Moses' Management Consultant

The other week I commented on the snake's role in the Garden of Eden in regard to addressing his target audience: women.

This week, I got an email from Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz of the Jewish Theological Seminary, commenting on Moses' management consultant. Rabbi Berkowitz writes that, Moses' father-in-law, watches his son dispensing judgment for the Israelites while they are in the desert after leaving Egypt for Canaan. He sees that Moses has established himself as a true leader amongst the Israelites, and he has become the victim of his own success. As a result of failing to establish clear and workable boundaries for himself, he opens himself to the potential for prophetic “burn-out.”

Now Jethro, the “corporate consultant,” helps Moses to change the dynamic. He quietly observed his son-in-law at work, then he issued his critique in the form of a question: “What is this thing that you are doing to the people?” (Exodus 18:14). Jethro’s question forces Moses to be reflective. Moses recognizes the burden before him, namely that the people are coming to him to seek God, and he is their judge for both large and small decisions. After hearing this response, Jethro wisely proposes a plan for success: Moses will appoint "good" (and I do mean "good," after all this is the Bible) assistants who will judge the common cases while Moses will continue adjudicating the major disputes.

The lessons from this story are to be (1) open to the work of knowledgeable consultants, (2) deliberate and sensitive in our critiques, and (3) like Moses, open to the possibility of change and innovation.

Maybe McKinsey, Booz Allen Hamilton, BCG, et al can adopt Jethro as their patron saint.