WEconomy: You Can Find Meaning, Make a Living, and Change the World

by Craig Kielburger, Holly Branson, Marc Kielburger

Change the world and drive profit with smart, sustainable strategy

WEconomy introduces the modern evolution of business: profit for purpose and purpose for profit. Purpose is the business world's biggest advancement since the assembly line, and both top talent and quality consumers are making their preferences known. This book fuses social purpose with for-profit business models to provide clear-cut strategies for implementing the WEconomy model. Purpose is important, but it must be executed effectively throughout marketing, customer experience, B2B relationships, and more; purpose can even open up new markets and drive growth from previously untapped segments--but your social mission needs to be as sustainable as your business plan. This book gives you real, actionable strategies for interweaving purpose and profit for the long haul.

From the overall mission to the day-to-day operations, your business impacts the world; make that impact positive, and make it last with key insights and proven strategies.

Learn how purpose and profit are becoming increasingly linked Explore real-world strategies for boosting productivity and performance Merge your organization's social mission with its business plan
Leverage positive impact into customer and employee loyalty The markets with the highest spending power are flocking to socially-responsible companies. World-class talent across industries is increasingly dedicated to companies that make a positive social impact. The market has spoken, and it is demanding that businesses take up the reins and stand for something more than just profit--but this movement itself has become a tremendous source of revenue. WEconomy provides smart strategies for implementation to help you clear a path to profit with purpose.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Economics

324 pages, Hardcover

First published March 7, 2018

About the author

Craig Kielburger is a Canadian activist for the rights of children. As a 12 year old he founded Free the Children, a non-profit organisation that now operates in 45 countries with more than one million young people involved in programs. More recently, Craig co-founded Me to We with his brother Marc. Me to We is a for-profit social enterprise that provides socially responsible products and services.

Craig has been recognised for his work with a number of awards, including being made a Member of the Order of Canada on February 20, 2007.

Reviews

[Sophie Chouinard · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 - a couple good tidbits throughout but mostly felt like a book of anecdotes. I think by page 200 (of 300) you need to stop saying “later in this book we’ll tell you about…” and actually tell it eventually

[Vicente · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read only if you’re a human being

It’s an inspiring story that shows us the power of an individual and what impact can have on the whole world. Highly recommended to all audiences. I still got much to learn and do for the world. I can’t wait to take more actions and be part of the change.

[Kevin Mcbeath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, I love Craig Kielburger and the work he and his brother are doing. Everything they touch turns to gold. This book compels people to seek more from work. Whether an employee or owner, big or small business, the concept is simple: together we can do so much more.

[Samuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Rating: 3/10

I liked where the book was starting. A simple introduction and the steps they were taking to better themselves and change the world. But then it goes off, in my opinion. I think this book would be valuable for CEOs & high ranking management. It's going to CSR managers much more value than myself. I love C. Kielburger and all the things he's done, so I was looking forward to this book. But the readability is just frustrating, side notes with paragraphs ending on the following pages, statistics that aren't completely relative but through in there to make the book longer, and there is a lot of repetitive"lessons" I'm not going to recommend this book to anyone, instead I'll do what I do with books I struggle with, I'll dump it in a neighborhood library and hopefully someone else will find value in it.

[Dave Manning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like all the other 1- and 2-star reviewers, I wanted and expected to like this book but, try as I might, could not. I read the first third carefully (which, in retrospect, was out of anticipation more than warranted "gotta read this part" content), skimmed the middle third, and flipped over pages for the final third. Not very useful for someone just wanting to improve their job satisfaction or get involved on a small scale. Apart from "you can run a relay race" type of small suggestion, everything else covered is on a massively scaled-up level that's either too far out of reach, out of interest, or out of touch. I only gave it 2 stars (vs. 1) because I appreciate the spirit of the book.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this book could be summarized in one phrase: "purpose-driven business." The basic premise is that government and NGOs alone cannot solve the world's problems because of insufficient funds. Enterprises will need to play a role.

[Monique Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book from a rich philanthropist's pov.

[Joe Gauthier · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the worst book if you’re looking for inspiration in your current job. But otherwise pretty mid and a lot of the Branson’s patting themselves on the back.

[Sarah Stoneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

everyone and their late stage capitalist grandpa should read

[Nopadol Rompho · Rating 4 out of 5]

ถ้าใครสนใจเรื่องธุรกิจเกี่ยวกับสังคม แนะนำให้อ่านเล่มนี้เลยครับ มีกรณีศึกษาเยอะมาก ๆ อ่านแล้วได้แรงบันดาลใจดีมากครับ

[Fabrizio Poli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a business book with a heart! The main framework of this book is to show that if your business has a purpose that goes beyond making money for the shareholders but making a difference to the world, there is more power. If a business can generate good-power and make the world a better place this extends the win-win to an infinite win...

Great read and great ideas!