The Elephant and the Flea

In this poignant personal memoir, which is also a reflection on the past and future of world capitalism, retired oil executive/economist/guru Handy takes us on his life's journey, looking back to such topics as his childhood and education and how they prepared (or, rather, did not prepare) him for a career in business; the changing nature of organizational life within the old economy and the new; the great variety of capitalism around the world; and, through it all, his struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in work. Handy uses the metaphor of the elephant and the flea to critique the great shift from the prevalence of behemoth, slow-moving, bureaucratic organizations that provided a lifetime of security and not much freedom, to a world in which we are much more independent, flitting from job to job, latching onto elephants when we need to, but mostly flying solo and without safe havens.