Join Amazon Prime and ship Two-Day for free and Overnight for $3.99. Already a member? Sign in.
|
Harvard Business Press is discovering innovative ways to conquer the changing business universe while keeping its focus on the basics. Find out more in the Harvard Business Press Store. |
Frequently Bought Together
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
by Charles Handy
|
by Charles B. Handy
|
Waiting for the Mountain to Move: Reflections on Work and Life by Charles Handy |
by Charles Handy
|
by Charles Handy
|
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Charles Handy is always a delight to read, and The Elephant and the Flea--his autobiography-laced analysis of business over the past two decades--is no exception. In his 13th book, the United Kingdom's preeminent sage on commercial and industrial matters looks within and at education, marriage, religion, and society in order to assess the changing nature of employment. His literate and knowledgeable tale begins in 1981, when Handy decided to exchange a safe but stifling life with a corporation (the "elephant" of his title) for the riskier but potentially more rewarding existence of an independent (or "flea"). Mixing diverse experiences with cogent observations on the evolving workplace, he sets the scene for plausible projections about where we might yet be headed. "Just as the signs were there 20 years ago for those who wished to see them, so I believe we can glimpse the shape of the new capitalist world even if it may take another 20 years to develop," he writes. "We may not like what is coming but we would be foolish to think that we can plan our lives, or our children's lives, without giving some thought to the shape of the stage on which we and they will be strutting." Intensely personal yet remarkably universal, the book is another provocative, illuminating, and enjoyable work from the oil executive turned bestselling author. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
A former oil executive and economist, as well as an early proponent of the "free agent" lifestyle, Handy (The Age of Unreason) uses his career as a telling example of how the nature of work has changed over the past 20 years and tries to predict how people will earn a living in the years ahead. Handy opens the book three-quarters autobiography, one-quarter social commentary with warm recollections of his Irish countryside childhood before elaborating his metaphor for the workplace, that of the elephant and flea. "Elephants" represent established corporations and large organizations of every kind, while "fleas" symbolize people who work independently as small-scale entrepreneurs. Handy, who used to work for Shell and has made his living as a lecturer and author since 1981, finds problems and opportunities in both kinds of establishments. Elephants, he contends, need to figure out ways to grow bigger while maintaining personal client relationships and rewarding creativity. The fleas need a better way to forge connections among themselves. Handy offers some general advice, but his main purpose is to try to make sense of the first 70 years of his life and the last two decades of the Western workplace. Some of his labor market analysis will seem familiar to readers, as it has already seeped into the cultural lexicon, but Handy's fans will appreciate this unusually personal look at the labor revolution. This is not the start-off book for those new to his work, however.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
Charles Handy is always a delight to read, and The Elephant and the Flea--his autobiography-laced analysis of business over the past two decades--is no exception. In his 13th book, the United Kingdom's preeminent sage on commercial and industrial matters looks within and at education, marriage, religion, and society in order to assess the changing nature of employment. His literate and knowledgeable tale begins in 1981, when Handy decided to exchange a safe but stifling life with a corporation (the "elephant" of his title) for the riskier but potentially more rewarding existence of an independent (or "flea"). Mixing diverse experiences with cogent observations on the evolving workplace, he sets the scene for plausible projections about where we might yet be headed. "Just as the signs were there 20 years ago for those who wished to see them, so I believe we can glimpse the shape of the new capitalist world even if it may take another 20 years to develop," he writes. "We may not like what is coming but we would be foolish to think that we can plan our lives, or our children's lives, without giving some thought to the shape of the stage on which we and they will be strutting." Intensely personal yet remarkably universal, the book is another provocative, illuminating, and enjoyable work from the oil executive turned bestselling author. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
A former oil executive and economist, as well as an early proponent of the "free agent" lifestyle, Handy (The Age of Unreason) uses his career as a telling example of how the nature of work has changed over the past 20 years and tries to predict how people will earn a living in the years ahead. Handy opens the book three-quarters autobiography, one-quarter social commentary with warm recollections of his Irish countryside childhood before elaborating his metaphor for the workplace, that of the elephant and flea. "Elephants" represent established corporations and large organizations of every kind, while "fleas" symbolize people who work independently as small-scale entrepreneurs. Handy, who used to work for Shell and has made his living as a lecturer and author since 1981, finds problems and opportunities in both kinds of establishments. Elephants, he contends, need to figure out ways to grow bigger while maintaining personal client relationships and rewarding creativity. The fleas need a better way to forge connections among themselves. Handy offers some general advice, but his main purpose is to try to make sense of the first 70 years of his life and the last two decades of the Western workplace. Some of his labor market analysis will seem familiar to readers, as it has already seeped into the cultural lexicon, but Handy's fans will appreciate this unusually personal look at the labor revolution. This is not the start-off book for those new to his work, however.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
See all Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
I woke up early on the morning of 25 July 1981. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
portfolio people, portfolio life, disappearing middles Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
London Business School, Windsor Castle, Bill Gates, Third World, Kuala Lumpur, Chunking Our Lives, Last Thoughts, Lee Kuan Yew, United States, Carlos Efferson, First World, General Electric, South African, South-East Asia New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I woke up early on the morning of 25 July 1981. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
portfolio people, portfolio life, disappearing middles Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
London Business School, Windsor Castle, Bill Gates, Third World, Kuala Lumpur, Chunking Our Lives, Last Thoughts, Lee Kuan Yew, United States, Carlos Efferson, First World, General Electric, South African, South-East Asia New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 22
books:
See all 22 books this book cites
47
books
cite this book:
See all 47 books citing this book
- The Age of Paradox by Harvard Business School Press in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Age of Paradox by Charles Handy in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Age of Unreason by Charles Handy in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler on page 110
- The Future of Work by Charles Handy in Back Matter
See all 22 books this book cites
- Recruiting Excellence: An Insider's Guide to Sourcing Top Talent by Jeff Grout on 4 pages
- Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability (Understanding Organizational Change) by Dexter Dunphy on page 201, page 262, and page 294
- Managing for Results: Management Extra (Management Extra S.) by Elearn on page 5, page 13, and Back Matter
- Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability (Understanding Organizational Change) by Dexter Dunphy on page 201, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Money is in the Gravy: Finding the Career that Nourishes You by John Clark on page 121, and Back Matter
See all 47 books citing this book
What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
 |
62% buy the item featured on this page: The Elephant and the Flea $14.40 |
 |
15% buy The Age of Unreason $12.00 |
 |
13% buy Myself and Other More Important Matters $16.50 |
 |
6% buy Waiting for the Mountain to Move: Reflections on Work and Life $27.95 |
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Information from the Amapedia Community
Beta (What's this?)Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.
› See featured Amapedia.com articles
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
|
|
Look for Similar Items by Category
Bath Wonders from LUSH |
Best Books of 2008 |
Buy Three Books, Get a Fourth Free |
Listen While You Work |
|||||||
|
Your Recent History
(What's this?)|
You have no recently viewed items or searches.
After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session. |
Continue shopping: Top Sellers
| ||||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
