Waiting for the Mountain to Move: Reflections on Work and Life

by Charles B. Handy

"Handy writes with the eloquence of simplicity and his gift tous is an enjoyable, profound, and reliable guide toward meaning anddirection."--Max De Pree, author of Leading without Powerand chairman emeritus, Herman Miller Inc.

Charles Handy's reflections on work and life have earned himlegions of fans throughout the world. His previous books havetogether sold over a million copies. And his "Thought for the Day"series on BBC radio is celebrated throughout the U.K. Now presentand future fans in America can sample what his BBC listeners haveenjoyed for so long. Waiting for the Mountain to Moveincludes the gifted commentator's best essays, culled from tenyears of radio broadcasts. These succinct writings draw poignantlessons from everyday occurrences and cause us to examine ourlives, our institutions, and our society in a different andrevealing light.

NOT FOR SALE OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 1991

About the author

Charles Brian Handy was an Irish author and philosopher who specialised in organizational behavior and management. Among the ideas he advanced are the "portfolio career" and the "shamrock organization" (in which professional core workers, freelance workers and part-time/temporary routine workers each form one leaf of the "shamrock").
Handy was 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 Review had a special issue to mark the publication's 50th anniversary Handy, Peter Drucker, and Henry Mintzberg were asked to write special articles.
In July 2006, Handy was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Law by Trinity College Dublin.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Convinced me to retire on time to begin a new phase.

[Brian Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through his books, Charles Handy was one of my mentors in the '90's. The Age of Reason, The Age of Paradox, and Beyond Certainty were guideposts of my burgeoning career. Waiting of the Mountain consists of a series of essays written over time and published in 1999. I read it then with an eye on the future. With nearly twenty years of hindsight, I read it now to discover just how prophetic he was. Some of the essays could have been written yesterday, they were so prescient. A second chance at such wisdom is a wonderful thing.

[Fergal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly collected from BBC Radio 4’s ‘God Slot’ this is interesting but a bit too slight because of the initial format’s time restrictions. There is a very moving scene at his father’s funeral when Handy realises ex-pupils and parishioners have streamed back from abroad for a man he considered a parochial impecunious failure.