Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit
- Downloads：8589
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-15 06:55:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Alex Edmans
- ISBN：1108494854
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
What is a responsible business？ Common wisdom is that it's one that sacrifices profit for social outcomes。 But while it's crucial for companies to serve society， they also have a duty to generate profit for investors - savers， retirees， and pension funds。 Based on the highest-quality evidence and real-life examples spanning industries and countries， Alex Edmans shows that it's not an either-or choice - companies can create both profit and social value。 The most successful companies don't target profit directly， but are driven by purpose - the desire to serve a societal need and contribute to human betterment。 The book explains how to embed purpose into practice so that it's more than just a mission statement， and discusses the critical role of working collaboratively with a company's investors， employees， and customers。 Rigorous research also uncovers surprising results on how executive pay， shareholder activism， and share buybacks can be used for the common good。
Reviews
Brendan McLean
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Excellent book for readers both beginning to research this concept as well as advanced practitioners。 Provides practical and tangible methods to identify good stewardship that can improve investment opportunities。 It was an enjoyable， insightful， and easy read。
Leonard Burger
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Definitely believe any and all （aspiring） leaders in business should be reading this book。 This together with some other books form a great body of knowledge of how private and public sectors should move forward to create a 'better' world for the many， one that is in-sync with the planet and it's people。 Go read it and get inspired :） Definitely believe any and all （aspiring） leaders in business should be reading this book。 This together with some other books form a great body of knowledge of how private and public sectors should move forward to create a 'better' world for the many， one that is in-sync with the planet and it's people。 Go read it and get inspired :） 。。。more
Ryan Bourne
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Grow The Pie navigates some of the most crucial corporate governance debates of our time with a focus on data， rather than dogma。 A must read to challenge your preconceptions， whether you are someone who believes in the primacy of shareholder value， or else someone who downplays the social value of profit。
Chris Jones
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Purpose is a word banded about all over Linked-In with all sorts of meanings。 The pandemic and global warming have accelerated the conversation to a point where there is a general consensus that things must change。 What this leads to is a rolling bandwagon of slogans and best intentions to shift the corporate focus from profiteering to social engineering for benefit。 The trouble with this type of bandwagon is that many companies jump on to tick the box that maintains marketing traction with thei Purpose is a word banded about all over Linked-In with all sorts of meanings。 The pandemic and global warming have accelerated the conversation to a point where there is a general consensus that things must change。 What this leads to is a rolling bandwagon of slogans and best intentions to shift the corporate focus from profiteering to social engineering for benefit。 The trouble with this type of bandwagon is that many companies jump on to tick the box that maintains marketing traction with their customers and protect their profits。 Grow The Pie is a excellent collection of empirical evidence that not only shows profit WILL FOLLOW social purpose， but through the exposition of the three principles of MULTIPLICATION， COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE and MATERIALITY， Professor Edmans gives a methodology of how to allocate resources to maximum pie growing effect。 The book's presentation is exceptionally helpful， giving suggested focus readings for different types of readers。 The 'In a Nutshell' sections at the end of each chapter are excellent， and if you did nothing apart from take an hour to read all 11 of them， you will have learned a great deal and got your money's worth from the book。 My focus for reading the book was the research conducted on how the companies listed on the 'Fortune Magazine 100 best companies to work for list' performed financially as a result of heavily investing socially in their staff。 What you get from Edmans is a rigorous analysis of 28 years of data that took him 4 years to complete。 He presents the data and the case for purpose with such strength that I have based a corporate training course on 'Purpose & Culture' on his research。 Grow The Pie is an academic level study presented for everyone。 Edmans blends his skill of economic research with his knowledge of the businesses and individuals that make up the corporate world。 There are many stories of CEOs and companies that bring the pursuit of purpose to life and help us understand 'how great companies deliver both purpose and profit。' If you are an ENTERPRISE， an INVESTOR or a CITIZEN Edmans gives specific advise on how you can effect the social direction that companies take。 This is a book of great practical use and i would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who is interested in helping to influence the corporate world to better serve social community needs。 。。。more
Megan
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Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School。 I first came across him via the Gresham College lectures on leadership he delivered last year。 He is an exceptionally researched and balanced author in the field of business so I was excited to read his first book Grow the Pie。Grow the Pie is for anyone who believes， wants to believe or wants to be challenged to believe that the best companies can deliver both value to society （via a clear socially positive purpose） and profit。The Pi Alex Edmans is Professor of Finance at London Business School。 I first came across him via the Gresham College lectures on leadership he delivered last year。 He is an exceptionally researched and balanced author in the field of business so I was excited to read his first book Grow the Pie。Grow the Pie is for anyone who believes， wants to believe or wants to be challenged to believe that the best companies can deliver both value to society （via a clear socially positive purpose） and profit。The Pie represents the value an enterprise generates for society。 The book then primarily discusses those that believe that the pie is fixed （if you benefit one stakeholder it must be to the detriment of another） or that the pie can grow （all stakeholders can benefit if you manage your company properly）。What ensues is what feels like Alex's combined career to date worth of research and study。 A magnum opus。 And it's a good one。 Alex writes like Cordelia Fine， one of my favourite researchers in gender; this means he presents all the primary arguments around a position， before presenting where his argument fits， and then backs it up with evidence that you can check for yourself。 I love how he says "evidence is not proof"。 That proof is universal， while evidence shows that something may work in a specific situation or geography and can't be held to be universal。 He is prepared to be challenged， and challenges his own thinking。 Alex challenges the mainstream thinking of both the right and the left， making simple polarisation and populism seem ridiculous。 He sees the world as complex with no simple answers， business is hard work， but it is doable。 And his work on executive pay is outstanding。I felt challenged and skeptical many times。 I've worked in operational businesses for over 30 years and am now a leadership and team effectiveness coach， and so many of the people I work with may intellectually agree with him but fail to implement。 This failure to implement is what drives me every day to do what I do。 There's so much to do。I was reminded of my favourite children's book "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig" in which the little wolves （the enterprises） build bigger and bigger defences against the Big Bad Pig （the investors， other stakeholders） until they realise that it is easier and more profitable to their wellbeing to set down their defences， build a house of flowers and invite the Pig to stay， building a lifelong friendship。Ultimately this book provides a blueprint for excellent purpose driven and profit filled leadership。 I'd love to see this as the primary culture in business。 I think we have a LONG way to go。A great book for anyone in business， especially those starting a business from scratch。 In this book is a great manifesto to ensure you start on the right path。This review is for the Audiobook version narrated by Alex Edmans。 I'm not normally an audiobook fan however this was a great way to listen as the book is full of quite dense information made easier by being narrated。 Much like his lectures。 I have since bought the Kindle version。 。。。more
Mark Kissack
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