The Responsibility Revolution How the Next Generation of Businesses Will Win

by Hollender, Jeffrey; Breen, Bill; Senge, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780470558423
• ISBN10: 0470558423
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-03-15
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

How to create a company that not only sustains, but surpasses-that moves beyond the imperative to be "less bad" and embrace an ethos to be "all good"From the Inspired Protagonist and Chairman of Seventh Generation, the country's leading brand of household products and a pioneering "good company," comes a one-of-a-kind book for leaders, entrepreneurs, and change agents everywhere. The Responsibility Revolution reveals the smartest ways for companies to build a better future-and hold themselves accountable for the results. Thousands of companies have pledged to act responsibly; very few have proven that they know how. This book will guide them. The Responsibility Revolution presents fresh ideas and actionable strategies to commit your company to a genuine socially and environmentally responsible business and culture, one that not only competes but wins on values. Points the way for innovators and influencers to generate trust by becoming transparent, elicit people's passion and creativity, turn customers into collaborators, transform critics into allies, rewrite the rules and reinvent business Shows how to build a socially and environmentally responsible yet genuinely good company and an authentic brand Drawing on groundbreaking interviews with real-world change leaders, Hollender and Breen present lessons and insights from the "good company"' parts of big companies like IBM and eBay, trailblazers like Patagonia and Timberland, and emerging dynamos like Linden Lab and EtsyThe Responsibility Revolution equips people with the tactics, models, and mind-sets they need to compete in a world where consumers now demand that companies contribute to the greater good.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Hollender (Burlington, VT),?Co-founder and Chairman and for Seventh Generation, has led Seventh Generation from its humble beginnings to its current position as the nation's fastest growing brand of natural home and personal care products. As?the leading authority on issues related to green consumerism, he frequently addresses social and environmental responsibility at?national and international venues.?He co-founded and was a Director of Community Capital Bank, a New York financial institution that invests in affordable housing and community development. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of Greenpeace USA, Healthy Child Healthy World, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, the Social Venture Network, Verite, and Alloy Inc. He is currently working on a joint venture with WebMD and Healthy Child Healthy Home.

Bill Breen (Gloucester, MA) is?Seventh Generation's Editorial Director and?was the founding Senior Editor?on the original team that launced?Fast Company.?He edited?major sections of the magazine?and helped it win numerous awards, including the coveted National Magazine Award for General Excellence, and?wrote some of FC's most talked about articles on brand building, leadership, competition, innovation, and risk. Breen speaks to business audiences throughout the country and has appeared on CNN, Fox, CBS Radio, National Public Radio, and other media outlets.

Seventh Generation is one of the country's top ten responsible businesses and the country's leading brand of environmentally-responsible home and personal care products.? It derives its name from an?Iroquois quote: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." It is the notion that what we do today defines tomorrow, and we believe it embodies the philosophy we must all embrace to make the world a better place.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface: The Responsibility Revolution: Our Manifesto	p. xv
The Responsibility Revolution Takes Off	p. 1
The Company Takes on a Mission: "Doing Work That Matters" Matters Now More Than Ever	p. 21
Not a Company, But a Community: A Blueprint for Summoning People's Potential	p. 53
Make It Transparent: In a See-Through World, It Doesn't Pay to Be Opaque	p. 79
Authentically Good: Building the Mission into Every Part of the Business	p. 107
The Cooperative Company: Building Profits and Solving Problems Through Mass Collaboration	p. 131
Beyond Responsibility: The Case for Corporate Consciousness	p. 159
Epilogue	p. 181
Notes	p. 185
Acknowledgments	p. 201
About the Authors	p. 205
Index	p. 207
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