Editor’s note: The following article comes from the fifth chapter of Marvin Bower’s 1966 book, The Will to Manage. Bower, who passed away on January 22 at age 99, was a legendary business figure who served as McKinsey & Company’s managing director from 1950 to 1967 and as its guiding influence for more than 60 years. This excerpt features his insights on the principles of effective corporate organization.

One summer afternoon a friend telephoned me about a golf game. He had a twosome and was looking for two more people. I accepted, and we spent a minute discussing whom we might get as the fourth. But we did not settle on anyone. Nor did we decide which of us was to get the fourth.

The next day I met another member of the club. He agreed to join us, and I immediately called my friend with the news. But in the meantime he too had invited a guest, so we had one too many. I called back the member I had invited and told him of our plight. He was most understanding and readily agreed to withdraw. So no harm was done.

Even so, the incident was embarrassing...