After working in tandem since 1659, the Movers and the Shakers announced this week that their partnership will dissolve effective December 31. While the split is amicable, the concern is how it will impact US business – especially during these uncertain economic times.
“I fear there will be even more chaos and confusion,” says Harvard business professor Celia Mendez. “Corporate America has always depended on Movers and Shakers advancing the same goals.”
While nobody’s commenting officially, one Mover – who asked to remain anonymous – believes that shaking has seen its day. “The Movers have been carrying the Shakers for at least the past 30 years,” she says.
Thomas Lingston of the Percival Institute disagrees. He began his career as a Mover in 1982, but switched to shaking over 20 years ago. While Shakers tend to be older and more conservative, he says that when they do shake they make a bigger difference. “Anyone can move,” he says. “It’s not rocket science.”
MBA candidates are usually encouraged to decide between moving and shaking during their first semester. Mendez says that 76 percent of Harvard students picked moving in 2019, up from 53 percent just ten years earlier. “Moving has become associated with career tracking and change making,” she says.
Pervical’s Lingston believes, however, that as the workforce ages, shaking will see resurgence.
“If you’re not a Mover when you’re under 40, you have no heart,” he says. “If you’re not a Shaker after 40, you have no brain.”
Or, he concedes, it may be vice versa.
