The Hungry Spirit: Beyond Capitalism : A Quest for Purpose in the Modern World - Hardcover

Handy, Charles

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0767901878 ISBN 13: 9780767901871

Publisher: Broadway Books, 1998

Synopsis

Identifies the spiritual costs of the Western world's unending quest for affluence and challenges organizations and individuals to seek a higher goal

About this title

Review:

Praise for Charles Handy and The Hungry Spirit:

"The Hungry Spirit is particularly timely."
--Times Literary Supplement

"[Handy's] jargon-free observations pack more power because of their clarity and prescriptive nature...his writings don't just affect companies; they often hit individuals in a powerful way, like the advice of a trusted friend or relative."
--Fortune

"Handy excels at stirring controversy--and thought."
--Business Week

"Anyone exposed to long-term, pick-of-the-month guru rumblings or mind-boggling businessbabble will think they have wandered into a clear spot in the forest when they encounter Handy for the first time...His writing is crisp and lucid, and his grasp on the human dilemma is remarkably encompassing."
--Chicago Tribune

"Handy is...a stimulating thinker who offers a warm sense of hope for the future...He has the persuasiveness of a preacher and the literariness of the anecdotal Irish storyteller...The Hungry Spirit will...be an uplifting experience for anyone seeking a philosophy in a world short of well-expressed humanist creeds."
--Independent

"Charles Handy [is] arguably Britain's most respected management writer."
--Financial Times

From the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover:

In The Hungry Spirit, one of the most visionary business thinkers of our age offers a powerful argument for reexamining the role of work in our lives and discovering what we are truly meant to do and to be. Calling on individuals and organizations to find purpose in the journey we take rather than focusing on money and profits, which are simply the means to keep us going, Handy shows how we can all better ourselves and our companies while also contributing to a decent society. As an oil executive, world-renowned economist, consultant, and professor at the London Business School, Handy himself was once no stranger to the trappings and fortunes of capitalism. But several years ago, Handy realized that he, like many of us, had placed too much significance on job titles and career success to the exclusion of his family, friends, and, especially, the fulfillment of his need to become a complete person, not just a worker slaving away in corporate machinery. He set about looking for what he calls his "white stone" - a symbol of the higher self that represents our true destiny, what you can become when you don't let titles and money and societal pressures get in the way. Just as Handy urges all of us to seek our "white stone" and take greater responsibility for shaping our lives, he also entreats companies and organizations to push themselves to new heights by sticking to a clear-cut purpose. Companies, like individuals, can only grow if they embrace risk and break rules and attract people looking to turn dreams and new ideas into businesses that consumers and investors are excited about. Rather than trying to rally coworkers around a quarterly profit goal, companies must treat employees ascitizens, as well as behaving as corporate citizens within the wider community. Handy calls for corporations to take a greater role in upholding the moral structure of society and to use their power to distribute knowledge and wealth to those who need the opportunity to develop - which will one day benefit us all.

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0767901878
• ISBN 13: 9780767901871
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 267