“The Age of Unreason” is a seminal book by management guru and social philosopher Charles Handy, first published in 1989. It explores how dramatic, unpredictable, and non-linear (or discontinuous) change is transforming business, work, education, and society.
The core message of the book is that the traditional ways of thinking and organizing are becoming obsolete, and to thrive, individuals and organizations must embrace uncertainty, be adaptable, and adopt an “upside-down thinking” or unreasonable mindset.
Key Concepts in The Age of Unreason
The book introduces several influential concepts to describe and cope with this new era of change:
| Concept | Description |
| Discontinuous Change | Change that is sudden, random, and breaks the old patterns, meaning the past is no longer a reliable guide for the future. Handy argues this is different from gradual, continuous change. |
| Upside-Down Thinking | The “unreasonable” mindset required to deal with discontinuous change. It means questioning old assumptions, being open to absurd-sounding ideas, and thinking creatively to use change as an opportunity. |
| The Shamrock Organization | A model for the organization of the future, composed of three distinct groups: 1. The core of essential, highly-paid professional workers. 2. The contractual fringe (outsourced specialists/consultants). 3. The flexible part-time and temporary workforce. |
| Portfolio Career / Portfolio Worker | Handy predicted the disappearance of the lifelong, full-time job. A “portfolio career” involves an individual balancing multiple roles or activities, which he classified into five types of work: Wage work, Fee work, Homework, Gift work, and Study work. |
| The Wheel of Learning | A model that likens change to continuous learning. True learning is a cycle that starts with a Question, leads to a Theory (answer), followed by Test/Experiment, and finally Reflection to incorporate the learning. |
| The Doughnut Principle | A metaphor for job design. Every job should have a core of essential tasks that must be done (the hole), and a periphery of opportunity and discretion where the individual can be creative and add value (the dough). |
| Federalism | A suggested organizational structure for large entities. It combines the resources and coherence of a large organization with the flexibility, innovation, and local responsiveness of small, autonomous units. |
Handy’s View on the Future of Work
Handy foresaw a fundamental shift in the nature of work that closely resembles the modern “gig economy”:
- The End of the Lifelong Job: The traditional model of a single, secure, full-time career with one employer would vanish for the majority.
- Rise of the Portfolio Worker: Individuals would become responsible for their own careers, constructing a “portfolio” of different work activities for financial, social, and personal fulfillment.
- Focus on Knowledge and Skills: The value of work would shift from manual labor to cerebral skills, with a premium on intelligence, information, and the ability to apply knowledge.
- New Organizational Forms: Organizations would become flatter, more flexible, decentralized, and network-based, exemplified by the Shamrock Organization.
- Security in Self: An individual’s security would no longer be in the job or the company, but in their own skills, adaptability, and continuous learning.
- Work-Life Integration: Work would become less defined by a time-clock and a specific location (foreshadowing telecommuting), leading to a blurring of the lines between professional and personal life.