Capitalism is Dead. Long Live Capitalism. By Gary Hamel
“So what stands in the way of creating a conscientious, accountable and sustainable sort of capitalism—a system that in the long-term is actually habitable?
It is, I think, a matrix of deeply held beliefs about what business is for, whose interests it serves and how it creates value. Many of these beliefs are near canonical (at least among CEOs of a particular generation or ideological bent). They are also narcissistic and archaic. Among the most toxic …
1. The paramount objective of a business is to make money (rather than to enhance human well-being in economically efficient ways).
2. Corporate leaders can only be held accountable for the immediate effects of their actions (and not for the second and third order consequences of their single-minded pursuit of growth and profitability).
3. Executives should be evaluated and compensated on the basis of short-term earnings (rather than on the basis of long-term value creation, both financial and social).
4. The way to establish a business’ social credentials is through high-minded mission statements, green-tinged products and a fat CSR budget (rather than through an unshakeable and sacrificial commitment to doing the right thing).
5. The primary justification for “doing good” is that it helps a company to “do well.” (The implication: a company should do good when there’s an upside and something less when there’s not).
6. Customers care a lot more about value for money than they do about the values that were honored (or defiled) in the making and selling of a product.
7. A firm’s “customers” are the folks who buy its services (rather than all those whose lives are impacted by its actions).
8. It’s legitimate for a company to make money by exploiting customer ignorance, exaggerating product benefits and constraining customer choice.
9. Market power and political leverage are acceptable ways of countering a disruptive technology or thwarting an unconventional competitor.
10. Business is about advantage, focus, differentiation, superiority and excellence (and not about love, joy, honor, beauty and justice)”.
The article is here.
This is also the forward of Umair Haque’s book The New Capitalist Manifesto.
And of course you MUST read this book….
