Todays best companies get it. From Costco to Commerce Bank, Wegmans to Whole Foods: theyre becoming the ultimate value creators. Theyre generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And theyre doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because its politically correct: because its the only path to long-term competitive advantage.
These are the Firms of Endearment. Companies people love doing business with. Love partnering with. Love working for. Love investing in. Companies for whom loyalty isnt just real: its palpable, and driving unbeatable advantages in everything from marketing to recruitment.
You need to become one of those companies. This book will show you how. Youll find specific, practical guidance on transforming every relationship you have: with customers, associates, partners, investors, and society. If you want to be greattruly greatthis is your blueprint.
Were entering an Age of Transcendence, as people increasingly search for higher meaning in their lives, not just more possessions. This is transforming the marketplace, the workplace, the very soul of capitalism. Increasingly, todays most successful companies are bringing love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses: they are delivering emotional, experiential, and social valuenot just profits.
Firms of Endearment illuminates this, the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith. Its not about corporate social responsibility: its about building companies that can sustain success in a radically new era. Its about great companies like IDEO and IKEA, Commerce Bank and Costco, Wegmans and Whole Foods: how they earn the powerful loyalty and affection that enables truly breathtaking performance.
This book is about gaining share of heart, not just share of wallet. Its about aligning stakeholders interests, not just juggling them. Its about building companies that leave the world a better place. Most of all, its about why you must do all this, or risk being left in the dust... and how to get there from wherever you are now.
