Why Did the Tower of Babel Fail?
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Why Did the Tower of Babel Fail?
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Why Did theTower of Babel Fail?
Now the whole earth used only one language, with few words. On the occasion of a migration from the east, men discovered a plain in the land of Shinar, and settled there. Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, burning them well. " So they used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower whose top shall reach the heavens (thus making a name for ourselves), so that we may not be scattered all over the earth. " Then the Lord came down to look at the city and tower which human beings had built. The Lord said, "They are just one people, and they all have the same language. If this is what they can do as a beginning, then nothing that they resolve to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there make such a babble of their language that they wilt not understand one another's speech. " Thus the Lord dispersed them from there all over the earth, so that they had to stop building the city.
GENESIS 11:1-8
P. Breughel, the Elder, "Turmbau zu Babel," 1563 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
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Why Did The Tower of Babel Fail?
A Management Audit of the Babel Project According to the Genesis account, the tower of Babel was man's second major engineering undertaking, after Noah's ark. Babel was the first engineering fiasco. The story is deep and instructive on several levels. Let us, however, examine it purely as an engineering project, and see what management lessons can be learned. How well was their project equipped with the prerequisites for success? Did they have: 1. A clear mission? Yes, although naively impossible. The project failed long before it ran into this fundamental limitation. 2. Manpower? Plenty of it. 3. Materials? Clay and asphalt are abundant in Mesopotamia. 4. Enough time? Yes, there is no hint of any time constraint. 5. Adequate technology? Yes, the pyramidal or
Why Did the Tower of Babel Fail?
7
Why Did theTower of Babel Fail?
Now the whole earth used only one language, with few words. On the occasion of a migration from the east, men discovered a plain in the land of Shinar, and settled there. Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, burning them well. " So they used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city with a tower whose top shall reach the heavens (thus making a name for ourselves), so that we may not be scattered all over the earth. " Then the Lord came down to look at the city and tower which human beings had built. The Lord said, "They are just one people, and they all have the same language. If this is what they can do as a beginning, then nothing that they resolve to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and there make such a babble of their language that they wilt not understand one another's speech. " Thus the Lord dispersed them from there all over the earth, so that they had to stop building the city.
GENESIS 11:1-8
P. Breughel, the Elder, "Turmbau zu Babel," 1563 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
73
74
Why Did The Tower of Babel Fail?
A Management Audit of the Babel Project According to the Genesis account, the tower of Babel was man's second major engineering undertaking, after Noah's ark. Babel was the first engineering fiasco. The story is deep and instructive on several levels. Let us, however, examine it purely as an engineering project, and see what management lessons can be learned. How well was their project equipped with the prerequisites for success? Did they have: 1. A clear mission? Yes, although naively impossible. The project failed long before it ran into this fundamental limitation. 2. Manpower? Plenty of it. 3. Materials? Clay and asphalt are abundant in Mesopotamia. 4. Enough time? Yes, there is no hint of any time constraint. 5. Adequate technology? Yes, the pyramidal or