Customer Reviews

Authentic Business: How to Create and Run Your Perfect Business

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Croft's Authentic Business sounds good when talking with a group of friends who are distressed at the "evils" of corporation, but in the real world it's a book that might interest a college freshmen who votes for the Green Party without any experience in running businesses or participating in the marketplace. Croft spends the introduction recycling the same arguments from various Socialistic groups decrying the productivity of the West, claiming that it's "unsustainable" -- whatever that means. He claims that corporations exist only to enrich senior executives and shareholders while ignoring the "people." Note to Mr. Croft: shareholders ARE people. Workers in these corporations ARE people too. The biggest premise (and biggest problem) with this book is that he suggests that businesses should have a "purpose beyond profit." Ok. And schools should have a purpose beyond education and hospitals should have a purpose beyond healing. I guess as long as everyone "feels" good, then profits are irrelevant.

Wrong. What croft fails to understand is that the profit motive is what leads companies to greater efficiencies and greater productivity, thus ultimately resulting in a net gain for the economy (and everyone in it.) Think of the waste of a company when profit isn't the primary purpose. Think of how the unions have destroyed Michigan -- the unions don't care about efficiency (and thus profit) -- they only care about their own agenda. As a result, automakers have laid off thousands and profits for GM have been in the tank for years. If the unions were concerned about efficiency and profits -- GM would actually be profitable and there would ultimately be more jobs created.

Authentic Business has some good ideas about being a "good" company and making employees excited about their jobs. Those are always great ideas -- but feeling good about your job or company is useless if the company isn't making profits. The old tired drivel about the "evil shareholders" and "senior executives" is just Socialist rot. The class warfare arguments are getting old.

Shareholders are you and me -- pension funds, retirement accounts -- all are "shareholders." That means that you and I have a vested interest in profits, even if in directly. After all, if you company isn't concerned about profit, it will likely not stay in business very long. There's a reason that these socialist-styled (un-profit) companies stay small and ultimately create less jobs.

Efficiency and profits ultimately create jobs and raise the standard of living. I'm not going to go into an economic lesson, but the short answer is: Authentic Business is a classic argument from the so-called "Progressives" that likely have never ran a business or risked everything to try and create a company and put people to work.