Enterprise-Value Books

This a breakthrough book. We now have a way to measure the most valuable attribute of a brand--its cultural velocity. In a period of extreme brand confusion, The Brand Bubble delivers the "aha" moment we've been waiting for. Thank you, John and Ed.

as the co author of this book, I am overwhelmed by the positive reception this book has received from your customer
thank you all
the best Ed Lebar

If you are involved in any facet of communications planning or brand management, Brand Bubble is a much needed and long overdue Tazer to the sternum. Breaking rank with countless other titles on the subject that are painfully long on diagnosis and woefully short on prescription, Gerzema and Lebar make a meticulous, data-driven case that the conventional pillars and metrics of brand health no longer suffice in a world where markets and product pecking orders are reshaped in the blink of an eye.

Beyond the obvious appeal to industry practitioners, Brand Bubble also offers the casual reader a fast-paced, fascinating look inside the brand-building machinery that historically has left them overwhelmed by the escalation in new product introductions and increasingly immune to long-term brand relationships.

An essential read. Very highly recommended.

If you manage a brand in any way, do not ignore this book. It's a clear and compelling argument for an overhaul of the way brands are viewed and handled. The Brand Bubble is a warning voice to the status quo and those unwilling to let go of it.

Part 1: Next to introducing their research on a divergence between market capitalization represented in brands against consumer brand perception ("The Brand Bubble") the authors provide a thorough analysis of the actual changes in the relation between brand owner and consumer driven by technological and sociological developments. Part 2: Application of the findings in part 1. Case studies and recommendations for responding with appropriate brand management measures.

A great book to read especially if you are interested in building a great company.

I've done the leadership thing at Toastmasters. I've attended the 12-class Dale Carnegie Course. I've read a lot of books on leadership, and I've counseled clients at SCORE.org counseling sessions on leadership. What I've garnered from all of this on the subject of starting a business and doing it as a leader is described in this book.

If you are leading a company - are you interested in just creating short term profits, or are you looking to the long term? When you hire people are you promoting them because you have become their friend, or because they have earned it? Are you leading or just managing? Do you have passion, or are you just putting in your time? These and other topics are addressed in this book. Get it and read it. You'll be glad you did.

I was skeptical at first that this was a book by someone born with a silver spoon just looking to sell a book. But after reading through the thoughts and stories included, it's evident that Hutcheson has been on the front line throughout his career and the information included can be a benefit to any business owner and manager, particularly one looking to grow and transition ownership while facing the rough roads that will come with it.

As the world changes, a business must change or decline and die. Some do so even if their business climate has not changed at all. These businesses self-destruct due to internal incompetence or conflicts that blur their focus on what it is their business should do. James Olan Hutcheson is the grandson of the founder of Olan Mills, the world's largest photography company. After starting in the company as a telemarketer, he rose to a position of responsibility and then resigned to pursue a career as a business consultant. Therefore, while he draws heavily from the history of Olan Mills, he also uses examples from several other businesses.
His advice is sound, logical and yet not simple. Ideas such as having proteges (including relatives), work their way up through a company rather than having the reins of power simply handed to them without training is a sound yet often ignored management principle. Another bit of sound advice that is often ignored is the toleration of honest, well meaning and factually based dissent. An examination of business, political and religious history shows quite clearly that when dissent is crushed an organization loses its' health and eventually dies, sometimes rather abruptly. As greater details of the latest corporate fiasco's come to light, it is clear that those who dissented were hounded, and sometimes it continues even after they were proven correct. This is an absurd business practice, as denying the truth only makes it worse when the end finally comes.
The nine keys listed in this book will not make your business a success. Only the making of a valuable product and executing a sound business plan can do that. What it can do is increase the odds that you will do both by showing you how others have done it.

James Olan Hutcheson has written a book that should prove invaluable to owners of small businesses and other nonhierarchical organizations. Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business is a book that deserves--and will hopefully get--a large readership.

Drawing on what he has seen in his own family business' transition to second generation leadership, as well as what he has witnessed as a consultant on such transitions, Hutcheson gives the reader much to think about. As he makes each point in his "9 Keys" he illustrates it with a real-life example.

Many of the keys are basic but easy to overlook and (after having overlooked them) sometimes tricky to introduce in a static leadership environment. Yet Hutcheson is a faithful guide through the peaks and valleys.

Having suffered through encounters with ineffective organizations (my daughter's school) and reveled in being a part of an effective, on-purpose organization (my Church), I cannot stress enough how important it is for people in leadership positions to be intentional in what they do and have the ability to be life-long learners. Learning about leadership and listening to those who "have been there," like Mr. Hutcheson, is a big part of this. Nothing less is in the balance than the difference between a life of drudgery and one of joy and freedom.

My only critique of this book is one that springs from my Christianity. I feel that the missing tenth (and possibly most important key) is Spiritual giftedness. When people serve in an area they not only enjoy, but also are gifted by God to serve in, explosive results are to be had. Also, as part of the Kingdom, "Business Traditions, Myths, and Shared Beliefs" melt away in the face of the kind of common purpose given by the Great Commission and the whole history of salvation.

Bearing this in mind and also recognizing that Mr. Hutcheson's audience probably have not all partaken of the Kingdom as of yet, I have to say that this book does a darn good job as a whole. It is less of a compilation of other sources than are most other leadership books. I found it refreshing to be able to distinguish an actual authorial voice in a work such as this. Too many leadership books read like a cross between a presentation and an instruction manual.

Get this book. It is well worth the time spent reading.

"Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business" by James Olan Hutcheson is just another "how to succeed at business" book. I wish its value was more than that, but it isn't. It is neither passionate nor any more informative than its competitors.

In the business books I have read recently, I found this one lacks the authority and substance I found in others. William Pollard's "Soul of the Firm" has the authority, as he took ServiceMaster to a new level. "Values of the Game" by Bill Bradley was worth the read because of Bradley's unique metaphorical look at life. "Leadership" by Rudolph Giuliani has power because of what Giuliani has gone through. "Portraits," however, has a flaccid tone to it. I felt as if it was researched information regurgitated into book form. I felt like I was reading the kind of book which gets sold after a corporate sales seminar.

The book, as seen in the subtitle, can be boiled down to nine major points. In each, Hutcheson retells stories of business success and failures, from security company founder Richard Wackenhut to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Action items accompany each chapter, and herein lay the book's greatest value. Hutcheson provides a topic sentence to lead the mini-lesson, but weakly completes the thesis in the following paragraphs.

The redundancy of subject matter mixed with a bland presentation has me suggesting to you to look elsewhere. It was not edited tightly enough to build the necessary tension and excitement. Overall, "Portraits of Success: 9 Keys to Sustaining Value in Any Business" lacks the poignancy I have come to expect from professional advancement books.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Compiles good examples of how several companies have changed their ways of doing business so as to survive and lead in an environment where the customers, shareholders and authorities have ever growing awareness of environmental issues.

Esty and Winston seem to be a perfect duo to write this book. Together they have a very strong and complementing background, ranging from experiences in academics and government to green and strategy consulting. The result is a book that has the right balance of theory and practice. While many books on green business only focus on the bright side, Esty & Winston are more realistic. They admit that not every business policy leads to win-win situations and describe the main fallacies, therewith making their book more "complete". The book is very easy to grasp through clear structures, concise business maps and numerous examples of S&P 100 firms. Furthermore, the latter ensures that you'll remind the book's message every time you'll order a cup of coffee at Starbucks or a meal at McDonald's.

The first 70% of the book is most interesting. After that, Esty and Winston start repeating concepts as well as business cases. Although the discussed cases are strong and helpful, Esty and Winston refer to the same companies over and over again, while forgetting about many other so called "WaveRiders". I'm wondering what the book would have been like if they had picked another set of front running firms to shed light on. They could probably fill a complete second book with it, so who knows..

I have revisited this book a number of times since I read it last year. It is a good resouce in understanding the benefits and dangers of going green.

Excellent breakdown of the drivers for companies to go green. Also excellent analyses of strategies used by the corporate world to achieve their goals with green programs. Many examples of what worked and what didn't work.
Great reading!

I must admit, I am the least "Green" person I know. However, after taking a position in a company where I had to champion sustainability efforts within the organization, I quickly asked around for the best books on the subject. This book was named repeatedly, so I bought it and read it in anticipation of my new position.

This book taught me to look at "green" and sustainability in a whole new light, and allowed me to offer intense business cases to my employer, rather than focusing on the fluffy "green" language that you hear from most environmentalists etc. It legitimately allowed me to justify certain sustainability initiatives with pure numbers, and solid arguments.

This is a must-read for corporate managers, not only because sustainability is here to stay, but because it will help you know what to look for in order to be the person that winds up saving your company millions of dollars with one simple idea.

Good Luck!

Gee Jae Arnold has written a wonderful book relating to the hurts that we all experience, the hurts that we inflict upon others, sometimes intentionally but often unintentionally, and how we can get beyond the pain to healing and wholeness. We've all experienced the condition that she describes as "dropped," i.e., that unpleasant feeling resulting from being let down, dissappointed, betrayed, disrespected, having our rights trampled on or our physical or emotional well-being injured by the actions or inactions of others, including by those who are supposed to love and protect us. The good news is that we can all experience the healing that comes from forgiveness and reconciliation. We can choose to respond to being dropped, not out of our pain, but out of the strength of our relationship with a living God who loves us.

The author does a great job of analyzing this condition, this state of being dropped. She attributes this to a common human condition, what the Bible calls sin. She gives honest and moving accounts of her own experiences--her struggles, victories, failures and hurts--involving some of her closest relationships, showing that she is writing from more than intellectual curiosity or theoretical analysis, but from her own life.

If I have any criticism, it would be that summing up the condition of being "dropped" as "sin" may be a little too simplistic. In addition, the writing gets a little bogged down in the middle as Ms. Arnold seeks to demonstrate, by summarizing various Biblical narratives, that this "dropped" condition permeates the relationships chronicled in the Bible. This section may not be as interesting to those who are familiar with the Biblical accounts. But the book picks up again with a very clear and compelling presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All in all, this is a good and timely book, well-written with valuable insight into the human condition, and resting on the timeless truths of God's Word. I highly recommend it.

This book touched a part of everyone's heart that sometimes they don't like to think about. We all feel this way, but no one ever talks about it. This is an amazing book that addresses issues of the heart that stem from the past, but can be carried into the present, and even the future. It shows the reader how to identify these conditions, and how to deal with them. The author bares her soul, and shares with us a part of her that most people would bury, and never reveal to anyone. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!

Great!It is a dynamic, inspirational to book to read, especially, if you are trying to grasp the concept of your purpose for living in this kaotic world. Where people go around dropping others without a reason.

Excellent book. Well written. Reaches out to the need for a higher being in all of us. Answers some of those questions that we thought were answered by society, but actually were not until now. Thoughtful and provocative.

Ms. Arnold is a very intuitive and intelligent person. Keep advising us, we need it.

Dropped answers the 4 basic questions we have in life:

Who I am? We are all products of our home environments. As children we watch our parents/partners interact with each other. It is through them that we learn how to treat others. If we were mistreated, abused or neglected as children, it may seem normal to us because this all we know. We have no other yardstick by which to measure if "everybody else" goes through what we are experiencing. We grow up, date, marry, have children without the slightest inkling of what "sharing/showing love is about". It cripples us even further emotionally. I personally learned that there is no such thing as "normal" and that we are all dysfunctional to some extent.


Why am I like this? We are like we are because deep inside we wish to retain some sense of control over our destiny. We learn to show love or withhold love as a bargaining chip with our friends, family members and eventually the person we marry. If we are pleased, we grant you the gift of our love, emotional closeness or affections. If we are displeased we punish by "withholding" our love, our affection our emotions and generally making life miserable for others We can be held prisoner by our pasts, holding on to them to "protect" ourselves from further hurt, not knowing that we are actually imprisoning ourselves even more because we are afraid of being dropped. The situation perpetuates itself because we are too self-righteous in our feeling of being dropped to want to change. We choose not to realize that we have also dropped others. We have not learned at this point in our lives that Jesus came to set the captives (us) free.

Where am I going? By this point in our lives we have begun to mature and realize that something is really wrong with us emotionally. We realize that in our quest to make things right within ourselves we have dropped other people and learn that hurt people hurt other people. We come to Christ and eventually accept Him as our Lord and Savior and he slowly begins to change our hearts from within. We ask Him to break and mold us and to spiritually rebirth us and we begin to learn the importance of giving ourselves to Him, surrendering our heart to him and He begins to work in us. We begin to hunger and thirst for His word and strive to be like Him. We then seek and find a Church home and begin to attend and pray and fully embrace our spirituality.

And if we are Christians how can I make this life better? We learn that for everything we experience in life, Jesus has experienced it also. We learn that for every situation there is a word of comfort in the Word. We learn that when we say I can't, Jesus says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We learn that when we say I am afraid of...Jesus says The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When we are angry and want to strike out because we feel we have been dropped, Jesus says Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgives you. When we are faced with temptation, whatever our temptation is, Jesus says because He himself suffered when he was tempted he is able to help those who are being tempted. When we feel that life is unfair and we are being given an unfair share of life's "downs" Jesus says a righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.
"Dropped" is a must-read for every person who diligently seeks positive changes in his or her life based on God's principles.
M.Hawkins, Long Island, NY

Johnny Paycheck and Dolly Parton probably had the wrong manager.
The employees in the songs, "Take this Job and Shove It," and "Working 9-to-5" never had bosses who managed with aloha.
Rosa Say, former vice-president of operations for Hualalai Development Corp., proposes that Hawaii is optimally suited to lead the world in the pursuit of values-centered business, because we live with something good and right by its very nature: Aloha and all it embraces.
"When I became a manager I quickly figured out I couldn't keep aloha in the background," Say writes. "I had to pay better attention to it and welcome it into my management performance with open arms."
According to Say aloha worked wonders.
"I realized that aloha was a statement of personal truths for me, my own source to look inward to," Say wrote. "When I released it, aloha made my job easier and it made me more effective in delivering the results that were expected of me."
"Managing with Aloha" explores 19 different Hawaiian values, and in the tradition of Hawaiian culture expert Dr. George Kanahele, the book demonstrates how managers can bring these universal values into every kind of business practice today.
Say, founder of Say Leadership Coaching, draws on many examples of how she put these values into profitable practice in her own successful career as a manager, and she shares her common-sense approaches to blending the social and economic goals of business enterprise in ways that define a Hawaiian sensibility for the way we work.
"Rosa Say has authored a classic work in her application of a powerful set of Hawaiian values designed to produce material excellence in the workplace," said Peter Apo, director of the Hawaiian Hospitality Institute.
"After reading this book it will dawn on you that if you are not managing with aloha, you are underperforming."
"Managing With Aloha" explores such things as:
- How can you define the truly authentic culture-based values of your business?
- What is "sense of place" and why is it so important?
- Is aloha spirit something you train everyone in, or is it something you specifically hire for?
- What would the "mea hookipa" (service provider) of old Hawaii specifically teach us about the elements of good customer service?
- How can values bring a language of intention to your work environment?
- What can you do right now, today (keia manawa), and how can you be a great manager?
- What more must you learn to hoomau (continue to persevere) and imua (go forward)?
"'Managing with Aloha' is a must read by anyone dealing with the contemporary challenges of corporate management," said Doug Chang, general manager of the Hotel Hana Maui. "It's a well-organized and easily navigated book on Hawaiian values and their practical application to the workplace."

I found it challenging to write about Rosa Say's book Managing With Aloha. The book-actually, the very idea of the book-touches me in so many places that I didn't know how to begin or where to end. There was no way for me to write about this book without writing about myself as well. So, if you are looking for objectivity, you won't find it here.

Questions about values have been near the heart of my own work for nearly thirty years, but I have never seen such a beautiful and comprehensive treatment of one person's lessons and joys within the dance that values and work must do if the work is to be done with integrity. I am also envious because my own traditional values were dimmed by the emigration of my ancestors to the US, by their desire to assimilate, and by my own indifference. This is not to say that I have no values, or that I do not know what they are, but that there is something deep and profound in Rosa's knowledge that I suspect I can never experience. While paging through this book I was visited by the same sense that often overtakes me while strolling the less populated streets of ancient European cities: Brugge or Bath perhaps, or Pisa. It is a sense of deep rootedness and profound import: a sense that the place (this book) is significant in ways that I cannot appreciate or even fully understand.

The book also resonates with recent work of my own. Not too long ago I interviewed twenty accomplished, recognized leaders to discover how leaders win the commitment of others at different levels: intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. I found that the ability to integrate values with the work of leadership is crucial to winning the highest levels of commitment. I call this ability Enacting Beliefs. A Jewish elder, a Catholic sports mogul, the Buddhist mayor of a town in Arizona, and others, all either spoke of enacting their beliefs or performed the dance of values and work so naturally that they thought it barely deserved comment. Rosa shines light on this ability with detail and clarity that I very much admire.

Then too, Rosa quite rightly insists on the nobility of management as a calling, which is an affirmation of my own insistence that all work can be thought of and done artfully if it is approached by the whole person as an endeavor of the spirit and not merely a job.

I recommended Managing With Aloha to a friend whose business is helping young Jewish leaders bring traditional Jewish values to their leadership roles. I told my friend, "You don't have to be Hawaiian to appreciate the lessons in this book about how to bring your values to your work." If you aspire to that kind of integrity, I recommend it to you also.

An excellent managment book that takes traditional Hawai'ian cultural values, and places them into a management framework so that organizational mission and respect and development of individuals can occur simultaneously. Although the book is written from a Hospitality industry standpoint, the concepts can be applied to any industry anywhere. This book has been most helpful in bridging the cultural barrier of my traditional US Mainland experiences with the pan-Asian business culture environment. The book is a relatively short, easy read with many real life examples of how to apply the core concepts. I highly recommend this book.

Managing with Aloha is written to help managers become more successful. This in itself doesn't make the book unusual or outstanding; there are hundreds of books about managerial effectiveness.

What makes it stand out is that the reader is taught these lessons from the perspective of the Hawaiian culture - specifically 18 values. The author weaves her vast management experience into each chapter - one for each of the 18 values. As a reader you learn from Rosa's experiences, you learn about the values of the Hawaiian Islands and you begin to see how these values are more than Hawaiian - they are universal in their application.

The use of Hawaiian terms in the book may seem at first to be a bit challenging as a reader, but these native words and phrases quickly become a part of the reading experience.

Rosa Say is a proud Hawaiian, an experienced manager and a talented writer. Reading this book will allow you appreciate these three things - the things that separate this book from the vast number of books for managers.

I highly recommend this book, and Rosa's blog, Talking Story as well. (http://www.sayleadershipcoaching.com/talkingstory/)

So I finally completed reading Managing With Aloha by Rosa Say of Say Leadership Coaching, and so it is time to reflect on what I have learned. I have a few key points to share, and an overall feeling from the book.

Nānā i ke kumu - Look to your source, and find your truth. This is the chapter I just finished, and the one that will stick in my head the longest. Looking to my source to find my truth, I find myself surrounded by those I care for deeply, and realize that I have many to be thankful for.

The other truth I have is lifelong learning, and the reflection time that comes with reading a new book or magazine and learning something I knew little or nothing about. It's why I have Rosa's book in my hands and have been reading for the past 2 months to get it completely.

Aloha - If you were like me, before I started reading Rosa's Talking Story blog and her book, I thought Aloha was simply a greeting. Aloha as in hello, and aloha as in goodbye. Now I realize Aloha is a value of unconditional love, and the outpouring and receiving of the spirit. Wow, now that's a word that says so much more than "Hey!" Again, getting back to my truth, I realize that I must do a better job of sharing my Aloha with my family, friends, direct reports, peers, and supervisors, and really everyone in my world. I need to slow down and let people know how much I appreciate them, and how much Aloha I have for them.

The last thing I learned is that one must strive for Pono, or rightness and balance. This is something that I am often guilty of not having as much as I would like to have. I am happily content in many things in my life, and that helps my balance, but I know there is more that needs to be in balance for me.

My overall feeling of Managing With Aloha is one of awe, for there are so many values in the book that one can learn from, and put into practice, as managers and leaders. Rosa's idea of the Daily Five Minutes is my favorite, and can be quite simply summed up as taking 5 minutes each day to spend in a comfortable place with a direct report and let them tell you what's going on in her/his life. The key is you have to really listen to hear what's being said, and make the effort to not be judgmental, rather just listen and pay attention.

I also learned that managing and leading are 2 very different things, and one does not need to be a good leader to be a good manager, or be a good manager to be a good leader. Never before was it so clearly laid out as in this wonderful book. I like to think I am an effective manager now, and with practice and continued review of the key concepts in this book, I can only get better.

Make It a Great Day...If you're a manager or leader, buy Managing With Aloha, for you or someone else who wants to become more effective as a manager or a leader. Now in it's second printing, this book is timeless and worth the investment many times over.

This short and concise book should be on the required reading list for all business school students and faculty,accountants, lawyers,CEO"s,CFO"s, corporate directors and shareholders. It emphasizes thhe view that there are other measurements of corporate responsibility than the "bottom line".

Such ideas as openbook accounting,executive pay for performance,independent outside directors,workforce diversity,and shareholder rights are advocated.

[...]"Value-led".

An extremely thoughtful, timely and portable book, very well documented. Should have been required reading for some very prominent business executives,accountants, investors who lacked perspective on what a value led organization could be. This is also important reading for the person who runs or is starting a small business, or not-for-profit organization. Particularly interesting is the chapter on E Dimension or the role the internet will play in the company's strategies. Carefully computing and comparing the cost benefits of various implementation modes is stressed. Hundreds of important issues are discussed, as for example, the efficacy of having workers tele-commute. Bloxham points out the pros and cons of these arrangements, and notes that a value led organization must weigh these factors before making a decision. Another key area is the discussion on globalization-must reading for a business person hoping to expand across national borders. If the book has a flaw, it is that the topic raised could all be greatly expanded and this reader feels a certain frustration in not being able to contact the author and discuss an issue in depth. But of course the book is intended to be an overview. On the basis of this I would also recommend the book to business students, because it will lead them to fruitful and in depth study of the more important issues facing entrepreneurship today.

Value-Led Organizations, by Eleanor Bloxham is a must for all companys, organiztions and those interested in money management. If corporations such as we have read, and heard about so often in the news these past few months had heeded what is expounded on in this book, we would not be in the terrible mess we now are. A must reading for financial people.

As an engineer I appreciate this well-organized book with its emphasis on the important elements of stewardship. It carefully explains the duties of management required for care over all of the resources entrusted to them. The key concepts of value enhancement and then implementation of the theory are dealt with in detail. Examples and illustrations abound. Yet, the book is short enough to be a good read on a plane trip. Anyone responsible for planning and executing a strategy for business success will find this book an excellent source of inspiration.

Today more than ever, corporate directors must focus their oversight efforts on organizational "value," ensuring maximum long-term returns to investors. As a guide for value-led organizations, this book is a gem: small--yet valuable, durable, bright, and multifaceted. Its 100+ pocket-sized pages compactly combine practical applications, theoretical foundations, and intelligent insights--all from a corporate director who knows how to think like a fiduciary, responding to multiple constituencies (e.g., both stockholders and employees) along multiple dimensions (e.g., both finance and ethics): 25-karat!

Once again Joyce has captivated the feeling of sitting down with an old friend to simply "talk it out". Once I picked it up, I simply could not put it down. Joyce brings the things forward that really matter while allowing us to see that all the "stuff" simply isn't as important. I can't wait to read her two newest books!

Joyce does it again in sharing her everyday life experiences as well as her heart. She takes you on her jouney of following Christ in the everyday experiences and how God speaks to her and challenges her to become more like Him. This is a great read into her heart and so, into the heart of God.

I read her first book and didn't think it was possible for her to out do herself, but this book was equally as great as the first in a totally different way. These two books are very different. You need to get them both!

Letting go....such simple words when spoken, but such difficult words to really DO! Joyce once again has given a "recipe" for letting go of all the junk that seems to weigh me down. Her words are so personal and her insight so clearly written that even someone like me, who is flat out uninspirable most days, seeks the direction and desire to follow the simple steps to having a peace filled life. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for opening the eyes of my heart and helping me to shed off those guilt stained glasses! My focus is now back on Jesus and I couldn't be happier!

I read Joyce's first book, Chili and Chocolate Cake and I was with her during the writing of this new book. But it was not until I sat down and read "Life Is Not About $100 Bills!" in it's final form, that I was struck with the beauty and joy of its content. As tears of the joy of Christ streamed down my face I declared, "This is the BEST book I have ever read". Go get `em Ms. Joyce!

The CEO of Seventh generation, Jeffrey Hollender, pens this book on responsible business. I came across this book because Seventh Generation recently decided to sell their wares through Target instead of Wal-Mart. Most small businesses would love to be courted by the Wal-Mart retailing giant but Jeffrey Hollender felt that Target agreed more with Seventh Generation. In this book, Jeffrey discusses his thoughts on running a responsible business.

The opening chapters were somewhat difficult to get through. Perhaps it just took several pages for me to get used to his prose?

The underlying message I felt was that having a socially responsible business is possible but will require a lot of work on everyone's part. Everyone is so connected to each other now. Perhaps an environmental conscious entrepreneur decides to open a chain of organic restaurants and ensures that farmers are paid a fair price. But what if the restaurant hires an exterminator that uses a toxin that ends up contaminating the soil for generations?

The idea is to have a closed-loop business model ... that leaves things in the same condition as when the company began. For example, think of the credo of camping sites. Moreover, the closed loop business model is more than just your business but includes your suppliers and customers. Specifically, there are hidden costs to disposal of things like electronics and the ubiquitous clear plastic bags. Of course, we every day consumers can throw them in the trash for someone else to deal with. But someone does deal with our trash and there are some real costs. The book gives a story of a putrid land in China where a lot of our electronic waste goes.

I have always loved companies that are transparent with their business models from a financial perspective. Transparency is about communicating to shareholders, consumers, and employees. Transparency is about being candid and introspective on dealings and reasoning for decisions.

There are a mixed bag of corporate stories mainly with Ben & Jerry Ice Cream (who is now part of Unilever) and Seventh Generation. There is of course some mention of Johnson and Johnson's Tylenol case and also on electronic companies like Hewlett Packard and Dell. There is some applause for British Petroleum for a decision to put no money to politics and Shell who compromised with Greenpeace on an issue in Africa.

Surprisingly this is a well thought out book that doesn't get hysterical. It's honest, transparent and I recommend it.

I found the book to be uplifting. It is nice to see this type of behavior being practiced. We have entered a time in our existence where we have to start thinking of how we operate as an industrialized country.

Chris Ortiz, author of 40+: Overtime Under Poor Leadership

As a professor management who is interested in corporations acting more responsibly, I have just begun to use this book in my senior strategic management course. Hollender is a thoughtful and insightful proponent of socially responsible business. Each chapter covers a specific characteristics of SRB (accountability, transparency, sustainability, etc.).

He recognizes that running a company using these principles is not easy but definitely worth it.

He covers most of the pioneers in the field (Roddick, Cohen, Anderson, Chouinard) and their struggles to live their corporate lives in a responsbile way.

I highly recommend it.


Dale Fitzgibbons

This review is an adaptation of my review published in Personnel Psychology, Winter 2004 issue.

As one of the pioneers in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement, Hollender is evangelical about promoting the implementation of CSR "in all of its forms." I'm not sure I know what he means by that. As he acknowledges, it's in the "mind of the beholder" because there's "no firm consensus" about what CSR means. I certainly can't criticize him for not pinning down the concept. Professor Ronald Sims (2003), in his own book on the subject for instance, has offered five different definitions. I think Hollender equates CSR with the idea of a triple-bottom line of responsibility and accountability for fulfilling what he thinks should be the financial, social, and environmental obligations of a corporation.
Margaret Mead once said in effect that social change always starts and can only start with a small group of people. The small group identified in the book as pioneers in the CSR movement include small business entrepreneurs like Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, socially responsible investment funds like the Calvert Social Investment Fund, and a host of advocacy groups or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like the activist group, Greenpeace, and the more reserved Businesses for Social Responsibility (BSR) that was conceived as sort of an alternative Chamber of Commerce.
The book gives an interesting account of the different ways in which these pioneers promote CSR among big corporations. One way, for instance, is non-confrontational and educative in trying to "bring big business [no matter how socially irresponsible] to the table and then move the table." For example, BSR works closely with big companies to promote a set of best practices that hopefully will not only further the CSR progress of those companies but also entice other companies not to be left behind. Another way is confrontational, involving pressure tactics and sometimes law suits. Greenpeace, for example, gradually succeeded in pressuring Royal Dutch Shell to choose a more environmentally responsible way to dispose of an obsolete oil storage tanker and loading platform in the North Sea.
As you can well imagine, the notion of CSR is controversial and fraught with issues. The authors clearly know that and for the most part deal with the issues relatively well in my opinion. I'll mention and discuss a few of the issues.
Perhaps the biggest issue is over what should be the legitimate purpose of business. Hollender, understandably, totally rejects what he considers to be the "hysterical" opinion of conservative economist Milton Friedman that CSR is "fundamentally subversive" and that the only legitimate responsibility of business is to make an honorable profit. To Hollender, CSR "in all of its forms" is the legitimate purpose. Thus a corporation that seeks to ameliorate public problems not of its own making is a more socially responsible company. He cites Coca Cola as an example of a company persuaded by activists to modify its operations in ways to further the prevention and treatment of AIDS among its employees and those of its bottlers and suppliers.
Three related issues are over who should be the public corporation's legitimate stakeholders, for what should it be held accountable, and over what period of time. To people in Friedman's camp, the issues are no-brainers. Shareholders are the only stakeholders, the corporation is only accountable for maximizing their wealth and doing so through legal means, and time is marked in quarterly returns. This view is basically that the conventional bottom line is the only one that must matter. To people like Hollender, the issues are also no-brainers. Absolutely everyone and everything, including the environment, along the company's long value chain from initial product resources to product disposal are the company's stakeholders, the company must be held accountable through full and transparent cost accounting to every one of those stakeholder interests, and time is marked in the long run. The conventional bottom line is thus immensely modified quantitatively and qualitatively.
I found the authors a bit lax in relying on several of their sources about one important matter bearing on those three issues. The sources were quoted as claiming that boards of directors have a statutory obligation to maximize shareholder wealth in the short term. I questioned that claim, and one of Hollender's spokespersons acknowledged that it was a mistaken claim. But this nevertheless doesn't negate the immense pressure CEO's are under to hit the numbers each quarter. This pressure comes primarily from institutional investors who might as well be surrogates for a statute. It takes a morally courageous CEO and a sustainable company to resist that kind of pressure. In an article featuring Hollender and Bill George, the recently retired CEO of Medtronic, the latter commented that he would say at every annual shareholder meeting that the company was "not in the business of maximizing shareholder value," and he believed he "got away with that because the results were so good" (Kelly, 2004).
Another related issue is over how much self-disclosure there should be of a firm's CSR performance. Hollender proposes full "transparency," yet acknowledges that it can make the company squirm, as his did, over risking the possibility that full disclosure may end up making the company legally liable for a product shortcoming that might not otherwise ever be known. He agonized, for example, that while one of his products was more "natural' than that of any of his competitors, he was sure some of his customers at least presumed that his product "was a bit better than it actually was." Not being a fanatically unrealistic CSR advocate, he decided to put a "product self-critique section" on his company's Web site instead of putting a disclaimer on the product's packaging. It's a compromise, yes, but far more responsible than the values held and practiced by a baby food maker I remember as once having been charged with diluting its product.
Another related issue is whether to take a public company private to escape Wall Street analysts and record-keeping requirements. More public companies are apparently going private, and Hollender himself is a case in point. He took his firm private, and that is what it still is today. He points to the private outfitter, Patagonia, as being able to take socially responsible actions much more easily than if it were traded on Wall Street.
Yet another issue addressed, and the last one of theirs I'll mention, is over whether a small, socially responsible company should "sell out" to a larger corporation. An advantage of doing so besides making a lot of money from the sale is the prospect of a responsible product being introduced to a much larger market. But a disadvantage is that the seller risks seeing its values and practices diminished if not overturned altogether by the larger corporation. The authors describe how Ben and Jerry initially felt they had negotiated a deal with Unilever, the buyer of their company, to preserve the values the two pioneers held dear, only to learn later of some actions taken by Unilever incompatible with the values.
The authors claim that the CSR movement has become a "contagious trend." I think that's a bit exaggerated, and the authors offer little hard data to back up their claim. I think it is true that CSR is becoming a more popular topic, but I suspect, and the authors acknowledge, that it lends itself to tokenism or lip service for the sake of appearances or reputation. That's why incidentally I chose to mention the authors' examples of Shell and Coke. Shell reportedly regards the North Sea experience positively and claims there is now "increasingly open and honest communication with the communities," yet we read recently that its two top executives were forced to resign after lying for several years about the company's oil reserves (see, e.g., Timmons, 2004). As for Coke, it's frequently in the news for its "cozy ties to strong arm dictators and rogue bottlers" and for other alleged wrongdoing (see, e.g., Klebnikov, 2003). I could also have mentioned wrongdoing by some of the other companies the authors cite as making progress of one kind or another in their CSR performance. My point is that with so much harmful wrongdoing being committed by public corporations, I would far prefer to see a relatively more restrained movement, one that "simply" calls for public corporations to operate "harmlessly." Achieving that standard would be a quantum leap from prevailing corporate behavior, and I think corporations should direct their resources to taking that leap and not diverting them to the solving of problems not of their own making or to giving guilt gifts through philanthropy or to offering isolated token efforts.
The book is intended for a wide audience, including business leaders, employees, and NGOs. I personally think it deserves to be on a best seller list and should be read by the CEO of every public corporation who has yet to decide where to position his or her company on the CSR spectrum. I also think all thoughtful citizens should read this book. It matters a lot.

REFERENCES

Kelly, M. (2004). Conversations with the masters: Two of the great CEOs talk about the pressures of managing with values. Business Ethics, 18, 4-5.

Klebnikov, P. (2003, December 22). Coke's sinful world. Forbes, 86-92.

Sims, RR. (2003). Ethics and corporate social responsibility: Why giants fall. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Timmons, H. (2004, March 04). Shell's top executive forced to step down. The New York Times.

Another leader of an iconic "green company", Jeffrey Hollender - founder and CEO of Seventh Generation (yes, I use their laundry detergent exclusively) discusses the challenges of running a business with high integrity and full disclosure. In particular, Hollender recounts Seventh Generation's stint as a publicly traded company and posits that public ownership inevitably leads to an erosion of core values by the pressures of the markets. He cites also the example of Ben and Jerry's take-over by Unilever. I personally believe that positive social change can be wrought through the public securities markets and that values driven investing is the most significant tool available.

I appreciate What Matters Most as a cautionary tale keeping me alert to some of the perils of my chosen approach (Socially Responsible Investing as a vehicle for change). I had the privilege of hearing Jeffrey Hollender speak at a Working Assets brown bag lunch lecture. He is a forceful presence and very inspiring in his forthrightness in answering questions probing the gray areas that an ethical company must struggle with.

P.S. A recent addition to my review: The Resources section at the back of the book is very well researched and thorough. It would be worth buying the book merely for that appendix.

As a serial startup specialist, I am always looking for resources that can help venture-backed companies succeed--nearly every business book falls well short of the mark. "Where Value Hides" is the exception. Jackson has used his varied consulting and management experiences to clearly and concisely demonstrate how to strategically manage any company from the startup phase all the way through to the Fortune 50. It is already paying dividends for my current company.

Honestly enjoyed this book and find it provides useful insight into better understanding what drives value and how to make decisions that uncover and create it. Probably one of the more practical strategy books out there and worth the time it takes to learn its lessons.

Acquisitions are a tricky business. Deciding whether to move forward on one, or to pass one by, too often depends on an opaque understanding of strategic fit and growth potential. I found Stuart Jackson's discussion of how Strategic Market Position can create a clearer picture informative and practical. Jackson states that, "for a business or product line that competes in only one strategic segment, SMP is simply the market share of the business in its strategic market segment. For a company competing in multiple strategic segments, its overall SMP is the average of its SMPs in each strategic segment, weighted by the businessâ(tm)s sales or investment in each strategic segment." Pretty straightforward; but when you read the case examples in the book and learn what it takes to dissect a company's value drivers, you quickly realize this is no simple task. When considering acquiring another company, though, the upside to doing this legwork can be tremendous.

Jackson says we should ask four key questions when analyzing an acquisition target:

1) What strategic segment are we entering and who is the competition?
2) Will the new business improve our SMP in segments where we already compete?
3) If we are entering a new strategic segment, can we leverage our SMP in adjacent segments to ensure we achieve a strong SMP in the target segment?
4) Bottom line, will the new business make the weighted average SMP for our overall company better or worse?

Answering these questions can help you know, for example, what types of acquisitions make sense long-term, if you should "overpay" for an acquisition, as well as know when it is wise to sell off or merge a business. I think Jackson's Where Value Hides does a good job of outlining the steps necessary to get to the heart of these questions and make better decisions.

I found Stuart Jackson's book, Where Value Hides, entertaining and in many ways illustrative of best practices when it comes to thinking about how to go about analyzing a company's strategic options. The examples of BMW, Emerson Electric, and General Mills clearly show how a deep understanding of key value drivers is immensely valuable but often elusive to even the most accomplished business leaders. And his discussions around applying the principles of strategic market position to reality are very useful. It did strike me as I was reading the book, though, that to really appreciate the impact of this somewhat subtle approach to business analysis, readers would probably benefit from something like a "how to" guide or "toolkit" to walk them through applying the insights to their own circumstances.
All-in-all, a very valuable read, but would like more guidance in learning how to apply SMP to my own situation.

Don't confuse Strategic Market Position (SMP) with your run-of-the-mill market segmentation everyone talks about. The concept of SMP that Stuart Jackson lays out in his book, Where Value Hides, doesn't so much turn the concept of market share on its head as show how positioning your company based on a simplistic understanding of market share can lead to strategic decisions that are dead wrong and can ultimately be very costly. The importance of getting a handle on your company's market position becomes clear when you realize that its impact goes far beyond sales and marketing straight to the heart of your organization's operations, cost structure and overall strategy. SMP is not about market segmentation, although it has very real implications for your sales and marketing organization. Rather, as the title implies, it's about uncovering what creates value for your company and turning that insight into clear strategic decision criteria. Simple on the surface, but so rarely implemented in reality.

One of the pleasures of listening to a good sermon is to hear one of the Bible's great stories explained in many dimensions and then applied to good rules for daily living. Ms. Hill has the talent to create such a sermon, and your understanding of how Jesus calmed the storm (Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-40 and Luke 8:22-25) will be expanded by reading this book to build your relationship with Jesus.

If you don't remember or know the story, let me summarize it for you. Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee by boat with His disciples, several of whom were experienced fishermen. While Jesus slept, a storm rose up and the disciples feared for their lives as the boat filled with water. They awakened Jesus in fear, and He calmed the winds and turbulent water. This demonstration of His power helped them to understand who He was. "Who is this man, that even the winds and waves obey him?" (Luke 8:25 NLT)

Ms. Hill points out that our lives, too, will experience storms. But like this story, Jesus is at our side. We have only to turn to Him in faith and the storms will have no effect. Why do we experience storms? Ms. Hill wisely points out that storms are there to help us build our faith. When we listen in faith, we will hear Jesus and appreciate His peace. With faith, we can banish the storms in Jesus' name.

The book nicely bridges the gap between those who doubt God because there are storms and the true lessons to be drawn from those storms.

Ms. Hill is well acquainted with Scripture and quotes often from the relevant texts. Each chapter ends with verses to build your faith in the right way. If you are interested in learning more about the Bible, Ms. Hill offers an Internet-based ministry at her website which is referred to in this book.

One of the best parts of this book is the way she explores creating both inner and outer peace. Many people are more troubled in their minds than they are in reality. This book can help.

This book caused me to really pause and read carefully. Hill paints a beautiful picture of our lives as a storm and how Jesus is truly in control - even in the midst of the storm. Filled with Scripture, this book will encourage you and draw you nearer to God.

Cherie Hill's book, "Be Still" is a wonderfully written book that made me reflect on my own life, and realize how much I truly need God. After reading Cherie's book I discovered that I have not allowed God to work His will in my own life. How could I have allowed this to happen? I guess I have taken God for granted.

About half way through the book it hit me hard - Bang! Like a freight train derailing off the tracks, screeching to a roaring stop. I had been ignoring God for my life because I knew He would always be there for me. It's like living smack dab on the ocean with a view most people would die for. After ten or twenty years of waking up and your eyes seeing that magnificent coastline, it just doesn't seem that spectacular anymore. It's just the beach for those who live there, but for those who don't live there, it's a vacation!

Cherie said it so well. We are powerless to calm our own storms ourselves. We need Jesus! Sure, we can dampen the storms under our own understanding, but is that what God wants His children to do? It is all about having faith enough to let God deal with the trials and tribulations in our life. Let Christ calm your storms.

If you are going through a storm in your life, this book is a must read! If you're not going through a storm in your life, this book is a must read for future reference. It offers excellent scripture based material as well as encouragement and hope. I recommend this book for Christian's of all ages and those who are seeking truth, wisdom and solace for their life.

For anyone thinking about purchasing Cherie Hill's book, "Be Still", let me just say this: Don't hesitate!

This book has been such a blessing. Storms come in all shapes and sizes, but God and His infinite wisdom and power reigns supreme over all storms. Cherie manages to organize one of the best manuscripts concerning the need for God's children to trust that their Heavenly Father is indeed interested, concerned, and intervening in their lives on a daily basis.

"Be Still - Let Jesus Calm Your Storms" combines intellectual common sense, Biblical truths, Biblical scriptures, and an author dedicated to helping people who have suffering in their lives.

I have to admit that I did not have the firm grasp that I thought did around the "Jesus Calms the Storm" story found in the Bible ( see Luke 8:22-25), but Cherie Hill has opened my eyes a bit wider. Her ability to seek out scriptural truths and combine them with earthly situations and solutions is uncanny. God has truly blessed this woman with a special talent for this type of ministry.

So if you've experienced trails, tribulations and storms in your life, this is a book you will want to take a look at. If you are currently going through a struggle, a test, or a storm, this is a book you should own. And if you are sure there is bound to be heartache, pain, or a storm in your future, this book can definitely help you through it.

"Be Still - Let Jesus Calm Your Storms" is an amazing addition to any bookshelf. Buy a copy for yourself, buy a copy for a friend, or leave a copy somewhere for a stranger.

See ya next review!

Dan Blankenship
Author of THE RUNNING GIRL

"The peace that surpasses all understanding is a gift from God and is ours for the taking. Yet we must pursue it. He wants us to find comfort in knowing that, if we allow Him, He will help us rise above our storms." ~ Cherie Hill

Cherie Hill longed for a deeper relationship with her creator and in a time of conflict, asked God to heal her life. The way this was accomplished was through giving others the gift of an open heart who listened and cared and reached out to help them in their greatest time of need.

After designing a website as a place of prayer, people opened their hearts to his safe place within a world of storms and through an outpouring of love, lives were changed and souls were nurtured with renewed hope and faith. Her book teaches you how to:

Understand that God is still in control
Learn to seek the purpose of the conflict
Find peace by developing a sense of patience
Develop the ability to overcome the storm so you can take on new challenges

Cherie Hill has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is pursuing a Certificate in Biblical Counseling, but her greatest accomplishment is making a difference in the lives of people who are in need of human caring, a few warm words of encouragement and an open heart. She is now a regular guest on talk radio speaking about issues like "The Transformative Power of Truth" and is also a columnist for online magazines.

As someone who has gone through many awakening moments in one short lifetime, I can say that without people like Cherie Hill, I wouldn't even be writing this review. All of us have gone through dark stormy times that have threatened to take us under emotionally and financially. We can at times think we are alone in a storm, but God will send peace and then give us the strength to go on to pass along God's love to the world.

"Unfortunately, it usually takes a raging storm to restore and reveal what is really important in life and get us back in line with what God's will is for our lives." ~Cherie Hill

I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fulfilling life purpose or wants to read about how the person living next door is changing the world for good! Sometimes the best thing you can do when you are in need, is to reach out to someone else and heal yourself through the gift of giving yourself even when you are the one in need.

As we all take turns being the one in need and the angel helping those in need, this book brings comfort to us all through a variety of scripture passages and Cherie Hill's innate wisdom brought forth from her own life experience. Be Still is the comforting book you have been looking for, to give to a friend or to read to nurture your own soul.

"God uses our storms to prepare us for the incredible blessings that he has planned for us. Each storm will bring with it a new way for us to shed our worldly nature and prove our faith to God." ~ Cherie Hill

~The Rebecca Review