Most business books like to give examples, and they like to give examples after explaining the principle to prove that the principle is correct. Of course, there is no problem with this, but if you think about it, you will feel that this is somewhat "idea first", no matter how real the example is, it is just someone else's story, and for a story, sometimes how it is told is more important than what is told. What's more, many business books use independent examples, without beginning and end, through which it is difficult to resonate in the heart of the book, although it is possible to understand the content of the book conceptually. The author of "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius" is clearly well versed in the common problems of business books, and instead of the business book tradition of a lot of examples, the book gives only one example, but the reader can agree with the idea of the book from the heart, because it is an example of "me".
People who write business books like to preach, but the book "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius" turned the idea into a novel, a "coming-of-age novel" about "me". Reading this book, everyone will find their own shadow in the protagonist Toru Aono, who once had his own brilliance, but was gradually buried in a series of "quantified" evaluations, and the 35-year-old mid-life crisis accompanied by a series of so-called "failures" hit Toru Aono so hard that he couldn't raise his head.
"Quantification" is a ruler that is a good measure of everyone's state of work, but it excludes those things that play a role in the work but cannot be framed by "quantity", as if they were nothing more than redundancy in work. However, only those of us who have experienced these "redundancies" will know their importance and necessity, which are indeed part of the work, but cannot be adapted to those artificial scales. "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius" analyzes this problem very thoroughly, and the scale is universal, it needs to allow everyone involved in the work to reflect their own value, but not to do anything about the creative work of those special geniuses. Geniuses need to take risks, while mortals tend to stabilize, after all, it is impossible to give up the benefits that have already been received for an idea that requires taking risks at work. So, don't blame too much for the rigidity and rigidity of "quantification", the world is not created only for geniuses.
If it is only written for genius, the book "Mortal Who Strangled Genius" will lose the meaning of its existence. The so-called genius and mortal are not two separate individuals, in most cases, they are unified in one person, and a genius in one aspect may be a mortal in another. Just like Toru Aono, he was the core figure of the company's initial period, but he was constantly marginalized after the company's operation was on track, he was not incapable, but he did not find an occasion to play his ability, he was looked down upon by his juniors, ridiculed by his colleagues, and he even doubted the value of his existence. And at the end of the story, Toru Aono finds his place and plays an important role in his own orbit. In the story, Toru Aono is certainly not a "genius", but the ability to be good at discovering geniuses is not necessarily a kind of "genius", maybe there is no boundary between geniuses and mortals, and everyone can become their own exclusive genius.
In "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius", Hachiko, the loyal dog, is a very interesting image. Since 1934, the statue of Hachiko has stood in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo, and Shibuya Ward is the place where Tokyo and all of Japan are located, and thousands of office workers pass by in front of the statue every day. Perhaps, one of them will wander the streets of Shibuya and stand in front of Hachiko because of his frustration at work, just like Toru Aono, and perhaps, one of them will also see the corners of Hachiko's mouth go up like Toru Aono, leading him out of the predicament and discovering the value of his existence in his work. In fact, the loyal dog Hachijo is a reflection of our voices, including Toru Aono, and only by allowing yourself to stop and calm down and listen to your inner voice can you reflect on your own situation and ability, and can you know what you have and what you need. Interestingly, in the book, Toru Aono finally discovers that who didn't think of himself as a genius when he was young? Living in the steel and concrete jungle of the city, busy every day, it is rare to have a moment of leisure, but those ideals and dreams of our youth are still stirring in our hearts from time to time, reminding us of our "unwillingness". Fortunately, we will be "unwilling", the reflection on the current situation of work and survival is the recognition of our own ability, the reason why we will be "unwilling" is because we know that our ability is far greater than the effect of practice, and our own talent can far do things better. However, in most cases, this "unwillingness" will be left behind us with the start of the next day's work, and the work will enter the next cycle, and we will continue to stand still. "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius" is such a "workplace guide", and when we are in the above state, we might as well read this book, and maybe we will see ourselves in the protagonist of the story, Toru Aono, and then understand who we are and what we are going to do.
Of course, "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius" is not the kind of chicken soup for the soul or inspirational type of books, and much of the content involves something deeper, depending on how much knowledge the reader has to respond to the author. For example, you will read the shadow of Nietzsche in chapters such as "Genius is tired of it" and "Those who prevent the world from collapsing", and you will read the flavor of language philosophy in chapters such as "'one's own language' is the most powerful weapon". In the book, the author is trying to construct a unique framework for the development and advancement of business personnel, which is not only a technical problem, but also needs to update the underlying logic and cognitive methods. The author does not want to introduce people to what the workplace is, but to re-understand the world and self through reflection on the interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Of course, this ambition has not yet been fully formed in "The Mortal Who Strangled the Genius", and perhaps this is the theme of Kitano's next book.