Saving the Corporate Soul--and (Who Knows?) Maybe Your Own
Even those who think the idea of a "corporate soul" is an oxymoron will be persuaded by journalist David Batstone’s whip-smart suggestions for how values can reinvent an organization’s bad behavior.Saving the Corporate Soulalternates examples of principled companies like Clif Bar and Timberland with those of innovative leaders such as Denny’s CEO Jim Adams, who recovered from a $54 million racial discrimination lawsuit to create a company hailed for its recruitment of minorities. Batstone demonstrates his core belief that "companies thrive once they align the ethics of the company with the values that drive its workers and customers."  Readers worried about psychobabble can relax. The topics are nuanced and substantive; they include reputation as the guardian of a company’s brand, restoring sanity to CEO compensation, operating with transparency, moving the company into the community, viewing the environment as a silent stakeholder, and defining core values for a global economy. Everyone in your organization should read this provocative and practical guide to the post-Enron era.--Barbara Mackoff