Good book, but a tough read. Big idea: honesty and openness in the business world builds consumer trust and builds long-term revenue streams. As with most management books these days, it is filled with examples. Most discuss the converse, where opacity causes huge problems; for instance, Union Carbide and the Bhopal disaster or Kellogg’s attempt to conceal genetically modified food. There are stories of how companies have changed over time, too; consider that Nike went from a sweatshop company to a leader for off-shore labor practices. While the book makes a compelling point, I found it difficult to read—to call it dry is an insult to toast. I’m certainly not sorry I spent the time, but I wish I’d found the website first. I do plan on bugging my investment advisor about how my proxies are voted, though!
The 2002 trust crisis was arguably the worst on Wall Street since the 1929 market crash and the Depression if the 1930s.
1 comment:
I hear about this being dry. I think I read through about 2/3 of it before I finally gave up and moved onto greener pastures.
That's also an interesting observation that most the stories are of companies not being open. You know that I certainly bought the whole "be open" thing before I even read the book, but it's hard to really think that being open would really make a difference to all (even "the majority") of companies.
If the employees/customers wanted things to be open, sure, it'd be required. But I don't think that's the case too often: no one cares where Bed, Bath, and Beyond gets it's cheap spoons from or how they treat their employees. (Sure, if there's some scandal, that'll be a problem: scandals always cause problems, naked or clothed.)
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