Customer Reviews

The Hungry Spirit

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mr Handy has some very thought provoking ideas about capitalism, work and meaning of life. It was his 'Personal Preface' that attracted me to buy the book. As he said in the conclusion, "Life without hope is dismal."; I wanted to find out what he meant. In Part A of the book he talks about the impact of capitalism on the capitalist society . He explores the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the marketplace and competition. It is in Part B where the main substance of the book is. It is about the self and how individuals should respond. He profiles the changing world of work over the years and its impact on individuals. In reading the section on self-knowledge and self-awareness, I found the 'obituary exercise' took a new meaning in the context of what I had read; although I had done this exercise several times previously. Learning to live with others and discovering connectivity with society is an important aspect of living. This is very vividly brought out by Mr Handy. It is here I found hope that we could live more meaningful lifes. In Part C, there are some possible solutions to the dilemmas we face. It is in this part, Mr Handy elaborates on the 7 cardinal principles of trust. In the context of career management, the idea of of a school for life and work is a valuable concept. His chapter on the role of government mentions about the I's - information, involvement, individuality and infrastructure. He concludes in the epilogue with seven trends and indicators for the future. I would consider the book as required reading for anyone who wants to add value or meaning to their life, actively contribute to society or is interested in people. Unknown to us, I think all us have a 'Hungry Spirit' within us. Mr Handy's book may meet some of this hunger!

Capitalism improves the lives of people more effectively than any other economic system. But the underlying principles of capitalism, efficiency and the bottom line, are too widely applied says the author. We are exhorted nowadays to run everything, even our personal lives, like a business. The problem is that the mandates of your life, and even many industries, like healthcare and social services, fall outside the basic structure of capitalist economics. Capitalism can provide wealth and comfort for people and institutions, but it cannot provide a meaning to their existence. People want more than money, says the author, they also hunger to make the best of themselves. The answer is to become "properly selfish." To be properly selfish means to reach beyond economics and find a true purpose to your life, to satisfy yourself by helping others, and building a legacy you can be proud of.

Charles Handy has the following advice for those seeking to add true meaning and richness to their lives:
· Know when to say "enough." Eventually, more wealth doesn't add value to your life, it just accumulates.
· Create the sublime. Make room in your life for things that lift your spirit like music and art.
· Reach for immortality. Find a way to leave something positive behind for the generations that will come after you.
· Help employees achieve their dreams. Give them a vision, a reason to feel passionate about their work.
· Treat your employees as citizens. Today, companies are more often a collection of people, not things.

Don't complete your reading too fast with this article. Take a break from time to time, for reflection within you now and then. You may discover something meaningful, which existed, yet faded away with your busy life.

Handy is an incredible author. Reading this book was like sitting at the feet of one of the elders at the gate. He's incredible insightful and thought provoking. I highly recommend this book.

Managers, who have not yet read this book, should rush to read it from cover to cover. Hungry Spirit should be included in the reading materials for all MBA programs.

Charles Handy is one of the most literate and eloquent writers in the English language. A lifetime of business experience and a tremendous intellectual depth make his books a tremendous pleasure to read. I've always found his books about 10 years prescient of profound trends in society. The Hungry Spirit gave me an important insight into interesting books I have not read, spiritual insights I had not yet confronted and in the end, a glimpse of spiritual strength I have not yet achieved. A rare and beautiful book. Scholars for several decades will look back on publication of this book as an important event.

Once again Charles Handy has put into beautiful words a message of hope based upon learning. Learning who we are and what our mission is. This work is powerful because it connects a humanistic perspective to the understanding and improvement of our daily lives at work, at school and at home. The concept of Proper Selfishness has a tremendous strenght because it contains the sense of responsibility, opportunity and continued learning that are key to our present and our future.

What struck me about this book was the search the author himself had made (and was continuing to make) in finding meaning for himself. The theories behind his views on capitalism (while interesting) wasn't the point to me. Handy reveals that (in the end) he had paid a terrible price in his family relationships while aggressively pursuing a demanding career as an oil executive and, to a lesser degree, later as an educator. This is something that most people can relate to--as it's a particularly delicate balance to maintain early in one's career.

It's insightful and painful at the same time to watch Handy go through his contortions. It was something I could certainly relate to...experiencing the guilt associated with investing so much of one's self in career at the expense of (ultimately) bigger priorities.

Towards the sunset years of one's life, one's life priorities become very clear. There's not a lot of preaching here...simply great wisdom from someone who attempts to inspire others to evaluate these important questions for themselves.

Bill Wiersma
Author: The Big AHA!

Written in 1998, this description of a framework for moving beyond capitalism is particularly interesting in light of the economic and social upheaval we are experiencing today.

On the one hand, Handy diagnoses our socio-economic sickness perfectly: the absence of what he calls "proper selfishness". A world and a life cannot revolve around money and the pursuit of riches. Our singular focus on wealth, our vision of markets as the solution to all problems, are leading us down the path to disaster. Handy warns that if we do not bring a moral sense to our economy, our economy will unravel and take us down with it. Well, the events of 2008-2009 confirm his worst fears. In the last decade, rather than heed his warnings, we embraced markets all the more, and now we pay the price in a crisis that is as much moral as economic.

Unfortunately, Handy's cure for capitalism, while worthy and containing many excellent ideas, is ultimately insufficient. His vision is sweeping and bold, as evidenced by his chapter titles - The Search for Meaning, A Proper Education, A Part for Government, etc. He exhorts us to think beyond money and seek a life of fuller meaning, driven by a desire to improve ourselves in the fullest sense of the word by helping others and doing good.

His less lofty, practical observations are rock solid and perhaps more timely now than when written -

"More taxes will be acceptable, I suggest, if they are locally voted and locally spent."

"... if a way was found to pay parents for their important work at home, many of those parents would want to devote more time to it."

"We are, in effect, all mercenaries now ..

While Handy's criticisms are valid and vision is admirable, they are not quite compelling enough to take us from here to there. He actually puts his finger on the problem himself -

"Without some commonly accepted agreement on the purpose of life, and on the proper balance between what we can expect and what is expected from us, society becomes a battleground, where the devil takes the hindmost."

True enough, but proper selfishness is not nearly attractive enough to serve as a foundation for such agreement. One can imagine making sacrifices for God or country, but not in the name of proper selfishness. These well intended and at times brilliant attempts at reconstructing Christian morality without God ultimately lead us in circles. For after Handy establishes the importance of accepted agreement as foundational, he goes on to say,

"[Enterprises] will be properly concerned with survival and achievement but will strive to be inner directed, to express their personalities and their beliefs in what they do."

How can we reconcile the need for accepted agreement on the purpose of life with the very real possibility that inner directed enterprises may follow diametrically opposed paths?

The three most recent movements designed to replace God with man - capitalism, fascism, and communism - have been a disaster, though capitalism has fared much better than the latter two and probably has never been tried in its pure form. In any case, Handy is right that we need to move on, and it appears that circumstances are forcing us to do so at this moment. The problem is, another "ism" may be a cure worse than the disease.

We in India are now trying to give a new spiritual touch to management because that is the only remedy for the growing materialism. Charles handy has exactly striked that point.