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April 25, 2006
Book Review--Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun
by Bill Baue
The first in the Social Venture Network book series provides loads of anecdotal advice on how to
establish a values-driven business, but little on how to retain social responsibility in a buy-out.
SocialFunds.com --
Values-Driven Business (Berrett-Koehler 2006) has only five footnotes. For
academically minded folks, this is a bad sign, as authors Ben Cohen and Mal Warwick have not mapped
the footprints of their research. For the rest of us, this is great news, as the book reads
conversationally, and the research it conveys is not the kind you find in library books but rather
the kind gathered from years of networking with socially responsible businesspeople. The book
gleans the experience and expertise of values-driven business owners from the Social Venture Network, as this is the inaugural publication in a
series sponsored by SVN.
The anecdotal nature of the information proves particularly
useful to the book's intended audience--those interested in establishing a socially responsible (or
values-driven) business. Statistical data pales in comparison to the value of hands-on experience.
Messrs. Cohen and Warwick convey truckloads of personal experience from founding and running
socially responsible companies--Ben & Jerry's and Mal Warwick & Associates.
 For example, Mr. Cohen sings the praises of a low
worker-to-manager pay ratio as a motivational tool as well as a tangible commitment to undoing the
social injustice of income and wealth disparity. It is with a degree of bitterness that Mr. Cohen
explains how the ratio at Ben & Jerry's was upped from five-to-one to seven-to-one and later
"scrapped."
"Ironically, Ben & Jerry's eliminated its salary ratio in order not to put
itself at a disadvantage in its first outside search for a CEO," Mr. Cohen writes. "Later it
became clear that the quality of CEOs at Ben & Jerry's was roughly in inverse proportion to the
amount of money they were paid."
In an era when the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) is currently drafting regulations to reign in out-of-control executive compensation, this
perspective is a fresh reminder that social responsibility may also be good business sense, plain
and simple.
The book brims with case studies on specific aspects of socially responsible
business from various SVN members. Jean Pogge of ShoreBank discusses how
community investment and environmentally conscious banking can be profitable.
"For us,
community development, profitability, and conservation are compatible," Ms. Pogge says. "We
believe that trying to do all three makes us better at all of them."
Judy Wicks of
Philadelphia's White Dog Cafe explains how
she uses a restaurant as a vehicle for social change and community-building.
"I use good
food to lure innocent customers into social activism," Ms. Wicks says. "It's obvious to me that
people are not just hungry for food, they're hungry for meaning and the opportunity to discuss
issues they care about as part of a community."
Susan Schor, chief culture officer of Eileen Fisher, tells of the abundantly generous benefits package (full health, dental,
and life insurance) and company culture (chair yoga in meetings) used to inspire employee loyalty.
"We firmly believed that by encouraging employees to take care of themselves, they would
be healthier for it, and that would show up somehow on the job," Ms. Schor states. "Another
result we hoped for was that healthier, happier employees would lead to lower health insurance
costs."
"We don't know yet if this is the case," she adds. "Still, in light of the other
positive results, and because wellness is central to our company culture, we anticipate only
opportunities for maintaining and/or growing the program."
Each chapter ends with a
checklist of concrete strategies for implementing socially responsible business practices,
distilling the wisdom conveyed anecdotally into hands-on tools. For example, the chapter on
employees suggests assessing and discussing ways to improve workforce diversity and inclusion. The
chapter on suppliers recommends surveying vendors' use of natural, non-toxic, organic, and recycled
ingredients, or if their products contain known or suspected carcinogens.
Clif Bar founder Gary Erikson's discussion on
how to build a sustainable business reveals perhaps the most striking absence from the book.
"We don't have an exit strategy or plans to sell out to a multinational corporations," Mr.
Erikson says.
While this mode may work perfectly for Clif Bar, it overlooks the reality
faced by an increasing number of socially responsible businesses. Just recently, Tom's of Maine
sold out to Colgate-Palmolive (CL), and L'Oreal bought out the Body
Shop. Mr. Cohen does not try to mask his disappointment at losing the battle to try to keep Ben &
Jerry's independent, but he does not pass along any of the tactics he tried to keep Unilever (UN) from scooping up
his company. Even a discussion of the issues to consider for maximizing the chances of retaining
social responsibility after a buy-out would be helpful. It is surprising that the book does not
address this key issue more comprehensively.
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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