The Soul of the Business

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Summary: A wake up call for traditional, one-dimensional managers.
Review: For those of us who have had difficulty reconciling our personal desires to make a difference with our career demands to turn a profit, this book connects. It's a study in managing value complexity and speaks well to the enormous rewards of striving for a goal much higher than improving ROE. Not all of us can take the same route as does Tom Chappell, but, if we're to be truly fulfilled by our business lives, we must find our own way to his destination.

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Summary: Provides foundation to business ethics
Review: The Soul of a Business, though lesser known than many of the myriad of business advice books, does a better job than any other in giving a foundation from which to work.

The business guru often spends an entire book telling us how to treat others. Chappell tells us what basic principles he found that led him to this position of responsible commerce.

Shelves are full of books offering cliches and platitudes on why why ethical behavior leads to a better company and eventually more profits. However, Chappell's book goes back to the root question - why should we as individuals or companies seek one kind of relationship over another? In other words, what should guide us in how we treat each other?

For a book that delivers far beyond simple diagrams and behavior modification tricks, a book that provides the philosophical foundations of Buber and Edwards to guide us in how we should interact with our employees, customers and community read Chappell's book. I ended up owning both paperback and audio tape.

Rating:
Summary: A book for the business owner who has everything
Review: This is a nice book for anyone who owns or plans to own a business, and is seeking more than just financial rewards. Lots of companies are sharing their wealth with the rest of the world, but not many take the time to write a book about how it can be done, and how rewarding it can be. I found this book to be inspiring and entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: A book for the business owner who has everything
Review: This is a nice book for anyone who owns or plans to own a business, and is seeking more than just financial rewards. Lots of companies are sharing their wealth with the rest of the world, but not many take the time to write a book about how it can be done, and how rewarding it can be. I found this book to be inspiring and entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: Socially conscious business survived huge corporate growth
Review: This is the Tom's of Maine Tom Chappell. His story picks up after Tom's has become just another profit seeking business infested with MBAs and looking at the bottom line. It seems that Tom is disallusioned, depressed and goes searching for personal answers by enrolling in Harvard Divinity School. His search helps him and his wife bring the company back to the environmentally and socially conscious organization they began. His story gives some insights and suggestions on how to achieve this mind set turn around in any corporate structure.