If genes “account for a substantial proportion of the differences between individuals“, why do managers tend to treat all people in a similar manner?

Thus posed the Economist magazine in a review of “Born entrepreneurs. How your genes affect your workplace.” The book makes a staggering observation:

Around 40% of the variation between people’s incomes is attributable to genetics.

Of course, there are also a series of environmental factors to take into account. Meanwhile, other studies have taken the argument further.

The influence of genes on leadership potential is weakest in boys brought up in rich, supportive families and strongest in those raised in harsher circumstances. The quip that the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton thus seems to have some truth.

On their own, these comments are fascinating. But a recent article in the Financial Times gave added emphasis to the growing roles of biologists in management. When considering marketing strategies, observed Simon Stewart, marketing director at Britvic, the beverages company:

Traditional research concentrated on the ‘what’. Now we are trying to establish the ‘why’. We are not asking what they think about products and ideas but focusing on what makes them tick.

Did I mention genes previously? Note how Ms Patricia Pineau speaks in her role as head of L’Oréal’s consumer insights team. She wants to “decode” how people make consumer decisions. It appears that the multinationals are increasingly turning to scientists to help them reach conclusions on branding. Bye bye marketing teams?

But less us not ignore the good old chemicals in our body. As I was preparing this blog, I caught my wife reading “Why love matters” by Sue Gerhardt. The author shows and examines how early pathways  – determined by neuroscience and biochemistry – affect the way we respond to stress in adult life.

So the next time you look for a consultant on how to improve the running of your company, will you be calling in your traditional expert or a biologist? As evolutionists would say, times are a-changing.