Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

"A remarkable turnaround by a leader with a remarkable philosophy: Find your noble purpose. Put people at the center. Unleash human magic. "It was Fall in Minnesota. It was getting cold and we were supposed to die." This is how Hubert Joly describes the early, dark days as CEO of Best Buy, a job most thought he was crazy to accept. Amazon was tearing a disruptive path through retail, but in the face of that existential threat Joly did something remarkable: he saved Best Buy and remade it into a thriving company rated as one of the most desirable businesses to work for. Having recently stepped down as Chairman and CEO, Joly is ready to share the leadership principles that underpinned the resurgence of Best Buy and that he believes are at the heart of business: pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center, unleash human magic, and treat profit as an outcome. There was a time when many would call this a soft philosophy. But times are changing. Best Buy and 180 other companies signed the momentous Business Roundtable statement in support of stakeholder capitalism. The Covid-19 pandemic further pushed many businesses to lead from a place of purpose and with humanity. The changes underway are not a revolt, but a revolution. And Joly provides concrete advice on how to implement principles that can serve as beacons for the next era of capitalism. Joly himself was transformed from a hard-charging, deeply analytical McKinsey consultant to a leader who believes in what he calls human magic. He will share how somuch of what he initially learned about management is either dated, incomplete, or simply wrong-including how to turn around a business, develop and implement a strategy, mobilize an organization, and what it takes to be a great leader. The leadership principles Joly lays out worked at Best Buy. They can also contribute to the necessary re-foundation of business and capitalism around purpose and humanity"--
Joly, a former CEO and current lecturer in business, outlines leadership principles for the next era of capitalism that emphasize the role of purpose and human connections, rather than profit as the main objective. He draws on his experiences as a leader to explain how to put these principles into practice, detailing a more inspiring and positive alternative to the traditional idea of work that focuses on how it can be part of a search for meaning and fulfillment as humans and discussing why the traditional view of the primary purpose of business to maximize shareholder value is wrong, dangerous, and ill-suited to today’s environment, and how purpose should contribute to the common good and serve all stakeholders, illustrating how companies must be viewed as human organizations made of individuals working together toward a common purpose. He addresses the role of the human dimension and creating an environment that energizes each individual and results in extraordinary performance by connecting dreams to the company purpose, developing human connections, fostering autonomy, achieving mastery, and thinking in terms of possibilities, turning challenges to one’s advantage, and keeping purpose at the forefront, and the qualities of leadership needed for this model: being purposeful, clear about who one serves, conscious of the true role of a leader, driven by values, and authentic. Annotation ©2021 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
A Wall Street Journal BestsellerHow to unleash "human magic" and achieve improbable results.Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer's spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business.Back in 2012, "Everyone thought we were going to die," says Joly. Eight years later, Best Buy was transformed as Joly and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation's favorite employers, vastly increased customer satisfaction, and dramatically grew Best Buy's stock price. Joly and his team also succeeded in making Best Buy a leader in sustainability and innovation.In The Heart of Business, Joly shares the philosophy behind the resurgence of Best Buy: pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center of the business, create an environment where every employee can blossom, and treat profit as an outcome, not the goal.This approach is easy to understand, but putting it into practice is not so easy. It requires radically rethinking how we view work, how we define companies, how we motivate, and how we lead. In this book Joly shares memorable stories, lessons, and practical advice, all drawn from his own personal transformation from a hard-charging McKinsey consultant to a leader who believes in human magic.The Heart of Business is a timely guide for leaders ready to abandon old paradigms and lead with purpose and humanity. It shows how we can reinvent capitalism so that it contributes to a sustainable future.