"At this moment, the corporation sorely needs leaders…to live with soul," declares Batstone, a founding editor of Business 2.0 in this timely overview contrasting integrity-challenged companies with those that are both principled and profitable. Batstone concisely organizes his principles, laying out a variety of predicaments companies face and proposing alternatives that promise to win supporters rather than generate enemies and mass resignations by valued employees. Among his principles: connection with the community, customer care, valuing workers and respecting the environment. Batstone brings up financial reasons for companies to change their ethical tunes; he cites studies howing that people who are choosing an employer rank corporate reputation second and admits that consumers regard very few companies as excellent corporate citizens. Aware of potential resistance, Batstone explains how to adopt each principle in stages and provides practical guidelines for moving forward. In considering a company's environmental accountability, for example, he develops a 10-step plan to defuse environmental conflict among parties and repla ce screaming matches with mutually respectful discussions. Similarly fresh and useful are his thoughts on the challenges of globalization and deepening involvement with the community, two areas that many companies, including Nike and Home Depot, have found more perilous than they expected. Agent, Mark Tauber, (May)
Forecast: Jossey-Bass plans to spread the word on Batstone's appealing principles with a $100,000 ad/promo budget that will include airport and transit advertising in New York, Washington, Boston and San Francisco. These efforts should make a good dent in the 100,000-copy first printing. (Publishers Weekly, April 7, 2003)