Nobility evolved to be executives: those who boss
At the top of the heap were the nobles, those whose birth from the previous generation of nobles gave them extraordinary rights and privileges in the eyes of the law.
These hereditary titles conferred power on them that they would use to accrue wealth and more power, which they would use to seek to dominate even more. Just like every executive you’ve ever known, right? The top .1% want to distinguish themselves from the top 1%, so of course there are ranks on ranks with prestige and honors titles and blah blah blah. Here they are simplified into the most common corporate equivalents.
King / queen
The king or queen is the boss, the top dog, the one who all may appeal to, and none can appeal from. The monarch serves as the ultimate source of power and the primary representative of the realm. Authority was vested in them by religious belief and ceremony, showing that all were meant to obey this earthly representative of God. That noted, some kings were more powerful than others. In some cases, the king held virtually absolute power, making laws, levying taxes, and commanding armies as he wished. In other cases, the king's power was limited by the presence of powerful nobles who held significant control over their own territories and private armies. It’s complicated. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Today this is the CEO or president or managing director or whatever you call The Person In Charge at your organization. They might have a corner office and travel by private jet, or they might sit amongst the people to show they’re just like you, not aloof. If they founded the business and own it outright, they can wield near total power. If the board of directors is just a rubber stamp on their plans, it’s almost the same. But a CEO that is held accountable by the board or is subject to activist investors might feel the same frustrations of a king whose barons aren’t paying their taxes and amassing private armies in their castles.
Duke / duchess
A duke ruled a huge area of land called a duchy. Most often, they owed fealty to a king, at least in theory. In smaller principalities they might be the supreme ruler of the area, but have loyalty to a nearby king who could conquer him if he wanted. Princes and princesses often were also dukes and duchesses of someplace or another, particularly if they weren’t in line to inherit the throne. You had to keep ‘em around because you never knew if there was a plague right around the corner.
Today this would be all C-level executives other than the CEO. It could also be the president or general manager of a large division. If they’re a CxO or EVP of a function, they will work directly with the CEO. If they are president or general manager of a division, they might have less day-to-day interaction with the CEO, but they still owe the CEO updates and progress. Ultimately, the CEO is the boss of this boss, but these leaders have wide latitude to flex their muscles and let everyone know they’re the boss of their area of responsibility whenever The Big Boss isn’t around to do the flexing.
Count / countess / earl
A count rules a county, a big piece of land with lots of peasants to rule over and from whom to collect taxes. A county is the basic medieval territorial unit, much smaller than a duchy. Imagine an amount of land where you could ride a horse in a day’s ride from wherever your grim castle on your patch of mud was to the slightly less grim castle of the count. The count was wealthy and powerful, with significant autonomy in his lands, but owed fealty to a king as his overlord.
All corporate VPs are at this level. Everyone in this tier is definitely considered “an executive” by those inside and outside the organization, but they’re probably not in the small group that makes up the top leadership team; that tier is populated by the dukes. But these guys are fairly autonomous and can make decisions in their area without having to run it up the chain. In the public sector, leaders at this level may not receive a huge package of stock options, but there are still ways to recognize their high status at ribbon-cutting ceremonies, groundbreakings, or other special events, which can give them public exposure.
Marquis / marcher lord / margrave
Not all territories were the same. If your area was less than a few days’ ride from the king at the capital, you were probably most worried about wearing the wrong cloak to the next banquet. If the king granted you a territory next to the marauding hordes, you were probably more worried about keeping your head off a spike and attached to your shoulders. The nobles that managed these tough assignments battling and subduing the unruly neighbors in the border territories, or “marches,” continually had to earn their spurs or face the consequences. Because the king needed these nobles to hold the line, they were often left to their own devices, and had high rank among the nobility.
Today, these executives are country / territory managers. If the company’s headquarters are in the USA but has a few dozen employees in country X, these guys run the show there. They’re like a mini king of their realm. This might also be suitable for leaders of small misfit divisions from some acquisition made long ago and now not considered essential to strategy, but not something the company wants to divest. The less the CEO wants to think about some far-flung group, the more likely the manager of the group will have free rein to reign, for better or for worse.
Lord or Lady of the Manor / Seigneur
A lord of the manor was the owner of a large estate (a fief) granted to him by the king, or more likely, one of the king’s nobles down the pecking order. The lord would swear fealty and pay homage, making him a vassal (a formal way to say underling) of his liege, the greater noble. The lord would be the primary point of contact with the nobility for the vast majority of peasants. His base was the manor house, where he would manage the estate: presiding over complaints of the people in his territory, collecting taxes (and sending those taxes up the chain), administering justice, and maintaining order and security. He was expected to fight for his liege, providing soldiers and arms from his manor. During his absence, his role might be taken over by his wife, the lady of the manor.
As you already recognize, this is middle management. Maybe senior middle management. These people are very senior in the hierarchy, and yet there are many, many layers above them. The lowliest of peons might mistake this person for senior management, but anyone up close to their day-to-day work knows they are just another pawn on the board. Yes, life is more comfortable in the manor house. Yes, they are surrounded by servants. They might even enjoy dispensing justice. But if the king calls his banners to fight a war with a neighboring king or even an unruly duke, the lord of the manor must suit up and become another seat in the saddle, always in service of the greater lord.
Knight / chevalier
A knight was the lowest rank of the nobility, a professional soldier in the service of a higher ranking noble. Is there any image that evokes the medieval period more than the honorable knight in shining armor, mounted on his trusty steed, his proud banner fluttering in the wind? The image you probably have in your head right now is correct, but only for part of the medieval period. Knights started as just mounted soldiers, but over time, armored cavalry became the most decisive component of medieval warfare. At their peak, knights became associated with particular rules of behavior, the Code of Chivalry, which emphasized bravery, loyalty, and honor. Technology changes started to make this type of fighter obsolete in the Late Middle Ages. As the real fighting knight declined, the idea of a knight a champion of justice, righter of wrongs, and rescuer of damsels in distress became one of the most popular themes in popular literature and minstrels’ songs.
Just as the role of knight evolved over time from fighter to courtier, there might be two completely different corporate roles that find a parallel with this workaday bottom rank of nobility. The armored warrior who spends his days on the battlefield might be a senior member of the sales team. They charge off into battle and return victorious, bringing prosperity and honor to the realm, or they fail, and so take their rest forever in the churchyard.
Once the knight became more relevant at court than in the saddle, the analogy to the senior salesperson no longer fits. But these later stage knights also have a parallel in the corporate world as VPs with no direct reports, brand ambassadors, and corporate evangelists. These corporate warriors rub shoulders with the highest echelons, are nobility themselves, but their days are less blood and guts and their nights are more wine and song.
