Tech Industry Runs Itself Like The Soviet Union

Why so many companies that were supposed to promote free-spirited innovation resemble a communist party.

It’s December 1922, and Vladimir Lenin just raised the communist flag over Moscow, proclaiming the formation of Soviet Union. Over the next 70 years, it would unite nearly 300 million people across 11 different time-zones, forming one of the strongest factions in the world’s political history, and promising stability and prosperity to all.

Now, before you leave, let me assure you that this piece is indeed about corporate innovation. In the next paragraph, I’ll explain why all this is relevant.

One of the first changes made by the Soviet leadership was to implement Five-year plans. Under this new economic regime, state planning committee would cascade production priorities down to state leaders, who in turn would supervise its implementation on the region-by-region basis.

The freewheeling world built on capitalism frowned upon this highly oppressive system which concentrated all the decision-making power in the hands of select few. Folks from the liberal West proclaimed that this regime would destroy USSR from within (which, in all honesty, it did).