Book excerpt: Behind the oak-paneled boardrooms and underneath the pin-striped suits lurk the same organizational principles that ruled the very first social group, the tribe. This book is an evolutionary look at the modern corporation -- and how its structure, roles, pecking orders and practices correspond to those of ancient tribal societies. You can forget about the academics of management, the ivory tower of wisdom of conventional M.B.A.s. Hunting and Gathering shows what it's really like: who are the chieftains, the hunters, the gatherers. Power symbols, rituals and initiation rites are used every bit as much as they were in the past. This book helps us understand which buttons are being pushed, and why. It's a whole new way to look at big business.