If Aristotle Ran General Motors: The New Soul of Business

by Tom Morris and Tom V. Morris

Book Overview

Since its hardcover publication in 1997, If Aristotle Ran General Motors has been one of the year's most talked about books, not only in the United States but around the world, where it has been... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805052534
• ISBN13: 9780805052534
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great reading

I received it on the first day of the promised delivery. Item as described. Great, riveting reading.

Brilliant

When you ask business people what they think about ethics and morality, they usually answer that these are important things in today's business environment. When you ask them what they REALLY think about ethics and morality, most of them don't want to answer you in any detail. A few will reply that morality is "idealistic" and that one must be "pragmatic" in everyday business practice. The belief that "morality is a topic to be debated after the bills are paid" seems to be the dominant belief in business (and other) circles. This book, brilliant in every way, attempts, and succeeds, in arguing that wisdom and its concrete manifestation in ethics, should be the cornerstone of business life. The author is a philosopher, and not a business owner, but with his insight into the dynamics of the marketplace and its optimization, his ideas are clearly thinking "out of the box". One can only hope that business leaders (and others) will discover the ideas in this book or some other like it. With today's headlines in corporate fraud and other scandals (some justified and some not), business people need to start believing in the efficacy of ethics in optimizing their business ventures. The preface to the book concerns "reinventing corporate spirit", the author drawing on the thoughts of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle to set up the foundation for his arguments in the book. He recognizes correctly that it is ideas that fundamentally move the world. Throughout the book are many interesting insights into the psychology of business practices. When speaking of happiness for example, in relation to Aristotle's notion of eudaemonia, one of these is the recognition that money is frequently not the end goal for business people, the real goal being to achieve admiration in the eyes of others. The resulting ostentatious lifestyle is primarily done to impress, this being a transient and ultimately unsatisfying motivation in the eyes of the author. The book is divided up into four parts: Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and Unity. Each of these stand for respectively, the intellectual, aesthetic, moral, and spirtual necessities for achieving true happiness. In "Truth" the discussion is interesting in that it emphasizes the importance of telling the truth not just from the standpoint of what it will do in relation to others, but what it will do for the individual involved. Telling a lie damages one's self confidence. Individuals who practice the telling of falsehoods are intimidated by truth and do not have any confidence in the efficacy of their own minds. In addition, the author discusses the importance of "open-book management": that the sharing of knowledge results in greater productivity among the employees. This is to be contrasted with the nervous attitude among some managers who feel threatened by information, again lacking self-confidence and are in a perpetual state of worry that the dissemination of knowledge among employees or co-workers will result in the

I find myself enjoying this over and over

I purchased the audio version of this book to listen to during my commute, and a year after the original purchase I realized that I've played this tape more than any other. Why?Aristotle's ideas can be like knives cutting through cluttered thinking, but his presentation can be a bit long and dry. Morris does a nice job of presenting Aristotle's virtues of Truth, Goodness, Unity, and Beauty as they can be applied to business while putting a fun and popular face on them.You can find good arguments in many books for being honest in business as well as doing good and creating a sense of unity. Beauty was a surprise, but Morris argues well for it. I felt that the combination of ancient wisdom with modern examples made Morris' message meaningful and more inspirational than many other business books.I've gotten a lot of mileage out of these ideas, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking to find Aristotle's virtues in the workplace.

Not a One-Time Read; but a Continuing Source of Reference

Browsing over my peer reviewers' comments, for the most part-they are good at capturing the spirit of Tom's book. I would add that the book is a constant reference for me in my daily business dealings and relationships. I often refer to the words of Tom Morris, who in turn refers to the words of past thinkers, when I am perplexed about business decisions. I keep it on my desk, right there next to the dictionary. Incredible book, he deserves a candy bar (read the book).

Remarkable application of ancient wisdom to business world

This book is a delightfully readable and energetic presentation of the classic virtues and their relevance for business and institutional life. Morris does not parade his mastery of the technicalities of academic philosophy (amply demonstrated in his other writings) but does a masterful job of conveying the heart and soul of what motivated the great philosophers. This book is a great step in retrieving philosophy from its cultural obscurity and bringing it back into its natural habitat, namely, everyday life, where all of us seek meaning and purpose in our various pursuits. Morris shows how businesses and institutions can recover the great human values of truth, beauty, goodness and unity by citing not only the famous thinkers of history, but also numerous contemporary business executives who have applied these principles with positive results. This book is a great read for anyone interested in the renewal of morale and meaning in corporate life.