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Conscious Capitalism
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
In this book, Whole Foods Market cofounder John Mackey and professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. cofounder Raj Sisodia argue for the inherent good of both business and capitalism. Featuring some of today’s best-known companies, they illustrate how these two forces can—and do—work most powerfully to create value for all stakeholders: including customers, employees, suppliers, investors, society, and the environment.
These "�Conscious Capitalism" companies include Whole Foods Market, Southwest Airlines, Costco, Google, Patagonia, The Container Store, UPS, and dozens of others. We know them; we buy their products or use their services. Now it’s time to better understand how these organizations use four specific tenets—higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture and management—to build strong businesses and help advance capitalism further toward realizing its highest potential.
As leaders of the Conscious Capitalism movement, Mackey and Sisodia argue that aspiring leaders and business builders need to continue on this path of transformation—for the good of both business and society as a whole.
At once a bold defense and reimagining of capitalism and a blueprint for a new system for doing business grounded in a more evolved ethical consciousness, this book provides a new lens for individuals and companies looking to build a more cooperative, humane, and positive future.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published December 25, 2012
944 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 328 reviews
June 20, 2016
I read this book in an effort to catch up on recent thinking around Sustainable business strategy and practices. There aren't as many books as I'd hoped to find on this topic (please send recommendations if you have any). I actually really liked the central idea of this book and I did find some interesting insights, but it was sadly devoid of evidence and full of hokey, prescriptive spiritual buzzwords. Ultimately, the amount of eye-rolling this book inspired has probably left me with damaged vision.
I don't think I've ever read a book that used the word "must" so frequently. "You must..." "Business leaders must..." "Companies must..." Somehow Mackey thought it necessary to prescribe meditation and denounce caffeine and animal foods in the middle of a book on business strategy. I suppose he'd say this is part of the SYQ (Systems Intelligence) that he promotes (which, actually, was one of the more interesting take-aways of the book), but I found it annoying and patronizing as hell.
Most of my colleagues in finance would laugh this book out of the library. I get where Mackey is coming from (I was raised by Dead Heads and spent my teenage years practicing transcendental meditation and reading Eckhart Tolle), but I really wish a book like this would be tackled by an economist or business leader with a stronger background in finance.
Overall, the book was ok. If you're new to the corporate, for-profit world and are struggling to reconcile its values (or lack thereof) with your own sense of ethics/spirituality/humanism, this might be a satisfying read and maybe even serve as a sort of business Bible for do-gooders. But don't expect all companies to embrace these principles, nor for those business that do embrace them (at the expense of more traditional business principles) to automatically achieve success.
I don't think I've ever read a book that used the word "must" so frequently. "You must..." "Business leaders must..." "Companies must..." Somehow Mackey thought it necessary to prescribe meditation and denounce caffeine and animal foods in the middle of a book on business strategy. I suppose he'd say this is part of the SYQ (Systems Intelligence) that he promotes (which, actually, was one of the more interesting take-aways of the book), but I found it annoying and patronizing as hell.
Most of my colleagues in finance would laugh this book out of the library. I get where Mackey is coming from (I was raised by Dead Heads and spent my teenage years practicing transcendental meditation and reading Eckhart Tolle), but I really wish a book like this would be tackled by an economist or business leader with a stronger background in finance.
Overall, the book was ok. If you're new to the corporate, for-profit world and are struggling to reconcile its values (or lack thereof) with your own sense of ethics/spirituality/humanism, this might be a satisfying read and maybe even serve as a sort of business Bible for do-gooders. But don't expect all companies to embrace these principles, nor for those business that do embrace them (at the expense of more traditional business principles) to automatically achieve success.
July 21, 2013
Disappointed with this book. Why? Well:
1) I assumed the book would talk about many different case studies of different companies utilizing conscious capitalism. NO! Instead, dear John Mackey talked so much about Whole Foods and how great it is, blahblahblah, that I felt the book needed a better subtitle: "How Whole Foods Does it".
2) HUGE section devoted to shareholders, very small sections for all the other tenets of conscious capitalism. Come on, Mackey and Sisodia: if you're going to say all four tenets are balanced, spend the same amount of space on EACH tenet. I became really frustrated with reading about every single kind of shareholder. Honestly, the two men probably did not have much to say about any of the tenets and figured to beef up the shareholder section to make the book lengthier. Such a huge waste of time to wade through this whole section; not that I don't care about shareholders, but come on! Equal = equal. Plus, I was terribly disappointed with how small the section on "conscious leadership" was. I wanted to learn more about this tenet.
3) Essentially, the book is all propaganda for Whole Foods and eating better. Not a bad thing, right? Well, to be honest, if I had wanted to read about Whole Foods, I would have looked for another book. This book should have been more objective with the companies it mentions....instead of shoving in my face that it's all "WHOLE FOODS IS THE BEST!" and etc. etc.
Don't read this book. Find an article online (for FREE!) and read about conscious capitalism that way. I am saving you time with this review!
1) I assumed the book would talk about many different case studies of different companies utilizing conscious capitalism. NO! Instead, dear John Mackey talked so much about Whole Foods and how great it is, blahblahblah, that I felt the book needed a better subtitle: "How Whole Foods Does it".
2) HUGE section devoted to shareholders, very small sections for all the other tenets of conscious capitalism. Come on, Mackey and Sisodia: if you're going to say all four tenets are balanced, spend the same amount of space on EACH tenet. I became really frustrated with reading about every single kind of shareholder. Honestly, the two men probably did not have much to say about any of the tenets and figured to beef up the shareholder section to make the book lengthier. Such a huge waste of time to wade through this whole section; not that I don't care about shareholders, but come on! Equal = equal. Plus, I was terribly disappointed with how small the section on "conscious leadership" was. I wanted to learn more about this tenet.
3) Essentially, the book is all propaganda for Whole Foods and eating better. Not a bad thing, right? Well, to be honest, if I had wanted to read about Whole Foods, I would have looked for another book. This book should have been more objective with the companies it mentions....instead of shoving in my face that it's all "WHOLE FOODS IS THE BEST!" and etc. etc.
Don't read this book. Find an article online (for FREE!) and read about conscious capitalism that way. I am saving you time with this review!
November 23, 2021
We get it... you own Whole Foods. Y'all. This book was miserable. I had to read it for my corporate sustainability class and John Mackey is an asshat that was in a cult and cannot let go of his ego long enough to realize his high-end grocery store only caters to rich people. Employing 'poor' people with a trickle-down mentality does nothing. I basically got the message: support wealth hoarding but mask it with employee discounts <3
also not him noting amazon and walmart as conscious businesses. mackey & sisodia love big business and i do not. That is how i would describe my experience with this thing they want to call a novel but i like to call a really wordy ad for whole foods
also not him noting amazon and walmart as conscious businesses. mackey & sisodia love big business and i do not. That is how i would describe my experience with this thing they want to call a novel but i like to call a really wordy ad for whole foods
November 20, 2013
Whole Foods CEO Mackey and Co-Founder of Conscious Capitalism Sisodia teamed to write a book that should be read by every working American, no matter where they are on the wage scale or organization chart.
As I turned the first page, I was a little hesitant for two reasons. First, Whole Foods and Mackey have been portrayed as a “hippie” culture. I expected a lot of esoteric drivel that has little to do with the world of business. Mackey does mention Holotropic Breathwork, usually associated with psychedelic psychotherapy, but he doesn’t drift far enough afield to lose me. Also, he does posit excellent advice in that realm that all of us can use. Second, I knew he was caught posting anonymously on Yahoo message boards criticizing a competitor. Anonymous posting is almost unforgivable until you find out that almost all such postings are anonymous.
Unless you are a stockholder or customer, you may learn more about Whole Foods than you ever want to know, but along the way, you will learn a lot of valuable insights or have your own solid beliefs confirmed in a real-world company. The best thing about this book is that it focuses attention on business and investing truisms that receive little or no attention elsewhere.
For example . . .
The Stock Market—As a former financial consultant, Mackey got my attention by correctly pointing out that short term investing is a contradiction in terms. He says it should be called trading. I say it should be called legalized gambling. This book also shines a light on a largely overlooked but very important statistic. The average holding period for stocks in the forties was twelve years, eight years in the sixties, and is now well below one year. That is not good for an efficient market and terrible for the small investor.
He also confirms another of my long-held beliefs saying . . . “the values and philosophy of Wall Street has become a type of cancer that is corrupting the healthier parts of the business system.”
The Federal Reserve—The Fed has kept interest rates artificially low enabling the very financial institutions we had to bail out in the 2008-2009 debacle to make very high and virtually risk-free profits on interest rate spreads—“a prime example of crony capitalism run amok”. And this . . . “much of the animosity toward capitalism today comes from the distortions that crony capitalism has created”. Crony capitalism is not free enterprise capitalism, which this book exhorts. Amen.
Executive Pay—I love free enterprise, and companies who do not take government handouts should be free to pay their execs whatever they want, but that does not keep it from being bad business to pay exorbitant salaries, bonuses and perks. The best executive in the world should be able to struggle along on three million a year. Pour the rest back into R&D, employee salaries or benefits, infrastructure, and dividends that find their way back into the wider economy. Companies, like countries, should be run by people who are not motivated by the pursuit of power or personal enrichment.
The authors also talk about finding purpose in your life and in the company’s life and embedding that purpose with everyone who works there. I learned early on that stories are the best way to do that and that eventually led me to write fiction. Mackey confirms that.
Mackey addresses another of my pet peeves when he discusses how all leaders, especially highly charismatic ones, are subject to the trap of narcissism and that as a nation, we worship fame for fame’s sake, not skills and accomplishment.
This book quotes from several other good reads, including Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Dan Pink, the author, distills our intrinsic motivations into three elements: autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives (I called it freedom), mastery (the desire to continually improve something that matters), and purpose (the desire to do things in service to something larger than ourselves).
“One of the reasons free enterprise works better than any economic system that’s ever been created—particularly better than government bureaucracies and command and control structures, is that it recognizes that the collective knowledge and intelligence in a society and in organizations is wifely diffused.”
This is more than a business book. It has many gems for personal lives and careers. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says or does, but Mackey may be one of the brightest and boldest CEO’s in the country. One caveat: He unfairly criticizes Jack Welch, another great CEO who happens to have a different style that also works.
As I turned the first page, I was a little hesitant for two reasons. First, Whole Foods and Mackey have been portrayed as a “hippie” culture. I expected a lot of esoteric drivel that has little to do with the world of business. Mackey does mention Holotropic Breathwork, usually associated with psychedelic psychotherapy, but he doesn’t drift far enough afield to lose me. Also, he does posit excellent advice in that realm that all of us can use. Second, I knew he was caught posting anonymously on Yahoo message boards criticizing a competitor. Anonymous posting is almost unforgivable until you find out that almost all such postings are anonymous.
Unless you are a stockholder or customer, you may learn more about Whole Foods than you ever want to know, but along the way, you will learn a lot of valuable insights or have your own solid beliefs confirmed in a real-world company. The best thing about this book is that it focuses attention on business and investing truisms that receive little or no attention elsewhere.
For example . . .
The Stock Market—As a former financial consultant, Mackey got my attention by correctly pointing out that short term investing is a contradiction in terms. He says it should be called trading. I say it should be called legalized gambling. This book also shines a light on a largely overlooked but very important statistic. The average holding period for stocks in the forties was twelve years, eight years in the sixties, and is now well below one year. That is not good for an efficient market and terrible for the small investor.
He also confirms another of my long-held beliefs saying . . . “the values and philosophy of Wall Street has become a type of cancer that is corrupting the healthier parts of the business system.”
The Federal Reserve—The Fed has kept interest rates artificially low enabling the very financial institutions we had to bail out in the 2008-2009 debacle to make very high and virtually risk-free profits on interest rate spreads—“a prime example of crony capitalism run amok”. And this . . . “much of the animosity toward capitalism today comes from the distortions that crony capitalism has created”. Crony capitalism is not free enterprise capitalism, which this book exhorts. Amen.
Executive Pay—I love free enterprise, and companies who do not take government handouts should be free to pay their execs whatever they want, but that does not keep it from being bad business to pay exorbitant salaries, bonuses and perks. The best executive in the world should be able to struggle along on three million a year. Pour the rest back into R&D, employee salaries or benefits, infrastructure, and dividends that find their way back into the wider economy. Companies, like countries, should be run by people who are not motivated by the pursuit of power or personal enrichment.
The authors also talk about finding purpose in your life and in the company’s life and embedding that purpose with everyone who works there. I learned early on that stories are the best way to do that and that eventually led me to write fiction. Mackey confirms that.
Mackey addresses another of my pet peeves when he discusses how all leaders, especially highly charismatic ones, are subject to the trap of narcissism and that as a nation, we worship fame for fame’s sake, not skills and accomplishment.
This book quotes from several other good reads, including Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Dan Pink, the author, distills our intrinsic motivations into three elements: autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives (I called it freedom), mastery (the desire to continually improve something that matters), and purpose (the desire to do things in service to something larger than ourselves).
“One of the reasons free enterprise works better than any economic system that’s ever been created—particularly better than government bureaucracies and command and control structures, is that it recognizes that the collective knowledge and intelligence in a society and in organizations is wifely diffused.”
This is more than a business book. It has many gems for personal lives and careers. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says or does, but Mackey may be one of the brightest and boldest CEO’s in the country. One caveat: He unfairly criticizes Jack Welch, another great CEO who happens to have a different style that also works.
April 18, 2017
I don't even know where to begin.
March 1, 2013
The starting premise of "Conscious Capitalism" will be enough to turn off many: that business is "fundamentally good and ethical." It is true that economic development has lifted millions out of poverty. But business has also harmed individuals and communities around the world, as demonstrated by mining accidents from West Virginia to Africa, labor abuses in factories from China to New York, and the global financial crisis.
Saying that business is "inherently virtuous" because it has helped some people is like saying that cars are inherently good because one helped me get to Grandma's. But cars have killed people too.
Of course, cars don't kill people: reckless drivers do. Mackey might argue that business doesn't kill people: those who haven't followed his path to enlightenment do.
But if business was inherently good, why should it matter whether its leaders are enlightened or not? Couldn't automatons run companies, and as long as they don't get in the way, their organizations would run their inevitably beneficial course?
I wanted to like this book, as we so desperately need more enlightened business leaders. But to me this read as self-promoting and willfully blind to the complexities of the real world.
I wrote a longer review on The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christi...
Saying that business is "inherently virtuous" because it has helped some people is like saying that cars are inherently good because one helped me get to Grandma's. But cars have killed people too.
Of course, cars don't kill people: reckless drivers do. Mackey might argue that business doesn't kill people: those who haven't followed his path to enlightenment do.
But if business was inherently good, why should it matter whether its leaders are enlightened or not? Couldn't automatons run companies, and as long as they don't get in the way, their organizations would run their inevitably beneficial course?
I wanted to like this book, as we so desperately need more enlightened business leaders. But to me this read as self-promoting and willfully blind to the complexities of the real world.
I wrote a longer review on The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christi...
March 28, 2015
Capitalism has probably raised the standard of living of more people than any system yet devised by man but even Adam Smith, renowned champion of the free market folks, realized that pure capitalism of "bloody tooth and claw" needed some restraint, usually via regulatory action. Still that has not prevented the type of excess we now see throughout the system as "gunslinger" management with the focus on their pocketbooks to the expense of others and the short term focus which has ground the middle class to a pulp. A major proscription is inherent in the philosophy of this book - run corporations with an eye to fairly balancing the needs of the various stakeholders in the enterprise. Firms that seem fairly enlightened in the regard are some of my personal favorites - Costco, Southwest Airlines, The Container Store, Whole Foods, etc. The most encouraging aspect, to me, is the fact that when profits are the by product of great products and services as opposed to the only objective, the numbers are usually superior from nearly any business measure, be it stock price, return on equity, profitability, etc. A worthy read and a worthy approach to the world of business.
January 29, 2021
I loved the title and the goal of working for the success and well-being of everyone.
The one thing I couldn’t shake was how much the author praised companies like Amazon and Google who obviously care little about the success and wellbeing of people and the earth (watch: The Social Dilemma).
This book has some great parts and ideas but even his highly esteemed Whole Foods sold out to a giant Amazon so not something I consider praise worthy.
The one thing I couldn’t shake was how much the author praised companies like Amazon and Google who obviously care little about the success and wellbeing of people and the earth (watch: The Social Dilemma).
This book has some great parts and ideas but even his highly esteemed Whole Foods sold out to a giant Amazon so not something I consider praise worthy.
July 8, 2014
I was given this book as a gift and I had looked forward to reading it. The first 20 pages or so were imaginative, yet it quickly disappointed. I felt like I was back in the late '90's reading a book that fell in to the genre of "Emotional Intelligence". There were a whole spate of books that came out in the 90's that claimed to explain how to be successful in the workplace and corporate culture. John Mackey (or his ghost writer) were overly pretentious, continually applauding the way the chose to run his business.
Unfortunately, from a personal perspective, I have not witnessed many of his innovations at the Whole Foods in the Boston area. Perhaps his concepts of team have not "translated" to my Whole Foods. Yes, I have run across incredible customer service at his stores in some neighborhoods, but my most recent experiences have been off-putting. I have asked for a particular bakery item that is carried in most Whole Foods locally, 5 times, and each time been told to talk to the manager, who is never in when I am shopping. If indeed his team members were all "enabled" as he states in his book, then a smile and "I'll pass that request on" would be the appropriate response. Yes, I am venting here, but it was maddening reading about how successful he is at cultivating a great work environment, but not seeing it myself.
My advise is not to waste your time or money on this read.
Unfortunately, from a personal perspective, I have not witnessed many of his innovations at the Whole Foods in the Boston area. Perhaps his concepts of team have not "translated" to my Whole Foods. Yes, I have run across incredible customer service at his stores in some neighborhoods, but my most recent experiences have been off-putting. I have asked for a particular bakery item that is carried in most Whole Foods locally, 5 times, and each time been told to talk to the manager, who is never in when I am shopping. If indeed his team members were all "enabled" as he states in his book, then a smile and "I'll pass that request on" would be the appropriate response. Yes, I am venting here, but it was maddening reading about how successful he is at cultivating a great work environment, but not seeing it myself.
My advise is not to waste your time or money on this read.
January 25, 2013
I just reviewed John Mackey's new bestseller, "Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Herioc Spirit of Business" (Harvard Business Press) in Feb. 2 issue of Barron's (forthcoming). I'll post the link when it comes out. "Conscious Capitalism" is revolutionary in changing the brand of capitalism and taking it to a new level. John Mackey will be at FreedomFest once again this year, where we have dozens of new authors speak.....C-SPAN Book TV will be there this year (July 10-13, Caesars Palace, Las Vegas) doing in depth half-hour interviews with major authors: Art Laffer, Steve Moore, Charles Murray, Steve Forbes, John Stossel, many more: www.freedomfest.com.
November 25, 2019
If you want to understand why I'm not only pro-capitalism, but believe deeply in ethical business as a force for good in the world; and you want to get an idea for what my own philosophy is on business, and what a great business looks like; this book, right here, is a fair place to start.
Edit: Upon further reflection I do feel like this book largely preaches to the choir, and its arguments may not be convincing to someone who already has a very different philosophy 🤔🤔 So 🤔 caveat there... it probably serves better as a manifesto than a work of persuasion 🤷🏻♀️
Edit: Upon further reflection I do feel like this book largely preaches to the choir, and its arguments may not be convincing to someone who already has a very different philosophy 🤔🤔 So 🤔 caveat there... it probably serves better as a manifesto than a work of persuasion 🤷🏻♀️
August 16, 2017
Written by the Whole Foods founder, Conscious Capitalism urges companies to at the gist of it, have more empathy with fellow human beings. This book captures the impetus behind the rise of the number companies who do good from the very core, not just including for benefit corporations, but also Walmart!! (Whole foods founder praising walmart?!). With the recent acquisition by Amazon, it will be interesting to see how a company steeped in its beliefs and core values deal with Amazon's priority on customers and clockwork efficiency.
October 24, 2021
Excelente libro, resalta la importancia de vivir una cultura organizacional efectiva y consciente. Así como el propósito que todos debemos encontrar en el trabajo cotidiano teniendo un sentido y pasión por lo que hacemos.
Me encantó lo dicho en el libro que muy pronto las empresas que no se adapten y adopten la consciencia en todas sus acciones, si no llegan a ser empresas conscientes con todos sus implicados (clientes, trabajadores, proveedores) no sobrevivirán.
Me encantó lo dicho en el libro que muy pronto las empresas que no se adapten y adopten la consciencia en todas sus acciones, si no llegan a ser empresas conscientes con todos sus implicados (clientes, trabajadores, proveedores) no sobrevivirán.
May 13, 2016
This is a really great book. I gave it three stars because it had quite a bit of inspirational material that I thought could have been omitted or assigned to another book. That's just my opinion. Maybe others will find those parts indispensable. In any case, I think this book is beginning to change my view of business. For a long time, I've thought that beneficent businesses were possible but idealistic and only workable on a small scale: only folks with personality disorders (narcissism, sociopathy) can manage large companies. But Mackey is, I think, showing that today the businesses run by empathetic and caring CEOs are actually outperforming those run by the 'traditional egoistic businessman'.
This being said, I'm still wondering why Mackey keeps listing certain businesses, such as Costco and Amazon, as being 'conscious'.
ADDITION: After watching John Mackey on youtube, I wonder why he considers Obamacare fascism and is opposed to the minimum wage. First, though, as a Canadian I don't understand Obamacare entirely, it seems that if a company is paying its employees well and provides insurance, it shouldn't worry about these kinds of governmental interferences (other interferences might be more problematic) since they are in place to provide a minimum standard that prevents companies from taking advantage of potential or actual workers. There is a sense that transactions between a business and its employees are fair. This is often the case, especially among white-collar jobs. But this is often not the case when hunger, medical needs, and mental capabilities prevent employees from knowing what all their options are.
This being said, I'm still wondering why Mackey keeps listing certain businesses, such as Costco and Amazon, as being 'conscious'.
ADDITION: After watching John Mackey on youtube, I wonder why he considers Obamacare fascism and is opposed to the minimum wage. First, though, as a Canadian I don't understand Obamacare entirely, it seems that if a company is paying its employees well and provides insurance, it shouldn't worry about these kinds of governmental interferences (other interferences might be more problematic) since they are in place to provide a minimum standard that prevents companies from taking advantage of potential or actual workers. There is a sense that transactions between a business and its employees are fair. This is often the case, especially among white-collar jobs. But this is often not the case when hunger, medical needs, and mental capabilities prevent employees from knowing what all their options are.
November 25, 2019
This book should be mandatory reading in all school curriculums. With more in depth analysis in all universities. Although the authors "hippy" still shines through and there are lots of little thought critiques I can offer about my disagreements on not eating meat and the continuous “limited resource” comments- The universes resources are so vast that in our context I’ll call them inexhaustible. This book is still a must read.
December 15, 2019
Among many books, this one really changed my thinking about business. It was one of the first times I realized that "making a profit" was not really the true goal of a corporation. It's a little old but definitely the iconic thinking that brings us to our current discussion about responsibility in business.
September 25, 2023
This book sounded like it was made to boost the ego of John Mackey, cofounder of Whole Foods Market. It's like a self-memoir, but make it sound like you've actually taken the practices in this book and applied them to your own capitalist business when you aren't different from all the others. Capitalism doesn't deserve our affection, conscious or not. An example of a responsible business model, whether channelling funding to environmental causes or valuing stewardship, fair labour practices, and sustainable growth - doesn't excuse the fact it's still capitalism.
Funny takeaways:
- Polls show public trust in corporations near historic lows (I wonder why)
- In just two centuries, businesses and entrepreneurs have helped increase global per capita income by 1,000 per cent and the average life expectancy has risen from 30 to 68 years. (no mentions of the negatives, read more as a positive spin-off for capitalism, it's potential redemption arc)
- In a narrow pursuit of profits, some companies have caused unintended negative consequences for people, communities, and the planet. (some is a bit generous)
- Conscious businesses start with dreams of creating positive impacts – not just making money. (oh yes, but they can just use the first part of that TO MAKE MORE MONEY BECAUSE WE SELL MEANING IN AN NIHILISTIC WORLD WHERE EVERYONE WANTS A PURPOSE)
Funny takeaways:
- Polls show public trust in corporations near historic lows (I wonder why)
- In just two centuries, businesses and entrepreneurs have helped increase global per capita income by 1,000 per cent and the average life expectancy has risen from 30 to 68 years. (no mentions of the negatives, read more as a positive spin-off for capitalism, it's potential redemption arc)
- In a narrow pursuit of profits, some companies have caused unintended negative consequences for people, communities, and the planet. (some is a bit generous)
- Conscious businesses start with dreams of creating positive impacts – not just making money. (oh yes, but they can just use the first part of that TO MAKE MORE MONEY BECAUSE WE SELL MEANING IN AN NIHILISTIC WORLD WHERE EVERYONE WANTS A PURPOSE)
January 6, 2025
Abrir nuevas perspectivas al capitalismo en un mundo de consumo desmedido e inconsciente es necesario, sin embargo, este libro se planteó hace más de 10 años y la industria en su mayoría ha tomado el rumbo totalmente opuesto, lo que lo convierte en un contenido casi obsoleto, los cambios que se proponen y parecen viables solo suelen ajustarse a negocios y emprendimientos locales, porque con el pasar del tiempo simplemente se ha corroborado que las personas y las grandes corporaciones no se atreven a ver más allá de sus intereses personales (Como es el caso de la industria barata de China, que ofrece por la necesidad económica una mano de obra muy barata a costa de la explotación).
Por otro lado, el libro está lleno de ejemplos de empresas y personajes históricos que para alguien con un mínimo de contexto son ridículos, Jeff Bezos ético? Ghandi y la madre teresa de calcuta como personas compasivas? a los autores les faltó leer el transfondo de avaricia, maltrato y en el caso de Ghandi pedofilia (Pero a quién le importa el abuso si hay dinero y una imagen de por medio)
Para finalizar creo que todo se hubiese podido reducir en un 50%, la lectura fue innecesariamente larga y redundante, ya entendimos que Wholefoods es la “empresa ideal en el mundo”, no tienen que mencionarlo otras 250 veces.
Por otro lado, el libro está lleno de ejemplos de empresas y personajes históricos que para alguien con un mínimo de contexto son ridículos, Jeff Bezos ético? Ghandi y la madre teresa de calcuta como personas compasivas? a los autores les faltó leer el transfondo de avaricia, maltrato y en el caso de Ghandi pedofilia (Pero a quién le importa el abuso si hay dinero y una imagen de por medio)
Para finalizar creo que todo se hubiese podido reducir en un 50%, la lectura fue innecesariamente larga y redundante, ya entendimos que Wholefoods es la “empresa ideal en el mundo”, no tienen que mencionarlo otras 250 veces.
November 19, 2017
The authors propose that the current model of capitalism is struggling and that businesses need to follow a re-freshed, re-badged form of capitalism which focusses on the organisation having a higher purpose, appreciating the role of ALL stakeholders to a business including suppliers, being a leader who appreciates this approach and focussing on company culture.
While I think the approach proposed is a good one I found the writing in this book a bit loose sometimes and the examples used didn't always sit well with me. Some of the examples of a conscious culture or leadership simply didn't hit the mark especially companies like Google and Amazon which have in recent times come under fire for their approach.
This doesn't, however, take away from the concept, which I think has merit.
While I think the approach proposed is a good one I found the writing in this book a bit loose sometimes and the examples used didn't always sit well with me. Some of the examples of a conscious culture or leadership simply didn't hit the mark especially companies like Google and Amazon which have in recent times come under fire for their approach.
This doesn't, however, take away from the concept, which I think has merit.
August 5, 2022
Trong khoảng vài chương đầu, mình rất thích việc tác giả đặt nền móng cho chủ nghĩa tư bản có ý thức. Đến nửa cuối cuốn sách, mình thấy cách tác giả viết, giải thích, và thuyết phục có hơi nhiều vấn đề, khi câu hỏi "tại sao" được dành phần lớn thời gian để trả lời, nhưng câu hỏi "như thế nào để hệ tư tưởng này có thể tồn tại được trong bối cảnh hiện tại" thì lại không được trả lời một cách thuyết phục mình.
Tuy vậy, mình vẫn hoan nghênh những tư tưởng mang tính cốt lõi của conscious capitalism, mà tác giả đã cố gắng truyền tải.
Một số note thêm, là tác giả có mention đến khá nhiều nhà kinh tế học, các cuốn sách liên quan, cùng nhiều cách quản trị doanh nghiệp khá hay ho, mọi người có thể đọc cuốn này để tham khảo.
Tuy vậy, mình vẫn hoan nghênh những tư tưởng mang tính cốt lõi của conscious capitalism, mà tác giả đã cố gắng truyền tải.
Một số note thêm, là tác giả có mention đến khá nhiều nhà kinh tế học, các cuốn sách liên quan, cùng nhiều cách quản trị doanh nghiệp khá hay ho, mọi người có thể đọc cuốn này để tham khảo.
March 10, 2019
I very much appreciate the direction the authors are advocating. And I liked the stories from Whole Foods, a store I visit frequently, and whose service and employees I like very much.
And I would have liked even more stories and details. More quotes form employees and customers and other stakeholders, and perhaps less advocating for why “business is good.”
If you like the ideas behind this book, I highly recommend “Everybody Matters,” which is a detailed account of a manufacturing company, Barry-Wehmiller, that seems to have instilled the principles of Conscious Capitalism and more.
And I would have liked even more stories and details. More quotes form employees and customers and other stakeholders, and perhaps less advocating for why “business is good.”
If you like the ideas behind this book, I highly recommend “Everybody Matters,” which is a detailed account of a manufacturing company, Barry-Wehmiller, that seems to have instilled the principles of Conscious Capitalism and more.
December 23, 2020
The book was 3x longer than it needed to be, and occasionally JEM seems pretty impressed with himself/blind to his flaws, but overall the message makes sense as a way to approach business and life in general. Worth reading for sure (with occasional skipping over repetitive stuff).
May 9, 2021
I kept thinking ...... he sold out to Amazon. Whole Foods is just not the same as it used to be. The customer experience is so different. I hardly shop there anymore. Last time I was there a cashier practically shouted at me because I got in the wrong queue - please. And what is with the bright lights? Really really miss the old Whole Foods. Oh well, off to PCC Community Market.
July 29, 2017
A thorough explanation of Whole Foods social-values based business philosophy and view of capitalism, which contains many admirable principles. The question remains, is it a sustainable business philosophy? Conscious Capitalism was written before significant competition entered the niche and Whole Foods was the price setter. Since written, other grocers have entered and Whole Foods sales and profits have diminished as a result. So it remains to be seen if the cost structure associated with conscious capitalism is sustainable. Amazon's recently announced acquisition of Whole Foods is another question mark, as the two companies don't necessarily share the same values.
April 7, 2020
I love the thesis of the book - conscious capitalism. It really is the defense of capitalism, and the explanation of why the business world needs to change, that many have been waiting for and trying to articulate. However, there were times where it was a big hard to get through and it became a little too philosophical. More examples would have been helpful.
September 23, 2024
Included in on boarding for my new job. What an eye opening read! Highly recommend if you work in the CPG business.
August 6, 2022
Rolls up a lot of concepts like purpose, sustainability, shared value and stakeholder capitalism into one broad view and approach for business, backed by great research and real world examples of Whole Foods Market. Should be required MBA reading.
November 11, 2016
A preachy book about management, not capitalism.
I'm frustrated by what's been happening with capitalism. I'm old enough to remember the times when some of us had to defend capitalism against what many believed to be sensible alternatives and it makes me sick to the stomach to watch a cabal of no more than ten thousand big money investors and their CEO puppets do some truly nasty things in the name of capitalism.
Other than call today's state of capitalism by its name (crony capitalism) this book does not address any of the issues I have with the system. It does even try to discuss why businesses today have stopped reinvesting their profits, why business today carries so much debt, why business these days spends record high amounts on lobbying and record-low amounts on pay.
Conscious Capitalism is, instead, a manual on how to manage retail businesses.
The most important point the authors make is that first you need to honestly and wholeheartedly embrace a purpose, a set of core values, and then the rest will flow, profitability included.
The second most important point the authors make is that you should look after all stakeholders of a business: clients, suppliers, employees, communities, the environment, even the competition, activists and unions, and then the shareholders will reap their dues, because taking care of all stakeholders will result in the excellence that will be essential for profits.
The third and fourth big points I could not tell apart, they concern "conscious" management, leadership and culture. That's where the going got a bit heavy with me. Like, a good manager should meditate, allegedly. I suppose if he's got the spare time it's a free country go ahead and meditate, but I would not list it in my top ten thousand priorities when I used to run my company. Hell, I skipped going to the dentist, I seem to remember.
Here's my big problem with the book: it sets out to refute some paper that was apparently written by Milton Friedman which said a business answers to its shareholders and nobody else. The authors say "no, it should do all these other things first and what's good for the shareholder will follow." Perhaps. But I was not convinced. I was never sold on why Milton Friedman is wrong (practically or morally) and I was never sold on why a cigarette company, for example, will deliver better results to its shareholders if it goes all moral on us, when its very purpose is not what I would consider moral.
On the other hand, the book did actually convince me that a company that buys from many suppliers and sells to the wider public can benefit from being all crunchy like the authors of the book seem to be. So if you're in that type business, do read the book, you'll get some good pointers.
And be prepared to deal with long strings of adjectives. Under this scheme, lives become" long, healthy, vibrant, productive and meaningful," for example. The scheme itself entails "living a life of meaning and purpose, service to others, striving for excellence, growing as an individual, friendship, partnering, love, and generosity." Hope you get the idea.
Oh, and prepare to LOVE Whole Foods, the Container Store, Medtronic and a few more companies that the authors like, while other companies you might actually have heard of (I'm thinking Google and Amazon, for example) only get brought into the discussion when it suits.
That said, if you have a good stomach for this type of hype, this is not a bad book about how to win in retailing. It's probably a very good book on that narrow topic. And it's got nothing to do with reforming capitalism, I'm afraid. That entails change to tax laws, regulations, property rights, intellectual property rights in particular, immigration laws, world trade agreements, foreign policy etc. Meditation? Not so sure.
And one last thought: a bit like I left that Howard Stern movie some fifteen years ago thinking he made a movie to apologize to his wife, or at least defend his actions to her, the thought crossed my mind many times that the Whole Foods CEO co-wrote this book with one of his gurus to feel better about having anonymously blogged about his competitors. I'm probably wrong about this. But I could not kick the feeling, it did color my reading of the book.
I'm frustrated by what's been happening with capitalism. I'm old enough to remember the times when some of us had to defend capitalism against what many believed to be sensible alternatives and it makes me sick to the stomach to watch a cabal of no more than ten thousand big money investors and their CEO puppets do some truly nasty things in the name of capitalism.
Other than call today's state of capitalism by its name (crony capitalism) this book does not address any of the issues I have with the system. It does even try to discuss why businesses today have stopped reinvesting their profits, why business today carries so much debt, why business these days spends record high amounts on lobbying and record-low amounts on pay.
Conscious Capitalism is, instead, a manual on how to manage retail businesses.
The most important point the authors make is that first you need to honestly and wholeheartedly embrace a purpose, a set of core values, and then the rest will flow, profitability included.
The second most important point the authors make is that you should look after all stakeholders of a business: clients, suppliers, employees, communities, the environment, even the competition, activists and unions, and then the shareholders will reap their dues, because taking care of all stakeholders will result in the excellence that will be essential for profits.
The third and fourth big points I could not tell apart, they concern "conscious" management, leadership and culture. That's where the going got a bit heavy with me. Like, a good manager should meditate, allegedly. I suppose if he's got the spare time it's a free country go ahead and meditate, but I would not list it in my top ten thousand priorities when I used to run my company. Hell, I skipped going to the dentist, I seem to remember.
Here's my big problem with the book: it sets out to refute some paper that was apparently written by Milton Friedman which said a business answers to its shareholders and nobody else. The authors say "no, it should do all these other things first and what's good for the shareholder will follow." Perhaps. But I was not convinced. I was never sold on why Milton Friedman is wrong (practically or morally) and I was never sold on why a cigarette company, for example, will deliver better results to its shareholders if it goes all moral on us, when its very purpose is not what I would consider moral.
On the other hand, the book did actually convince me that a company that buys from many suppliers and sells to the wider public can benefit from being all crunchy like the authors of the book seem to be. So if you're in that type business, do read the book, you'll get some good pointers.
And be prepared to deal with long strings of adjectives. Under this scheme, lives become" long, healthy, vibrant, productive and meaningful," for example. The scheme itself entails "living a life of meaning and purpose, service to others, striving for excellence, growing as an individual, friendship, partnering, love, and generosity." Hope you get the idea.
Oh, and prepare to LOVE Whole Foods, the Container Store, Medtronic and a few more companies that the authors like, while other companies you might actually have heard of (I'm thinking Google and Amazon, for example) only get brought into the discussion when it suits.
That said, if you have a good stomach for this type of hype, this is not a bad book about how to win in retailing. It's probably a very good book on that narrow topic. And it's got nothing to do with reforming capitalism, I'm afraid. That entails change to tax laws, regulations, property rights, intellectual property rights in particular, immigration laws, world trade agreements, foreign policy etc. Meditation? Not so sure.
And one last thought: a bit like I left that Howard Stern movie some fifteen years ago thinking he made a movie to apologize to his wife, or at least defend his actions to her, the thought crossed my mind many times that the Whole Foods CEO co-wrote this book with one of his gurus to feel better about having anonymously blogged about his competitors. I'm probably wrong about this. But I could not kick the feeling, it did color my reading of the book.
November 16, 2019
Excellent gems of wisdom in a book about how companies can put people and planet before profits -- and yet the profits still follow. The author is Whole Foods Market co-founder John Mackey, so expect many of the examples throughout the book to be from a WFM perspective.
May 22, 2021
Mackey and Sisodia would like you to know that they share your left-wing cultural values and want to do everything they can to make you feel morally superior, smart, and important so damnit you need to see that capitalism is pretty freaking amazing (and in the meantime start eating better by shopping at Whole Foods). The genius plan: mix the woo woo and goodie goodie with some Hayek and Friedman; good to save the world. Also, don't listen to the big baddies on Wall Street and their cronies manipulating government cause they're just operating a fancy casino. Instead vibe with Whole Foods' hippiness while you munch your new plant food burger and guzzle your kombucha (don't worry Mackey will still have the mochi bar ready for dessert cause you know sometimes you just have to give people what they want even if it's sugary). We all know in our heart of hearts a little more company-wide meditation and community service with earning caps on the C suite will fix every real and imagined externality of free markets conjured by your neighborhood Marx-quoting Malthusian. Begone anomie, inequality, boom-bust cycle, rent-seeking, and market failure, we can do capitalism with rainbows and butterflies.
But seriously, despite the wild-eyed, psychedelic-infused idealism, this work does make a persuasive defense of the value of capitalism and presents the tenets of "conscious capitalism." This business philosophy (rather than a macroeconomic theory or structural change) responds to the concerns raised about the purported ruthlessness of "shareholder capitalism" and the iniquity of "crony capitalism." I appreciate the attempt to persuade critics of capitalism from their ahistorical, anti-empirical, and utterly ignorant position, but they sometimes cede unnecessary ground to these critics. Additionally, it requires unwarranted hubris to believe that any single entity (government or business) knows what's best for society. This type of thinking lends itself to the socialized restrictions and cronyism, the authors purportedly abhor. In reality, conscious capitalism is an ingenious marketing scheme that defenestrates the opponents of capitalism, making it look prettier and palatable to their sophomoric and/or thoughtless ethical systems. On this basis alone, I could tolerate some of the goofiness embedded in this book.
But seriously, despite the wild-eyed, psychedelic-infused idealism, this work does make a persuasive defense of the value of capitalism and presents the tenets of "conscious capitalism." This business philosophy (rather than a macroeconomic theory or structural change) responds to the concerns raised about the purported ruthlessness of "shareholder capitalism" and the iniquity of "crony capitalism." I appreciate the attempt to persuade critics of capitalism from their ahistorical, anti-empirical, and utterly ignorant position, but they sometimes cede unnecessary ground to these critics. Additionally, it requires unwarranted hubris to believe that any single entity (government or business) knows what's best for society. This type of thinking lends itself to the socialized restrictions and cronyism, the authors purportedly abhor. In reality, conscious capitalism is an ingenious marketing scheme that defenestrates the opponents of capitalism, making it look prettier and palatable to their sophomoric and/or thoughtless ethical systems. On this basis alone, I could tolerate some of the goofiness embedded in this book.
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