Best management handbook ever - or MOMO and the time thieves..

I have a seven and a nine-year-old at home, and we usually read before bedtime, and this time we picked up the old time classic Momo. I have vage memories of it but as it turns out, this is actually one of the best management books I have ever read (oh, and I have read a lot!). As I have recently also trained as a coach, it was also obvious that Momo is the all time best coach and a lead star in the field. So Momo is an orphan that moves into an old amphitheater in an old town somewhere, no-one knows where she comes from and she does not know how to read or write, but she has a special gift of listening. Suddenly the kids come around just to play in her presence and the old story teller Gigi the Guide starts telling stories like no-one ever heard before and the quiet Beppo the street-cleaner can suddenly give voice to all of his long time life wisdoms. All Momo does is listen.

Though, one day these men in grey suites and plum top hats, smoking small cigarrs, come around, and suddenly things start to change. It seems no-one notice them except from Momo. The grey men collects time for the time bank, and in their tracks parents starts working, abandoning their children in the hunt for saving time in the time bank. The children ends up in Momos amphitheater and they start a rally, protesting against the time saving that causes their parents to work and forget to have fun with their kids, forget how to play. The thing is, that no one can remember the men in grey after they have spoken to them, it seems only Momo is capable of seeing them.

Gradually, the sinister influence of the Men in Grey affects the whole city: life becomes sterile, devoid of all things considered time-wasting, like social activities, recreation, art, imagination, or sleeping. Buildings and clothing are made exactly the same for everyone, and the rhythms of life become hectic. In reality, the more time people save, the less they have; the time they save is actually lost to them. I would hate to spoil the story of how Momo finds the heart of time, meets master Hora and the turtle Cassiopeia and saves the time for mankind, but it is a powerful lesson of what really matters, and what happens when we loose the play and childhood fascination, when we do not listen and focus on consuming and self love. If you only read one book this year, let it be Momo, and if you have the possibility, read it with your kids and listen to their wisdom, I sure have learnt a lot from my kids reading this book. As my seven year old son put it "If this would happen to you mom, then we would not read this book and have the time to have this talk at night time". This goes for your team and employees too. Do not be fooled by the men in grey. Be Momo.