Everybody's Business

Description

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 cause enormous social and environmental 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? As some of today's leading companies are realising, lasting success comes from having a purpose broader than making a profit. Business should benefit customers, employees, suppliers, neighbours and the wider world, as well as shareholders. Enduring value comes from making business work for everybody. Everybody's Business is a journey through the business world.

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.

"This is such an important theme. The world is facing historic challenges, and we re going to have to turn to business to help grapple with them. I'm 100% in agreement with this argument." Dominic Barton, Managing Director McKinsey & Company "Getting your head around the relationship between business and society is complicated and knowledgeable and independent interpreters are few and far between. But you're in very safe hands with Jon Miller and Lucy Parker." Jonathon Porritt, Environmentalist and Writer "Miller and Parker provide an inspiring and practical read." David Grayson, Ethical Corporation "Along with challenge there is a great deal of optimism - Much more interesting than simply looking at how we limit the damage corporation can do, this book addresses how a successful corporation one on track can make a positive impact on the society around it - An aspect I found challenging was how many of the great examples to follow were clients of the Brunswick Group, where the authors work. I found myself searching online to check NGO responses to the claims. But that, of course, is one of the most interesting strands of this book: that with the changes driving our world businesses can no longer control the conversation and transparency is as crucial for a business as for a successful book." Progress, Karen Landles