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J. K. Rowling’s novels about Harry Potter and the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have captured the imaginations of people everywhere. In If Harry Potter Ran General Electric, bestselling business author Tom Morris (If Aristotle Ran General Motors) uncovers the values and timeless truths that underlie Rowling’s hugely popular books and illuminates the lessons they offer to all of us in our careers and daily lives.
But, you say, Harry Potter lives in a world of magic. What can we possibly learn to apply to our own careers and everyday lives? Morris shows that the most difficult problems Harry and his friends face are rarely solved by the use of magic alone. Rather, they are conquered by intelligence, reasoning, determination, creativity, friendship, and a host of other classic virtues–the very qualities, in fact, that make for success in every aspect of our lives.
Blending an array of provocative examples from the novels with thought-provoking commentary on contemporary management practices, If Harry Potter Ran General Electric offers readers a master’s course on leadership and ethics, told in an engaging and insightful way.
Following his business bestseller If Aristotle Ran General Motors, former philosophy professor Morris piggybacks on the popularity of J.K. Rowling's novels, conjuring philosophical parallels between the heroics of her fictional world and success in the corporate realm. He parses her stories for what they might tell us about the importance of virtues and ethics in the business world, referring a little to Aristotle and Kierkegaard for philosophical weight, plus a dash of eloquent advice from GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt for real-life relevance. In Morris's view, Harry Potter is the embodiment of courage-"doing what's right, not what's easy"-and the author delineates five steps to this virtue (e.g., "surround yourself with support") for real-world application. A natural leader, Harry takes after Headmaster Dumbledore, an "Aristotelian figure" and "the essence of leadership," a quality Morris compares to alchemy, since good leaders "transform ordinary people into great performers." Though Morris writes with grace and imagination, this chatty meditation may feel redundant for Harry Potter fans, miss the mark with readers uninitiated to the world of the wizards and disappoint those looking for concrete discussion of real business situations. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
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Sean Maxwell
reviewed If Harry Potter Ran General Electric: Leadership Wisdom from the World of the Wizards on November 22, 2020
If Harry Potter Ran General Electric: Leadership Wisdom from the World of the Wizards
Key idea 1: Great stories can provide insights into the narratives of our lives.
Key idea 2: Best leaders teach by example and guide by encouragement.
Morris argues that Dumbledore exemplifies the Aristotelian virtues. The virtues are important because "what makes" a good leader is something internal. We talk about "building the inner person" but no one really knows what that means in the concrete, aside from something like "integrity." The Aristotelian virtues provide a starting point.
Life is dynamic. We are always in a process of becoming.
Dumbledore has a "generosity of spirit." Morris says this lets him see "beyond the categories that define people." I might take a stab at it from my own perspective. I have had some students that were generally annoying and often made bad choices. I realized, though, that they had a lot of raw potential and would probably get straightened out in time.
Key idea: The fundamental virtue in business and life is courage.
This gets interesting. On one hand, Gryffindor is the house that generates the virtue of courage. However, Voldemort's followers often act courageous themselves. In that case, why can't a vice generate the same outcome? To answer this, Morris points to the ancient truth of "the unity of the virtues." It is impossible to just have one good virtue. Here is the difference: Voldemort's followers appear to act courageously because they are bullied by fear; the good man actually overcomes the fear.
The self-help mindset only goes so far. True success has a communal side to it.
We can summarize the chapter on ethics under several propositions:
1) Ethics is about creating strength.
2) Doing acts of evil, as seen in Malfoy and Voldemort, always rebounds on itself.
3) Iris Murdoch: when we habitually do good, we often create "good structures" that visit us later on.
Morris calls Wicca "that priesthood of perpetual graduate students and coffeehouse radicals."
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