An engaging account by a wealthy executive who sounds sincere and seems approachable.
With the assistance of former Forbes journalist Gordon (Closing the Engagement Gap, 2008, etc.), the CEO of Starbucks explains how he collaborated with a cast of thousands to rejuvenate a declining business.
In 2000, Schultz (Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, 1999) surrendered the CEO position but remained as chairman, focusing on spreading the coffee products to other nations, especially China. He was comfortable with his immediate successor, chosen from inside Starbucks, but the next CEO arrived from outside. Though Schultz liked him and respected his work ethic, the quality of the product and the service began to drop and the company’s financial growth stagnated. Alarmed, Schultz decided to return for a second act as CEO. In his first book, the author described the early years of the company, with a heavy emphasis on ideals. Here, he looks back occasionally at those earlier years, but mostly provides a chronological account of what happened from 2007 to 2010. The detail is immense, and the cast of characters can feel overwhelming. Overall, though, the chronological account contains enough revelations and suspense to keep readers engaged. Schultz does not dodge outside criticisms of his performance, nor does he eschew self-criticism. For many of its employees and customers, Starbucks is a sacred place that fills needs of connectedness and companionship. Schultz reprints correspondence from both employees and customers that demonstrate the special place that local Starbucks stores hold in the hearts and minds of so many. The author pledges to donate the book’s proceeds to support neighborhoods where stores are located and to provide financial relief to employees facing emergencies.
An engaging account by a wealthy executive who sounds sincere and seems approachable.Pub Date: March 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-60529-288-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Rodale
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.
A well-constructed critique of an economic system that, by the author’s account, is a driver of the world’s destruction.
Harvard Business School professor Henderson vigorously questions the bromide that “management’s only duty is to maximize shareholder value,” a notion advanced by Milton Friedman and accepted uncritically in business schools ever since. By that logic, writes the author, there is no reason why corporations should not fish out the oceans, raise drug prices, militate against public education (since it costs tax money), and otherwise behave ruinously and anti-socially. Many do, even though an alternative theory of business organization argues that corporations and society should enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual benefit, which includes corporate investment in what economists call public goods. Given that the history of humankind is “the story of our increasing ability to cooperate at larger and larger scales,” one would hope that in the face of environmental degradation and other threats, we might adopt the symbiotic model rather than the winner-take-all one. Problems abound, of course, including that of the “free rider,” the corporation that takes the benefits from collaborative agreements but does none of the work. Henderson examines case studies such as a large food company that emphasized environmentally responsible production and in turn built “purpose-led, sustainable living brands” and otherwise led the way in increasing shareholder value by reducing risk while building demand. The author argues that the “short-termism” that dominates corporate thinking needs to be adjusted to a longer view even though the larger problem might be better characterized as “failure of information.” Henderson closes with a set of prescriptions for bringing a more equitable economics to the personal level, one that, among other things, asks us to step outside routine—eat less meat, drive less—and become active in forcing corporations (and politicians) to be better citizens.
A readable, persuasive argument that our ways of doing business will have to change if we are to prosper—or even survive.Pub Date: May 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5417-3015-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's...
A fresh, provocative analysis of the debate on education and employment.
Up-and-coming economist Moretti (Economics/Univ. of California, Berkeley) takes issue with the “[w]idespread misconception…that the problem of inequality in the United States is all about the gap between the top one percent and the remaining 99 percent.” The most important aspect of inequality today, he writes, is the widening gap between the 45 million workers with college degrees and the 80 million without—a difference he claims affects every area of peoples' lives. The college-educated part of the population underpins the growth of America's economy of innovation in life sciences, information technology, media and other areas of globally leading research work. Moretti studies the relationship among geographic concentration, innovation and workplace education levels to identify the direct and indirect benefits. He shows that this clustering favors the promotion of self-feeding processes of growth, directly affecting wage levels, both in the innovative industries as well as the sectors that service them. Indirect benefits also accrue from knowledge and other spillovers, which accompany clustering in innovation hubs. Moretti presents research-based evidence supporting his view that the public and private economic benefits of education and research are such that increased federal subsidies would more than pay for themselves. The author fears the development of geographic segregation and Balkanization along education lines if these issues of long-term economic benefits are left inadequately addressed.
A welcome contribution from a newcomer who provides both a different view and balance in addressing one of the country's more profound problems.Pub Date: May 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-75011-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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