In Barbarians to Bureaucrats (published in 1989), Lawrence M. Miller describes a simple but profound pattern: organizations, like civilizations, evolve through stages of vitality and decline.

They begin with founder-driven boldness (the Barbarian), grow through structure and innovation (the Builder and Explorer), and if not careful, slide into stagnation and irrelevance (the Bureaucrat and beyond).

This pattern remains highly relevant for today’s leaders. Modern technologies now enable 10X to 100X execution for smaller teams… and potentially for larger organizations as well. But the same forces that accelerate execution can also accelerate decline. Without care, companies can slip into dysfunction far faster than in the past.

Understanding these dynamics can help companies avoid common traps and remain adaptive in a world that rewards speed and clarity.

The Arc of Organizational Life

Miller’s model describes a natural progression in organizational life: from Barbarian to Builder to Explorer to Administrator to Bureaucrat, then to Aristocrat, and finally to Sybarite (stage of terminal decline).

For early-stage and founder-led companies, this arc is intuitive. They start with Barbarian energy (visionary and bold)…and must soon develop Builder discipline and Explorer curiosity to drive sustainable growth. The risk lies in over-professionalizing too soon, where process stifles progress and the company loses its entrepreneurial edge.

In my experience working with startups, this can happen prematurely when founders are tempted to hire “that experienced person from a well-known big company.” While not universally true, there’s a higher risk that individuals who thrived in large organizations may excel as Administrators or Bureaucrats, adept at politics and leveraging ample resources, but less equipped for early-stage “zero to one” environments that demand scrappiness and adaptability.

One example stands out: a software startup in its earliest stage, tiny team, no customers, still validating problem/solution fit … decided to hire a veteran operator from a large company. Rather than rolling up his sleeves, he focused on demanding elaborate business plans, disconnected from the startup’s immediate needs. In one working session with the product team, he displayed classic Aristocrat behavior … leaning back, posturing, and asking, “Who here is taking notes?” (this was many years before AI notetakers) My reply: “How about you take the notes.” I can’t recall if he left the meeting, but I know he didn’t last long at the startup.

That said, as a company grows, you can’t operate solely on that Barbarian energy. Balance is essential. A healthy organization evolves to integrate the right mix of these archetypes at the right stages

The Bureaucratic Drift

For scaling companies, the dangers shift. Internal politics grow. Bureaucratic behaviors creep in. Leadership becomes more detached from customers. Without conscious effort, the Explorer spirit fades and teams begin optimizing for internal prestige over external impact.

You can see this in many large companies today. As Bureaucratic and Aristocratic tendencies take hold, energy shifts from customers to politics, from experimentation to inertia. The result is declining speed, falling relevance, and a culture that struggles to attract and retain top talent.

How Smart Teams Stay Fast

Modern leadership teams must consciously manage these energies. The first step is simply naming them.

Where is your company today?

What energies do you need more of?

Less of?

Leadership must then balance boldness with systems, ensuring that structure enables agility rather than impeding it. Explorer energy should be intentionally embedded into culture through customer engagement and experimentation. Leaders must also guard against bureaucratic drift by watching for signals of internal entitlement behaviors that erode market relevance and distract from business fundamentals.

The Discipline of Renewal

Finally, the healthiest companies practice renewal. They continuously ask where complacency has set in, where new frontiers lie, and how they can renew the boldness and curiosity that sparked their creation in the first place.

At Alignd, we believe the future belongs to companies that stay aligned, adaptive, and focused on their purpose. Miller’s model is a valuable lens for leaders who want to build organizations that thrive, not just at launch, but through every stage of their evolution.