Everybody's Business Hardcover

Lucy Parker

Is big business part of the problem or part of the solution? Sometimes it seems as if business exists purely to enrich a small elite. While the world is facing unprecedented challenges, it appears that businesses are only interested in making profits or paying bonuses. Big businesses are powerful machines. We all know they have the potential to harm; but with their resources and expertise they can also be great engines of positive change. Rather than fighting the power of business, should we be seeking to harness it? Everybody's Business is a journey through the business world. We meet the companies that are driving business forward by mobilising to tackle the challenges we all face. At its heart, this is a story of businesses doing what they do best: delivering products and services that people need, creating jobs and finding new ways to solve old problems. It's a story of people taking the initiative, and finding inspiration in the positive impact of their actions. We see how some of today's leading companies are realising that lasting success comes from having a purpose broader than making a profit. They know that business should benefit customers, employees, suppliers, neighbours and the wider world, as well as shareholders. Enduring value comes from making business work for everybody. Start a conversation about the role of big business in the world and, often even before you reach the end of your first sentence, you'll find you've unleashed a furious response. To many, it feels as though business has become detached from society it seems like part of the problem, not part of the solution. That's not good for the world: we're facing global challenges of unprecedented magnitude, and business has the scale, resources and expertise to make a positive difference. This book puts a powerful argument that if you want to fix the world, you're better off harnessing the power of business, rather than fighting it. Royalties from this book will support the work of TechnoServe - an NGO working on business solutions to poverty.

9781849546089

English

Biteback Publishing

10/4/2013

356

Jon Miller has worked all over the world with global brands such as Coca-Cola and American Express. He was Strategy Director for Mother, one of the most awarded creative agencies in the world, and spent many years with Ogilvy. Jon has created campaigns for many NGOs, including Amnesty, Greenpeace and WWF, as well as developing communications strategies for government campaigns. Lucy Parker has spent much of her working life as a documentary-maker for the BBC. She went on to make films about businesses around the world and has worked as a coach and adviser to the leaders of some of the world's biggest companies. In government, she led the Prime Minister's Taskforce on Talent and Enterprise, focused on the importance of skills to competitiveness in the global economy. Today, Lucy and Jon are working together on one of the world's most contentious challenges: helping companies get to grips with their role in society. They are partners of the Brunswick Group, one of the world's leading corporate communications firms.

Rob Wilson is rapidly becoming one of the best-informed and most acute observers of Westminster politics. He brings the extra insights and instincts of a player with inside access to the heart of government. Michael Crick, Political Correspondent, Channel 4 News A very well-written, important and authentic book - Everyone interested in contemporary politics should study it. Peter Oborne, Chief Political Commentator at The Daily Telegraph Wilson writes fluidly and with compassion, and has coaxed more from his subjects than many journalists would have... [A] fascinating curiosity that fills in invaluable details about what was happening behind the scenes. Tim Shipman, Sunday Times '5/5 The Eye of the Storm has been paid the greatest compliment a piece of political journalism can be paid: Downing Street tried to suppress it - [A] well-written, behind-the-scenes account.' The Telegraph A hugely entertaining read. Good Book Guide