of sync with business reality. It's most of management and marketing research that exists today, both theoretical and applied. Because, the "re" in this research is the same "re" we have in rear-view mirror. And of course, it's the academia - not all, but the ones that focus on rear-view.

They all live in a thought bubble which is devoid of practice. Rather than riding a bike, doing a few tricks, and appreciating the landscape around, their job is writing manuals after manuals on how to ride a bike.

Well, how many manuals do you need to read to ride a bike anyway?

Wouldn't it be easier to learn by flapping the paddle on the bike a few times? Who cares if you fall a couple of times? Why need a manual that says if you use its method of riding a bike your chances of falling will statistically be 0.0015%? And what if your pace of business is so fast that you would need to abandon bike anyway and take a walk with your Porsche?

Naimul Abd is a strategist and a corporate consultant who has advised more than 20 multinationals. Now as an entrepreneur, he is involved in a number of innovation startups and is changing the rules of entrepreneurship.