Charles Handy Offers the Lessons of His Life

“It is unclear how one comes to be a guru,” observes Charles Handy. Yet, at age 75, Britain’s preeminent business visionary and social philosopher clearly deserves the title. Year after year, Handy has been listed on the prestigious Thinkers 50 list with gurus such as Peter Drucker and Tom Peters. Through his bestselling books (The Age of Unreason and The Elephant and the Flea among them), his BBC radio interviews, and his speaking engagements, Handy’s views on management and myriad topics have inspired countless people across the globe. Despite his well-established guru status, Handy admits that he’s still evolving. “The Charles Handy that I am today only emerged in my sixties,” he attests, “and who knows whether there may not be another version still to come…Life, I now think, is really a search for our own identity.”

In MYSELF AND OTHER MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS (AMACOM 2008), Charles Handy looks back at his lifetime of life-changing experiences. With wit, intimacy, and the “philosophical elegance and eloquence” Warren Bennis has pegged as his trademark, Handy interweaves musings on the purpose of work, the mission of education, and the meaning of life with lessons from his first seven decades on earth. From his Anglo-Irish beginnings, as the son of a vicar in a small, segregated community of Protestants, to his ongoing quest to reinvent retirement, Handy draws on his own history for answers to larger questions of what is ethical and acceptable for corporations, societies, and diverse individuals. Along the way, he shares his personal philosophy of managing business better and living well.

While tracing his continuing journey of self-discovery, Charles Handy pauses to reflect on:

 His education at Oxford…how it prepared him to think for himself and made him a true believer in Aristotle’s tenet of eudaimonia: “Do your best with what you are best at.”

 His management apprenticeship with Royal Dutch Shell in the jungles of Borneo…how it made him realize the importance of learning in tandem with experience.

 His dedication to establishing the first graduate school for British managers…how it ultimately taught him that “while the skills of business analysis can be taught in class or learnt from books, the art and practice of management cannot.”

 His bold, brief tenure as warden of St. George House—a small ethical conference centre set inside Windsor Castle…how it planted the seeds for his calling to social philosophy and his celebrated work on the future of work.

 His abrupt leap into living “a portfolio life”—his concept of the escalating necessity of earning a living as an independent worker with a packet of different jobs and clients—while taking on the responsibility of owning and restoring an old house in Tuscany.

 His international acclaim as a writer and speaker on organizations as “living communities of individuals”—and his gratitude for the gift of excitement and travel throughout his sixties. “Luckily, age seems irrelevant in the guru world,” Handy notes.

Throughout the chapters of his life, Handy also reflects on the profound impact of his father’s death; his devotion to learning and exploring with his agent and wife, Elizabeth; and his role as father. He concludes by selecting a simple definition of what he does—“I am a wordsmith.”—and declaring his contentment with who he is, after all. Filled with striking insights and sensible advice, MYSELF AND OTHER MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS is an enlightening guide for anyone who aspires to become a better manager and a better person. To its author’s credit, the Charles Handy story is also an engaging read or, to quote Tom Peters, “a life-turner.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles Handy, one of Britain’s most respected management thinkers, is a recent recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Workplace Learning and Performance Award from the American Society for Training & Development. His long list of bestselling books includes The Age of Unreason, Gods of Management, The Empty Raincoat, and The Elephant and the Flea. He lives in Norfolk and London with his wife, Elizabeth.