The world of business and management has lost one of its most visionary and influential thinkers. Charles Handy, the renowned philosopher and author who redefined our understanding of work and organizations, passed away on December 13, 2024, at the age of 92. His groundbreaking ideas about corporate culture, leadership, and the future of work have left an indelible mark on generations of business leaders and thinkers around the globe.
A Philosopher in the World of Business
Born in Ireland in 1932, Handy began his career at Shell before pivoting to academia, becoming a founding faculty member of the prestigious London Business School. But it was his unorthodox approach to management thinking, deeply rooted in his study of classics at Oxford, that set him apart. Handy saw business not merely as a technical discipline, but as a profoundly human endeavor.
Humanity will triumph – people need people.
Charles Handy
This conviction guided his entire body of work. In a series of influential books, from The Age of Unreason to The Hungry Spirit, Handy argued passionately for a more humane, flexible, and purpose-driven approach to business. He envisioned organizations not as soulless machines, but as living communities where individuals could find meaning and fulfillment.
Redefining Work and Careers
Perhaps Handy’s most enduring contribution was his prescient vision of the changing nature of work. Long before the rise of the gig economy and remote work, he coined the term “portfolio career” to describe a future where individuals would manage multiple roles and income streams over the course of their working lives.
The organization of the future needs to be flexible, decentralised and built on trust rather than formal hierarchy and a rule book.
Charles Handy
Handy saw this shift not as a threat, but as an opportunity for individuals to craft more fulfilling and balanced lives. He believed that the key to thriving in an age of discontinuous change was adaptability, lifelong learning, and a willingness to reinvent oneself.
Putting Humanity at the Heart of Business
But Handy’s vision extended far beyond individual careers. He was a fierce critic of the excesses of shareholder capitalism, which he saw as a “fiction and a fraud.” Instead, he advocated for a more inclusive and responsible model of business, one that served the needs of all stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, and the planet.
Good organisations are like a small English village. Everyone knows each other and what the other does. There’s no job title, you’re just Charles or Liz, and you help each other out.
Charles Handy
For Handy, the purpose of business was not merely to maximize profits, but to create value and contribute to the greater good. He believed that companies had a moral obligation to be good corporate citizens, and that leaders had a responsibility to nurture the human potential of their employees.
A Legacy of Wisdom and Inspiration
Charles Handy’s passing is a profound loss for the business world, but his legacy will endure. His ideas have shaped the thinking of countless managers, entrepreneurs, and business students around the world. His books, translated into over a dozen languages, continue to inspire new generations of leaders.
Perhaps more than any specific idea or theory, what Handy will be remembered for is his unwavering faith in human potential. He believed that every individual had the capacity for growth, creativity, and contribution, and that it was the job of leaders and organizations to unlock that potential.
We must start small fires in the darkness, until they spread and the whole world is alight with a better vision of what we could do with our businesses.
Charles Handy
As we mourn his passing and celebrate his extraordinary life, let us carry forward that faith. Let us strive to build organizations that are more humane, more adaptable, and more responsive to the needs of all stakeholders. Let us, in Handy’s words, “start small fires in the darkness,” until the whole world is alight with a better vision of what business can be. That would be the greatest tribute to the life and work of this remarkable thinker and beautiful soul.
