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 Enlightened Capitalists: Cautionary Tales of Business Pioneers Who Tried to Do Well by Doing Good

Biographies & Memoirs

O'Toole, James

Professionals & Academics

Harper Business

American society has become increasingly polarized by single- and special-interest groups: the Greens, who demand environmental purity; admirers of Japan who want a national industrial policy; supply-side economists who want government to all but disappear. This collision of values has turned America into a battleground of either/or tradeoffs: the community vs. the individual, the environment vs. jobs, the rights of each ethnic group vs. the needs of the nation for unity. Whose values should prevail? Those of Libertarians? Communitarians? Egalitarians? Corporatists? The nation's leadership role in the post-communist world will be largely determined by how such conflicts in the political economy are resolved. Increasingly, business executives find themselves drawn into these values wars, forced to make decisions in a hothouse climate in which there are countless and conflicting opinions about what is right and wrong. Business leaders find themselves caught in the values thicket when they attempt to formulate corporate policy on such issues as plant closings, executive compensation, corporate governance, and affirmative action. In The Executive's Compass, James O'Toole guides business leaders through this minefield of modern dilemmas. In the words of ARCO's CEO, Lod Cook, "O'Toole provides business leaders with a practical compass to help them navigate the turbulent waters of social change and political conflict." O'Toole explores the philosophical and historical underpinnings of contemporary business problems, tracing their origins to the ideas of such great thinkers as Aristotle, Adam Smith, J.S. Mill, and Jefferson. By going to the roots of modern issues, he is able to clarify the sources of political disagreement, and to suggest a practical course of action for corporate leaders who find themselves caught in the gridlock of democracy. He provides an innovative values compass--a tool he has honed for over forty years as a moderator of the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar--which has been successfully applied at FORTUNE 500 firms as an introduction to the values-based management for which the Aspen Institute is renowned. The compass helps executives to understand what is wrong (and right) with our democratic system, and what the role of business is in creating The Good Society. For top executives, general managers, or anyone trying to make sense out of our rapidly changing world, The Executive's Compass helps managers deal more effectively with today's thorny issues.

The Executive's Compass: Business and the Good Society

Business & Money

Management & Leadership

Oxford University Press

American society has become increasingly polarized by single- and special-interest groups: the Greens, who demand environmental purity; admirers of Japan who want a national industrial policy; supply-side economists who want government to all but disappear. This collision of values has turned America into a battleground of either/or tradeoffs: the community vs. the individual, the environment vs. jobs, the rights of each ethnic group vs. the needs of the nation for unity. Whose values should prevail? Those of Libertarians? Communitarians? Egalitarians? Corporatists? The nation's leadership role in the post-communist world will be largely determined by how such conflicts in the political economy are resolved. Increasingly, business executives find themselves drawn into these values wars, forced to make decisions in a hothouse climate in which there are countless and conflicting opinions about what is right and wrong. Business leaders find themselves caught in the values thicket when they attempt to formulate corporate policy on such issues as plant closings, executive compensation, corporate governance, and affirmative action. In The Executive's Compass, James O'Toole guides business leaders through this minefield of modern dilemmas. In the words of ARCO's CEO, Lod Cook, "O'Toole provides business leaders with a practical compass to help them navigate the turbulent waters of social change and political conflict." O'Toole explores the philosophical and historical underpinnings of contemporary business problems, tracing their origins to the ideas of such great thinkers as Aristotle, Adam Smith, J.S. Mill, and Jefferson. By going to the roots of modern issues, he is able to clarify the sources of political disagreement, and to suggest a practical course of action for corporate leaders who find themselves caught in the gridlock of democracy. He provides an innovative values compass--a tool he has honed for over forty years as a moderator of the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar--which has been successfully applied at FORTUNE 500 firms as an introduction to the values-based management for which the Aspen Institute is renowned. The compass helps executives to understand what is wrong (and right) with our democratic system, and what the role of business is in creating The Good Society. For top executives, general managers, or anyone trying to make sense out of our rapidly changing world, The Executive's Compass helps managers deal more effectively with today's thorny issues.

"[An] important new book . . .Mr. O'Toole puts soul and values squarely back into a vital topic, leadership." --Tom Peters The New York Times Book Review "A deeply philosophical and eminently practical study of leadership as change." --James MacGregor Burns Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, and author of Leadership Current management philosophy advocates an outmoded Machiavellian approach to running organizations: Leaders are told in countless books that they can only accomplish their goals by being tough, manipulative, dictatorial, or paternalistic as the situation requires. In Leading Change, noted management theorist James O'Toole proposes a provocative new vision of leadership in the business world--a vision of leadership rooted in moral values and a consistent display of respect for all followers. As O'Toole brilliantly demonstrates, values-based leadership is not only fair and just, it is also highly effective in today's complex organizations. When leaders truly believe that their prime goal is the welfare of their followers, they get results. The finest leaders--from political giants like Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln to contemporary CEOs like Max De Pree and James Houghton--have always shared leadership with their followers. They create organizations that encourage change and self-reevaluation; they foster an atmosphere of open-mindedness and fresh thinking, in which assumptions can be challenged and goals reassessed. Grounded in the ideas of moral philosophy, Leading Change powerfully transcends the standard how-to management primer to define a challenging new approach to leadership. As O'Toole so persuasively argues, growth and change are possible, indeed necessary, and they will be effected by individuals who have the stature and the courage to lead morally. This important book, at once thought-provoking and totally practical, is bound to take its place as one of the landmark business volumes of our times. "Jim O'Toole has written the essential work for organizations to survive and thrive in today's changing world. His intellectually penetrating thinking shows us how the sometimes conflicting problems we wrestle with--often in piecemeal fashion--fit together to form a complete picture, even as the picture itself continues to change. His message is so critical to the very existence of every organization that any leader who fails to heed his advice condemns his or her company to mediocrity and/or early death. It's that basic." --Warren Bennis Professor and founding chairman of the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California Author of An Invented Life and Why Leaders Can't Lead

Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership

Business Culture

Ballantine Books

Discusses the management techniques and strategies of successful American corporations and examines how managers provide leadership for their companies

Vanguard Management: Redesigning the Corporate Future

DOUBLEDAY

Good Business

This illuminating and practical collection of essays addresses the increasingly important topics of corporate ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability in the context of effective global business strategies. Instead of condemning business, or exhorting corporate leaders to "do good," the authors deal with the "hot button" issues of our time in a cool and rational manner, seeing them as opportunities rather than as problems. As the authors illustrate, there is no necessary trade-off between business leaders doing the right thing, on one hand, and the profitable thing, on the other. They demonstrate that ethics is not peripheral, or in addition to, the central concerns of business. To the contrary, ethics and good citizenship are at the heart of all good business strategies, decisions, and organizational cultures. These essays offer useful examples of how executives can create strategies and cultures that are, both and at the same time, ethical and effective--the essence of GOOD BUSINESS.         A PUBLICATION OF THE INSTITUTE FOR ENTERPRISE ETHICS  Daniels College of Business, University of Denver

Good Business: Exercising Effective and Ethical Leadership

Mayer, Don

Routledge

This illuminating and practical collection of essays addresses the increasingly important topics of corporate ethics, social responsibility, and sustainability in the context of effective global business strategies. Instead of condemning business, or exhorting corporate leaders to "do good," the authors deal with the "hot button" issues of our time in a cool and rational manner, seeing them as opportunities rather than as problems. As the authors illustrate, there is no necessary trade-off between business leaders doing the right thing, on one hand, and the profitable thing, on the other. They demonstrate that ethics is not peripheral, or in addition to, the central concerns of business. To the contrary, ethics and good citizenship are at the heart of all good business strategies, decisions, and organizational cultures. These essays offer useful examples of how executives can create strategies and cultures that are, both and at the same time, ethical and effective--the essence of GOOD BUSINESS. A PUBLICATION OF THE INSTITUTE FOR ENTERPRISE ETHICS Daniels College of Business, University of Denver

Vanguard Management

Berkley Trade

Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor

In Transparency, the authors–a powerhouse trio in the field of leadership–look at what conspires against "a culture of candor" in organizations to create disastrous results, and suggest ways that leaders can achieve healthy and honest openness. They explore the lightning-rod concept of "transparency"–which has fast become the buzzword not only in business and corporate settings but in government and the social sector as well. 
Together Bennis, Goleman, and O'Toole explore why the containment of truth is the dearest held value of far too many organizations and suggest practical ways that organizations, their leaders, their members, and their boards can achieve openness. After years of dedicating themselves to research and theory, at first separately, and now jointly, these three leadership giants reveal the multifaceted importance of candor and show what promotes transparency and what hinders it. They describe how leaders often stymie the flow of information and the structural impediments that keep information from getting where it needs to go. This vital resource is written for any organization–business, government, and nonprofit–that must achieve a culture of candor, truth, and transparency.

Bennis, Warren G.

GOLEMAN, DANIEL

Industries

Jossey-Bass Inc Pub

Pragmatically focused on the actions that one can take, this unique work delivers ninety-one pithy lessons in the fine art of leadership. Author James O'Toole packs thirty years of leadership coaching experience into a one-of-a-kind guide you can reference for expert advice on how to become a superior leader. The one- to two-page sections are alphabetically arranged for easy reference and address such topics as getting started, communication, delegation, trust, and vision. Throughout, O'Toole invests his lessons with examples of great leaders in action to show readers precisely what to do to accomplish the same goals. It's like having your own personal leadership coach in book form.

Leadership A to Z: A Guide for the Appropriately Ambitious (Jossey Bass Business & Management Series)

Jossey-Bass

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Toole, James. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by O'Toole, James

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by O'Toole, James. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Enlightened Capitalists: Cautionary Tales of Business Pioneers Who Tried to Do Well by Doing Good

The Executive's Compass: Business and the Good Society

The Executive's Compass: Business and the Good Society

Leading Change: The Argument for Values-Based Leadership

Vanguard Management: Redesigning the Corporate Future

Good Business: Exercising Effective and Ethical Leadership

Good Business

Vanguard Management

Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor

Leadership A to Z: A Guide for the Appropriately Ambitious (Jossey Bass Business & Management Series)