It seems Harry Potter is due to invade every aspect of society with the release of If Harry Potter Ran General Electric by Tom Morris, the book describes itself as:
…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.
It’s an interesting idea, but I’m not sure if it’s more a serious look at business management techniques or a blatant attempt to cash in and garner some press.
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July 14th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Tom Morris
I’m not really any good at all at “blantant attempts to cash in and garner some press.” I should have called the book “Harry Potter’s Leadership, Weight Loss, and Instant Wealth Accumulation Secrets!”
But don’t worry, the book is no silly or cynical grab for cheap publicity (publicity, as any author soon discovers, is always expensive!). The book and its title had an interesting origin. A few years ago, a young philosopher asked me to read the Harry Potter books and write a chapter for a book he was editing. I wasn’t inclined - these are big books and written for kids, right? And, hey, life is short. But he was a really nice guy and really persistent, so I read the first book in the series as a favor to him, almost hoping I’d find nothing to write about, since I was far too busy already. But I got totally hooked and read all the books six times through. What knocked me out was all the amazing practical wisdom of the stories, perspectives and insights that it seemed no one was talking about. So I wrote the requested essay, and couldn’t stop writing. 300 pages later I had a book. I couldn’t believe how much I learned from the boy wizard and his friends!
The book in manuscript was originally called “Harry Potter and the Meaning of Life” but the top business editor at Doubleday got hold of it, and saw the seeds of a great leadership book in it, as he put it. I was at first a bit unsure, and yet, as I read and reread it in manuscript, I realized he was right, and so I extensively rewrote it, using General Electric as a paradigmatic company to bounce the ideas off (years ago I had done a book entitled “If Aristotle Ran General Motors” and the editor had expressed his admiration for that book, asking for a parallel title). GE ended up as a perfect icon for the book.
It is a serious look at leadership, and there is a lot of blogging going on now about it from a canadian blogosphere enterprise > in case you’d like to look into it more. And it’s getting very nice responses from early readers!
Thanks for your notice! And I’m glad people are skeptical initially! There are too many gimmick books on leadership out there that don’t advance our understanding! But this one is as much about life as it is about leadership, tackling topics of courage and ethics, success, and happiness, as well as meaning, to augment the business reflections. I hope readers here will see it and enjoy it!
Tom Morris
August 12th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Lee
Thanks for you comments, Tom.