The enlightened capitalists : cautionary tales of business pioneers who tried to do well by doing good

An expert on ethical leadership analyzes the complicated history of business people who tried to marry the pursuit of profits with virtuous organizational practices—from British industrialist Robert Owen to American retailer John Cash Penney and jeans maker Levi Strauss to such modern-day entrepreneurs Anita Roddick and Tom Chappell.Today’s business leaders are increasingly pressured by citizens, consumers, and government officials to address urgent social and environmental issues. Although some corporate executives remain deaf to such calls, over the last two centuries, a handful of business leaders in America and Britain have attempted to create business organizations that were both profitable and socially responsible.In__The Enlightened Capitalists__, James O’Toole tells the largely forgotten stories of men and women who adopted forward-thinking business practices designed to serve the needs of their employees, customers, communities, and the natural environment. They wanted to prove that executives didn’t have to make trade-offs between profit and virtue.Combining a wealth of research and vivid storytelling, O’Toole brings life to historical figures like William Lever, the inventor of bar soap who created the most profitable company in Britain and used his money to greatly improve the lives of his workers and their families. Eventually, he lost control of the company to creditors who promptly terminated the enlightened practices he had initiated—the fate of many idealistic capitalists.As a new generation attempts to address social problems through enlightened organizational leadership, O’Toole explores a major question being posed today in Britain and America:__Are virtuous corporate practices compatible with shareholder capitalism?__ An expert on ethical leadership analyzes the complicated history of business people who tried to marry the pursuit of profits with virtuous organizational practices—from British industrialist Robert Owen to American retailer John Cash Penney and jeans maker Levi Strauss to such modern-day entrepreneurs Anita Roddick and Tom Chappell. Today’s business leaders are increasingly pressured by citizens, consumers, and government officials to address urgent social and environmental issues. Although some corporate executives remain deaf to such calls, over the last two centuries, a handful of business leaders in America and Britain have attempted to create business organizations that were both profitable and socially responsible. In The Enlightened Capitalists , James O’Toole tells the largely forgotten stories of men and women who adopted forward-thinking business practices designed to serve the needs of their employees, customers, communities, and the natural environment. They wanted to prove that executives didn’t have to make trade-offs between profit and virtue. Combining a wealth of research and vivid storytelling, O’Toole brings life to historical figures like William Lever, the inventor of bar soap who created the most profitable company in Britain and used his money to greatly improve the lives of his workers and their families. Eventually, he lost control of the company to creditors who promptly terminated the enlightened practices he had initiated—the fate of many idealistic capitalists. As a new generation attempts to address social problems through enlightened organizational leadership, O’Toole explores a major question being posed today in Britain and America: Are virtuous corporate practices compatible with shareholder capitalism? The pioneers -- The first business reformer : Robert Owen (1771-1858) -- Man with a thousand partners : James Cash Penney (1875-1971) -- The businessman who "cleaned up the world" : William Lever (1851-1925) -- Kisses sweeter than wine : Milton Snavely Hershey (1857-1945) -- Creating an enduring enterprise : James Lincoln (1883-1965) -- New forms of incorporation and governance : John Spedan Lewis (1885-1963), and John Joseph Eagan (1870-1924) -- Johnson & Johnson's rollercoaster ride : Robert Wood Johnson (1893-1968) and james Burke (1925-2012) -- Great genes : Levi Strauss (1829-1902) and his heirs -- Marks & Sparks : Michael Marks (1863-1900) and the Marks and Sieff families -- The golden era -- Leadership as an art : Max de Pree (1924- ) -- Too much of a good thing : William C. Norris (1911-2006) -- Business mavericks : Ken Iverson (1925-2002); Robert Townsend (1920-1998); Herb Kelleher (1931- ); Bill Gore (1912-1986) and Terri Kelly (1963- ) -- The patricians : Thornton Bradshaw (1917-1988), j. Irwin Miller (1909-2004), Edwin Land (1909-1991), John Whitehead (1922-2015), and Roy Vagelos (1929- ) -- Environmentalists, or capitalists? : Anita Perella Roddick (1942-2007) and Tom Chappell (1943- ) -- Lever Redux : Ben Cohen (1951- ) -- Capitalists of a different stripe: Yvon Chouinard (1938- ), Jack Stack (1949- ), Robert Beyster (1924-2014), and others -- Yesterday, today, and tomorrow -- Looking back : what we have learned -- Looking forward : the prospects for enlightened corporate leadership -- Conclusion: difficile est bonum esse -- Endnotes James O'Toole, an expert on ethical leadership, analyzes the complicated history of businesspeople who attempted to marry the pursuit of profits with virtuous organization practices. He tells the largely forgotten stories of men and women who adopted forward-thinking business practices designed to serve the needs of their employees, customers, communities, and the natural environment