James Martin’s quest to save mankind

How do you approach the life of James Martin, a man who has given $150 million to Oxford University in what is the largest donation by a single donor for any British universities. Who has written 103 best-selling textbooks mainly in the computer sciences, who for decades has advised business and political leaders first on information technology and now on the broader challenges for humanity. The $150 million he donated to Oxford University (and $50 million more in matching funds from others) are used to support the Oxford Martin School, whose research aims to tackle these challenges of the 21st century though interdisciplinary collaboration.

In his book, ‘The Change Agent‘, Andrew Crofts, a prolific ghostwriter and author, uses two narrative streams to approach his subject from different angles. The first section of each chapter describes Crofts’ visit to Martin’s own island in the Bahamas. The second part provides biographic sketches of Martin’s life.

Chapter by chapter, both narrative streams merge into a unified description of how Martin became such a successful entrepreneur and influential thinker. We gradually understand Martin’s concerns for the challenges that await humanity, and the steps he considers necessary to the survival of our society.

At 178 pages, the book can only offer a short glimpse into Martin’s life, which is done through a selection of relevant events in addition to brief biographic sketches. Similarly, the description of the solutions offered by Martin to profound problems such as climate change or third-world poverty necessarily remains on a somewhat simplistic level, and often refers to the concept of Raymond Kurzweil’s technological singularity. But really, if you are interested in learning more about Martin’s thoughts on this topic, a more useful resource might be his own book, ‘The meaning of the 21st century‘, or his accompanying documentary.

On a more personal level, James Martin emerges as an intriguing character. Take his travels and exploration of the world that started as extended bicycle tours into Europe when he was young. Or the time at Oxford that opened the door to a world entirely different to his rural upbringing and led to a successful career at IBM. Then there are his many textbooks that evolved out of his activities at IBM. All this culminated in a successful career as management consultant, seminar speaker and what might be best described as a visionary thinker.

What we are left with is the desire for a more first-hand description about the person James Martin. Yet, according to Crofts’ description, to expose his feelings and personal thoughts seems not to be Martin’s style. Rather, Croft’s account appears as close as we can get to James Martin. At a price of a mere 6 pounds, this book is also orders of magnitudes cheaper than what Martin charges managers for his seminars.

Reference:
Andrew Crofts: The Change Agent. Tonto Books 2010. ISBN-13: 978-1907183171. Paperback, 178 pages. £6