Harry Says Introduction

Harry Says
Introduction - 2

Reading Harry's notebook was such an experience, I tried to reproduce it in a form that was as much like the original as possible. The cover is a scanned image of Harry's notebook with the book's title superimposed over it. Harry's handwriting was almost illegible -- by the time I figured out what it said, I had begun to think I was channeling him. Fortunately, handwriting typefaces are widely available now and we were able to find one that looks like a legible version of his writing.

I left the pages in the order they were written. Harry obviously just wrote what happened to be on his mind at the moment. Reading them that way seemed to give a good feel for the recurring and often frustrating nature of some of the problems a boss has to deal with.

Here and there I did some routine editing, but the rest of the book is Harry writing the way he talked, simply and straight to the point.

As for the issues Harry addresses, while much of what he says may shock today's management gurus, I think most bosses will agree he's talking about the facts of a manager's life.

Don't take Harry's candor for more than it is. These are Harry's private thoughts. He was always quick to tell me when he knew something he said had startled me, "Don't think I talk to my people this way. There's a big difference between what I know and what I do about it. Upsetting your people is lousy bossing. Complaints aren't what they need. They need help to get past the problem."

The bottom line for Harry was that when you worked for him, you got what you needed to do your job. Which I am sure is why every company he ran was successful and everybody who worked for him thought he was a great boss.