New World Companies: The Future of Capitalism

Piasecki (Doing More with Less) devotes this repetitive book to looking at companies that are implementing “social response capitalism” effectively. Having logged more than 30 years as a management consultant to more than a hundred firms, Piasecki is well prepared to identify the six stages of a corporation’s life: profit-margin improvement, efficiency improvement, expansion of the global customer base, product differentiation, responding to the social concerns of the customer base, and having these responses recognized by analysts. Companies that neglect these last two, he claims, are doomed to failure. He sets out to provide a practical blueprint for companies that want to adopt socially responsive corporate practices, covering the implementation of environmental, social, and governance metrics; how investors can analyze philosophies and corporate practices; the impact of digital technology; and the rise of an interconnected global community. He presents case studies of companies that, in his view, are doing it right: Airbnb, FedEx, Suncor, and Uber. In correctly noting that business should not be simply about profit, Piasecki hammers home the same point over and over without adding much to the conversation. (Feb.)