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Who is Charles Handy?
Charles Handy (born 1932) is an Irish author/philosopher specialising in organisational behaviour and management. Among the ideas he has advanced are the “portfolio worker” and the “Shamrock Organization” (in which professional core workers, freelance workers and part-time/temporary routine workers each form one leaf of the “Shamrock”).
He has been rated among the Thinkers 50, a private list of the most influential living management thinkers. In 2001 he was second on this list, behind Peter Drucker, and in 2005 he was tenth. When the Harvard Business Reviewhad a special issue to mark their 50th Anniversary they asked Handy, Peter Drucker and Henry Mintzberg to write special articles. (From Wikipedia)
What is the Second Curve?
Second Curve is a book written by Handy in which he looks at the current trends in capitalism and asks whether it is a sustainable system. He explores the dangers of a society built on credit. He challenges the myth that remorseless growth is essential. He asks whether we should rethink our roles in life — as students, parents, workers and voters — and what the aims of an ideal society of the future should be.
An s-curve is the black curve in the diagram below. The Second Curve is the dotted one. The only catch here is that the Second Curve must start before the first curve peaks (more on this later).
What is this article about?
This article is a summary of the book The Second Curve followed by a discussion on one of the chapters of the book, The Golden Seeds and then a relation to the concepts in the book, The Butterfly Defect — How Globalization Creates Systemic Risks, and What to Do about It.
The Second Curve — Thoughts on Reinventing Society
A few years ago, in one of those moments of youthful wistfulness, I asked my father — papa, what is the meaning of life? A little perplexed, he asked me — what’s wrong? I told him — take your time, I don’t need an answer immediately. He called me the next day and said — to learn, to…
