An interview with Charles Handy, management thinker and author
Over the past 25 years and through more than a dozen books, Charles Handy
has built a reputation as one of the world’s most thoughtful management
thinkers. His personal “brand” embodies a profoundly ethical and
philosophical approach to organisations and the world of work. Some highlights
of a wide-ranging interview:
On investor influence: “The power of managers relative to shareholders
is going to shift.”
On centralisation: “Procurement people are dictating, rather than offering.
I think that’s power in the wrong place.”
On outsourcing: “If
you aren’t careful you lose your soul, your
culture; it’s just a box of contracts.”
On the threat from China
and India: “There is a danger of Britain becoming
a museum... not actually a very productive kind of nation.”
On advice
for executives in later life: “You are going to have to be
independent... So find out what it is you can sell that other people want.”
On
corporate social responsibility: “I really disown a lot of that
stuff... it isn’t done properly, it’s just box-ticking.”
On
business schools: “They are not very intellectual places... If you
are going to be a leader or senior manager you ought to be questioning the
status quo, not just accepting it.”
