If Harry Potter Ran General Electric

April 3, 2006
Following his business bestseller If Aristotle Ran General Motors
, former philosophy professor Morris piggybacks on the popularity of J.K. Rowling's novels, conjuring philosophical parallels between the heroics of her fictional world and success in the corporate realm. He parses her stories for what they might tell us about the importance of virtues and ethics in the business world, referring a little to Aristotle and Kierkegaard for philosophical weight, plus a dash of eloquent advice from GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt for real-life relevance. In Morris's view, Harry Potter is the embodiment of courage—"doing what's right, not what's easy"—and the author delineates five steps to this virtue (e.g., "surround yourself with support") for real-world application. A natural leader, Harry takes after Headmaster Dumbledore, an "Aristotelian figure" and "the essence of leadership," a quality Morris compares to alchemy, since good leaders "transform ordinary people into great performers." Though Morris writes with grace and imagination, this chatty meditation may feel redundant for Harry Potter fans, miss the mark with readers uninitiated to the world of the wizards and disappoint those looking for concrete discussion of real business situations.

April 15, 2006
The Harry Potter series has inspired numerous books in a variety of genres. Here, Morris, a former University of Notre Dame philosophy professor, conjures up lessons from the wizarding world in what could be considered a follow-up to his best-selling If Aristotle Ran General Motors. Using Harry Potter's world, where good and evil are perhaps more visibly at war than in our own, Morris addresses issues of corruption, lying, and moral relativism. He philosophizes on leadership, using Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore as the archetype and Harry Potter as his ideal for courage. He even tackles the important issues of wisdom, happiness, and meaning. Of the current roundup books, this should enjoy the broadest appeal in all types of libraries; its characters are well known in popular culture while its philosophical themes extend well beyond business.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2006
Morris uses J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter themes and characters to provide a framework for his leadership lessons. Morris' formula for happiness is "contentment + fulfillment + pleasure + love," all illuminated with examples from the adventures of Harry Potter. Morris designates General Electric the symbol for major corporations, citing GE as a role model because it "seems to have been endowed with magic from its early beginnings." Effusive references to both Rowling and the company are woven into the text, yet it is unclear if either gave their blessing to Morris for this effort. Nevertheless, with the current popularity of the Harry Potter characters and the reputation of GE, Morris cleverly draws upon these high-profile entities to present his leadership ideas to business executives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)