Interviews
On Friday, October 3, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Tom Morris, author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors.
Moderator: Welcome to the barnesandnoble.com Live Events Auditorium! Tom Morris is joining us live to discuss his new book,
If Aristotle Ran General Motors. Mr. Morris is participating from home this evening, by telephone. Welcome, Mr. Morris! We're glad you could join us. How are you this evening?
Tom Morris: I'm doing very well, thanks.
Erin Baker from Manchester, VT: How will your template for returning the human soul to business work in the world of telecommuting? What's your take on the nature of new media?
Tom Morris: Good. Well, some of the issues of workplace beauty need to be taken care of by the telecommuter herself Give yourself a beautiful place to work. Too many of us don't take seriously our need for a nice space when we work out of the home. Some of the other issues I discuss, like the issues of truth, goodness, and unity, are also very important for the telecommuter, who has to think about how her expressionless words come across to someone reading them on a monitor.
Joy B. from NYC: Hi, Tom. I have tell you that I like going to work and leaving all issues at home -- I like to work like a machine for eight hours and then escape to the real human world of friends and family. Is there something wrong with this?
Tom Morris: Even a human machine needs the lubricant of kindness and goodwill. If we face daily resistance and hostility, we can't be our best, even if we do efficient, machinelike work. I bet you are much more than a mere robotic worker! Sounds like you just like efficiency and a special emotional space within which you do your work. I'm concerned with helping people make that space as good as it can be.
Matt from the office at night: Do you consider your book a self-help book? What's your opinion of Stephen Covey?
Tom Morris: I consider it to be a personal-growth book, something beyond self-help but concerned with the self in relation to others. I believe Stephen Covey began opening up the issues of personal values and relationships to application in the workplace.
Gerald McPhee from downsized America: How would you rate the impact of feather-rufflers like Michael Moore?
Tom Morris: I think Michael has caused a lot of people to think more deeply of the human impact of the decisions that are supposed to be purely business decisions. In a sense, Gerald, I think Michael helps us see that no decision is ever just a purely business decision. I believe Michael is a little crabby but lots of fun.
Brian from Hoboken: In the late 1970s, how much did the Japanese affect the U.S. auto industry? Would the Big Three have gotten their act together without this competition?
Tom Morris: I think the Japanese played an important role both in scaring the U.S. auto industry out of some of their inertia and in helping us to see new truths about people working together. They weren't the saviors of world business, as often advertised, but they did help us to new insights.
Steven Hall from IL: What has been your own experience in business? What prompted you to write this book?
Tom Morris: I grew up in a business family, engaged in many kinds of business activities. I started college as a business major wanting to enter corporate life, but I was sidetracked into the Big Questions that bit into me and wouldn't let go. Now, by being asked to be the philosopher for every business imaginable, I've been getting a crash course in every industry in America. It seems to me that American business is full of intelligent people.
Lynton from the book business: So, having just been published, what's your take on the environment of the publishing business? What was your experience like?
Tom Morris: It's nice to be a noncelebrity author whose book has actually been getting some attention! I think the book business, like every other business, needs to understand human nature more deeply and make use of it. It's a very interesting and very crazy business. I'm treated very well by Henry Holt, my new publisher.
Ned S. from Leroy Street: Was NAFTA a necessary step towards economic stability in the U.S. for the '90s? I don't fully understand.
Tom Morris: The jury is still out on NAFTA. We're groping our way forward concerning how to handle many issues of global business. Moving toward boundaryless business dealings is going to be even more complex than taking on new technologies. We're going to hit plenty of speed bumps along the way, but there's really no turning back.
Sinbad from Vermont: I read an article recently that praised the business tactics and company policies of Tom's, up here in Maine. Does your book touch upon this company?
Tom Morris: Yes, it does. I met Tom Cheppell, founder of Tom's of Maine, about six years ago and heard firsthand all they were doing to make their business a genuinely humane enterprise. In the new book, I profile innovative decisions Tom has made, in a section on truth and in a section on beauty.
Brian Marker from Hoboken, NJ: Do you think it's possible for sympathy in the office to become a problem? Shouldn't there be a boundary between personal life and what you bring to the office?
Tom Morris: You can certainly be too soft-hearted, just like you can be too hard-hearted. In some circumstances, the best thing is tough love. But overly compartmentalizing our lives can be dangerous -- we may wear different hats at home and at work, but we wear them on the same head.
Alex Davies from Queens, NY: What was your reaction to the UPS labor strike? I personally feel that the management of that company handled it very poorly. Do you agree with me that the next challenge to big business will not be economic hardship, but rather worker unhappiness? Thank you.
Tom Morris: I do agree, Alex. I think if Aristotle ran UPS and if Plato ran the union, such a confrontation would not have developed in the first place. They would have made sure that everyone saw the big picture and that everyone shared in the positive consequences of good business strategy and good work. I think you're right that worker happiness and satisfaction will be the next big issue business will have to face.
Steve from Chicago: Silicon Valley often boasts a "new" way of doing business. What do you think of the technology revolution and their business practices?
Tom Morris: I think the computer guys and women have shown us how dedication, craziness, intellect, and fun can create an exciting, explosive mix. Not every company can work like a Silicon Valley start-up, but we can all learn a few lessons from these wild organizations about turning people loose to be the best they can be in all their eccentricity and about all the genius they sometimes cultivate.
Mike Applegate from Oak Park: What's your opinion on these huge consulting firms that recruit college kids and pay them big money but make them work long, tedious hours? I know some, and they're all burned out!
Tom Morris: It's too bad that we have companies in every industry who put young recruits through the equivalent of fraternity hazing, dumping too much work too fast on people who don't have the seasoned skills to handle it. Some of the big consulting companies can be great places for a smart young person to experience a steep learning curve, and that can be great when they are not pushed too much.
Tim from school: I see that you worked as a professor. Did you find that the academic environment was as ruthless as the corporate world? Could it, too, stand to improve?
Tom Morris: Yes! The fiercest battles are often fought over the smallest stakes. Unfortunately, the university world is not a bastion of enlightenment.
Marina from Naples, FL: Hi, Mr. Morris! Do you think the recent boom of the market and the revival of '80s indulgence will prevent a return to the basic human principles outlined in your book?
Tom Morris: I hope that it may have the opposite result. Some people tell me that with the economy doing so well and with the economy flowing, they feel like they have the opportunity to become a bit more reflective and to turn their attention to issues often neglected in times of economic difficulty, when all the pressure is on getting the profit up. I hope we all will begin to think more deeply of the human issues of work, so when the inevitable times of difficulty return, we will be in a firmer footing to weather those storms well. I think managers can do humane business while driving their BMWs.
Frank from New York: Your approach seems rather utopian, in that it assumes all participants in the workplace are open to the ideas of integrity and openness you endorse. There is a lot of tension and turf-war disputes. How does your book reconcile this?
Tom Morris: Good question, Frank. I try to avoid being utopian in any general sense. I do think each of us has more scope for ethical decision-making than we are aware of. In Part Three of the book, where I explore whet ethics really is, I go into this very question, as to whether the ethical person is stronger or more vulnerable because of his moral stance. We can be both good and shrewd. Emerson has a great essay about this, about Napoleon, but really about the self-defeating nature of unethically won success. Frank, I admit that there have been times when I have been a morally idealistic, naive idiot. And that's not a winning combination, but goodness does not imply naïveté; done right, it brings strength.
Anne McCullough from Manhattan: What's your advice for approaching an unapproachable boss to ask for a raise?
Tom Morris: OK. Is this like when the irresistible force meets the unmovable object? If the object is unmovable, the force better be irresistible.... The best way is to pretend you are a lawyer and build your case in advance. Put it in writing and make an appointment; be honest about your trepidation but be convincing in your claim that you're valuable to the business. Ultimately, you won't be happy in a place where you're not appreciated
Kerry Nealon from Washington: There's been a lot of talk recently about the workplace being an escape from the more difficult responsibilities at home. Do you see this being a threat to the family?
Tom Morris: In some ways, Kerry, the workplace is the new extended family, the new neighborhood. And I think you're right, that for some people, the pressures of the workplace are simpler than the issues of private life. But work becoming a better place shouldn't be a threat to the family, but at it's best could even help otherwise confused people get back in touch with some of their most basic values. You've put your finger on an interesting modern paradox.
Beverley from the lower Hudson region: You must have a tireless supply of great thinkers and philosophizers to consult. Who, besides Aristotle, provides the most business-savvy insights?
Tom Morris: Yes, Beverley, I have thousands of years' worth of these great thinkers to draw on. I've been particularly impressed with Seneca, Confucius, Lao-tzu, Baltasar Gracián y Morales, and Marcus Aurelius. Those would be great for a starter. And then, of course, there are those many books by Tom Morris! Happy philosophizing!
Moderator: Thanks for joining us tonight, Tom Morris! And thanks to all whoparticipated. Mr. Morris, any final remarks before we go?
Tom Morris: If anyone wants to follow through on these issues, you can contact me through tomvmorris@aol.com. I enjoyed being with you all.
