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Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose
- By Rajendra S. Sisodia, David B. Wolfe, Jagdish N. Sheth
- Published Jan 31, 2007 by Pearson Prentice Hall.
- Copyright 2007
- Dimensions: 6x9
- Pages: 320
- Edition: 1st
- Book
- ISBN-10: 0-13-187372-5
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-187372-8
- eBook (Adobe DRM)
- ISBN-10: 0-13-134816-7
- ISBN-13: 978-0-13-134816-5
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Product Author Bios
Rajendra S. Sisodia
Raj is professor of marketing and founding director of the Center for Marketing Technology at Bentley College. He has a Ph.D. in marketing and business policy from Columbia University. He has published nearly 100 articles in journals such as Harvard Business Review, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Strategy, Journal of Business Research, and many others. He also writes frequently for the Wall Street Journal. His research, teaching, and consulting expertise spans the areas of strategic marketing, marketing productivity, marketing ethics, and stakeholder-based marketing. In 2003, he was cited as one of “50 Leading Marketing Thinkers” by the U.K.-based Chartered Institute of Marketing. Raj consults with and provides executive seminars for companies in various industries. Clients have included Sprint, Volvo, and IBM, to name a few. He coauthored The Rule of Three (Free Press, 2002) with Jag Sheth. Other recent books include Tectonic Shift: The Geoeconomic Realignment of Globalizing Markets (Sage Publications, 2006) and Does Marketing Need Reform? (M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006), both with Jag Sheth. Forthcoming books include The 4A’s of Marketing and Marketing Management (John Wiley & Sons), also with Jag Sheth.
David B. Wolfe
David is an internationally recognized customer behavior expert in middle-age and older markets. He is the author of Serving the Ageless Market (McGraw-Hill, 1990) and more recently Ageless Marketing: Strategies for Connecting with the Hearts and Minds of the New Customer Majority (Dearborn Publishing, 2003). David’s consulting assignments have taken him to Asia, Africa, Europe, and throughout North America. He is widely published in publications in the United States and abroad. He has consulted to numerous Fortune 100 companies, including American Express, AT&T, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Hartford Insurance, Marriott, MetLife, Prudential Securities, and Textron.
Jagdish N. Sheth
Jag is the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Marketing in the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He has published 26 books, more than 200 articles, and is nationally and internationally known for his scholarly contributions in consumer behavior, relationship marketing, competitive strategy, and geopolitical analysis. His book The Rule of Three (Free Press, 2002), coauthored with Raj Sisodia, has altered current notions on competition in business. This book has been translated into five languages and was the subject of a seven-part television series by CNBC Asia. Jag’s list of consulting clients around the world is long and impressive, including AT&T, GE, Motorola, Whirlpool, and 3M, to name just a few. He is frequently quoted and interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Fortune, Financial Times, and radio shows and television networks such as CNN, Lou Dobbs, and more. He is also on the board of directors of several public companies. In 2004, he was honored with the two highest awards bestowed by the American Marketing Association: the Richard D. Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator Award and the Charles Coolidge Parlin Award.
Today’s best companies get it. From Costco® to Commerce Bank, Wegmans to Whole Foods®: they’re becoming the ultimate value creators. They’re generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And they’re doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because it’s “politically correct”: because it’s 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” isn’t just real: it’s 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. You’ll find specific, practical guidance on transforming every relationship you have: with customers, associates, partners, investors, and society. If you want to be great—truly great—this is your blueprint.
We’re 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, today’s most successful companies are bringing love, joy, authenticity, empathy, and soulfulness into their businesses: they are delivering emotional, experiential, and social value–not just profits.
Firms of Endearment illuminates this, the most fundamental transformation in capitalism since Adam Smith. It’s not about “corporate social responsibility”: it’s about building companies that can sustain success in a radically new era. It’s 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. It’s about aligning stakeholders’ interests, not just juggling them. It’s about building companies that leave the world a better place. Most of all, it’s about why you must do all this, or risk being left in the dust... and how to get there from wherever you are now.
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41 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Impressive Examples of Serving the Full Gamut of Stakeholders, By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 118,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews 
This review is from: Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose (Hardcover)
What is a Firm of Endearment? The authors argue that their example companies share a common set of core values, policies, and operating attributes which include:1. aligning the interests of all stakeholder groups (customers, employees, partners, investors, and society) rather than seeking profit optimization 2. below-average executive compensation 3. open-door policies 4. employee compensation and benefits are above average for their industry 5. above-average employee training 6. empower employees to satisfy customers 7. hire employees who are passionate about the company's purpose 8. humanize customer and employee experiences 9. enjoy below-average marketing costs 10. honor the spirit as well as the letter of laws 11. focus on corporate culture as a competitive advantage 12. are often innovative in their industries Companies identified... Read more
35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Wishful thinking and lacking evidence, By Stephen Parry "Author of Sense and Respond" (Lean Service Transformation Designer London) - See all my reviews 
This review is from: Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose (Hardcover)
This book outlines a possible shift in the way people are thinking about their roles and purpose within the companies they work. Basically people are seeking more 'meaning' from their work and as a result companies are changing their basic assumptions and approaches in the field of people management.The authors assert that changes in demographics, consumer knowledge and an ageing population (which is working longer) is moderating the effects of Hard Capitalism, which favoured shareholders, and introducing a more egalitarian form of Capitalism which favours all stake holders. The theory is highly seductive and desirable, but the book did not provide any strong evidence to support these claims. They provide plenty of stories and examples to illustrate the theory in action, but it should not be presented as supporting evidence without considering those organisations that also have these 'Enlightened' traits but were nevertheless unsuccessful. In addition... Read more
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Should be required reading in all intro to business classes, then required reading in the last class before graduation, By
This review is from: Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose (Hardcover)
According to the authors, a Firm of Endearment or FoE is a company whose decisions are made with the social consequences in mind. This runs contrary to what many people consider to be the fundamental principles of capitalism, which is to maximize your value at all costs within the acceptable legal, moral and ethical bounds. The authors demonstrate that many companies are achieving better growth than the "hard-core capitalists" by actively considering the overall consequences of their actions. In fact, some of the most telling passages are quotes from the hard-cores about how foolish the behavior of the FoE's is. This is then followed by data demonstrating that the performance of the companies run by the hard-cores is dwarfed by the FoE's. In some cases, those who proclaim an increase in shareholder value to be the pinnacle of success run companies where the stock price has declined during their tenure.There have been problems with capitalism and the corporations since... Read more |
Praise For Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose
Firms of Endearment Reviewed in CHOICE Magazine, August 2007
Through a series of real-life vignettes from well-known companies, the 11 brief, well-written chapters compellingly argue that many of today's successful businesses foster intrinsic cultures that embrace values for the stakeholders as well as the shareholders; for them, it is more then just politically correct, it is the only way. This is a book that every undergraduate and every business leader should be required to read. Summing Up: Essential. General readers; business students at all levels; practitioners.
—S. R. Kahn, University of Cincinnati
Reprinted with permission from CHOICE, copyright by the American Library Association.
Online Sample Chapters
Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose
What Makes a Firm of Endearment?
Foreword
Table of Contents
Foreword xv
Prologue A Whole New World xxi
Chapter 1 It’s Not Share of Wallet Anymore; It’s Share of Heart 1
Chapter 2 New Age, New Rules, New Capitalism 23
Chapter 3 The Chaotic Interregnum 49
Chapter 4 Employees–The Decline and Fall of Human Resources 65
Chapter 5 Customers–The Power of Love 97
Chapter 6 Investors–Reaping What FoEs Sow 125
Chapter 7 Partners–Elegant Harmonies 145
Chapter 8 Society–The Ultimate Stakeholder 171
Chapter 9 Culture–The Secret Ingredient 197
Chapter 10 Lessons Learned 235
Chapter 11 Crossing Over to the Other Side 253
Acknowledgments 273
Downloadable Sample Chapter
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