I recently read a book called Firms of Endearment which resonated with me. As a firm, we already use our own 21 points checklist for 21st-century companies when researching businesses. The checklist already includes the main aspects expounded by the book but it gave me an enhanced view of how to improve our research even more. The following review by John Mackey, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market is taken from Firms Of Endearment and is a powerful endorsement of the book.
Today’s greatest companies are fueled by passion and purpose, not cash. They earn large profits by helping all their stakeholders thrive: customers, investors, employees, partners, communities, and society.
These rare, authentic firms of endearment act in powerfully positive ways that stakeholders recognize, value, admire and even love. They make the world better by the way they do business―and the world responds.
They have created radically new rules. This extensively updated book will help you master those new rules, learn from their newest experiences, build your great firm of endearment, change the world, and succeed on every level that matters.
- Build a high-performance business on love (It can be done. We’ll prove it.)
- Help people find the self-actualization they’re so desperately seeking
- Join capitalism’s radical social transformation―or fall by the wayside
- Don’t just talk about creating a happy, productive workplace: do it
- Honor the unspoken emotional contract you share with your stakeholders
- Create partner relationships that really are mutually beneficial
- Build a company that communities welcome enthusiastically
- Help all your stakeholders win, including your investors
“Business has enormous potential to do good in the world. Much of the good is currently being done ‘unconsciously’ simply by creating products and services that people value, providing jobs, and generating profits. However, business can also be done much more consciously, with higher purpose and optimal value creation for all major stakeholders, while creating cultures that optimize human flourishing… Firms of Endearment points the way that all businesses should aspire to emulate and ultimately transcend. I am grateful to the authors for their landmark contribution…”
Interestingly these modern businesses not only look after all of their stakeholders but they particularly look after their staff. They usually pay them above average salaries, spend a significant amount of time and money on their training and provide a wide range of employee benefits. Although this increases their staff costs on one level, paradoxically it makes such companies far more profitable because their staff remain more loyal and become much more productive. As a result training costs reduce as they are not constantly having to replace and re-train staff and revenue increases significantly. Their profits then rise substantially compared to other businesses which do not invest in their staff.
Firms of endearment herald a new age of conscious capitalism where the companies that look after all of their stakeholders and trade sustainably will reap the richest rewards. You can be sure that Minerva Money Management will invest in these firms of the future. You know it makes sense.*
* The value of investments and the income derived from them may fall as well as rise. You may not get back what you invest. This communication is for general information only and is not intended to be individual advice. You are recommended to seek competent professional advice before taking any action. All statements concerning the tax treatment of products and their benefits are based on our understanding of current tax law and HM Revenue and Customs practice. Levels and bases of tax relief are subject to change. This blog is based on my own observations and opinions.
