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The Frankenstein Factor: Monster Success and Massive Failure
Hardcover
PhilosophyBusiness GeneralGeneral Political Science
Publisher: Wisdom/Work
Published: Jul 20 2026
Pages: 328
Weight: 1.31
Height: 0.88 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Ego. Power. Self-Focused Grandiosity. Inventions out of control. These forces now threaten us all and on a scale never before seen.
When human ingenuity is operating at its best, we discover new problems that can be solved for the betterment of all. When it's operating at its worst, we create problems that can't easily be solved, to the detriment of all. What makes the difference is an inner motivational structure and its nearly inevitable consequences named here as The Frankenstein Factor.
This book brings together great cautionary tales from around 2400 BCE to the present as an urgent warning about who never to hire, promote, invest in, vote for, support, or especially, be.
This extraordinary transformative dash through the wisdom of the ages draws on Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the Odyssey, Sophocles' plays, Xenophon's Education of Cyrus, The Bible, The Aeneid, Beowulf, Don Quixote, Christipher Marlowe's Faustus, along with Goethe's version and Thomas Mann's, Moby Dick, ancient Chinese wisdom, Buddhist thought, Mary Shelley's 1818 Frankenstein and her 1826 novel The Last Man, Sinclair Lewis' Elmer Gantry, Somerset Maugham's The Magician, Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and Eric Clapton's Crossroads - among other sources.
This deep dive into the many ways smart and creative people go terribly wrong can show you how to avoid being among their number and take instead a better path. It may change the way you think about leadership ... and your own life.
Advance Praise for The Frankenstein Factor
As someone who has read hundreds of leadership books, I've grown wary of the genre. After all, how many ways can someone espouse the same precepts? Aim high. Inspire with purpose. Plan ahead. Communicate often. Celebrate victories. Fail fast. But my philosopher friend Tom Morris has added a whole new layer to the leadership lexicon-not about statecraft, but soulcraft. If you wonder why so many of our most successful leaders-think Jobs or Musk or Bezos-sit with uneasy question marks in our minds, or why more CEOs lose their jobs because of ethical breaches than financial shortfalls, or why trust in business (and politics) remains perilously fragile, you must read this book. It is an idiosyncratic and entertaining romp through literature and culture that leads to some essential insights into true success. It's not just a worthy addition to the leadership library, it's an essential pillar of that library.
- Alan Murray, President, WSJ Leadership Institute, former CEO and Editor in Chief, Fortune.
_____________________________
Having worked for my share of toxic Frankenstein leaders, I have learned along the voyage of my life that the ideals of the philosophers win out in the end. In this marvelous and deeply literary work, Tom Morris captures the very essence of what should be at the center of any effective leader-a kind, thoughtful, balanced human heart.
- Admiral James G. Stravridis, New York Times Bestselling Author, Vice Chair, Global Affairs and Managing Director of The Carlyle Group, Former Commander, United States Southern Command, United States European Command, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
________________________________________
Tom Morris, my discipline's best ambassador to the world, here helps us think through the dangers of smart and ambitious people causing massive amounts of harm, in a book that is deep and powerful, but also clear, and memorable, and fun. It makes me proud to be a philosopher.
- Keith DeRose, Allison Foundation Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
_____________________________________________
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