Ben & Jerry's Double Dip : Lead With Your Values and Make Money, Too (Hardcover)

by Ben Cohen (Author), Jerry Greenfield (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Picking up where they left off in Ben & Jerry's: The Inside Scoop (LJ 4/1/94), entrepreneurs Ben and Jerry continue the story of their successful ice cream company with their ideas on bettering the community through corporate activities. As they reexamine their philosophy, they realize more than ever that not only is business a means to financial success but that a "values-led business" can serve as a dominant force to change the world. In addition, the authors maintain, this type of business is more apt to attract employees and customers with similar social values, which could increase sales and profitability. The authors draw from their own experience of managing all aspects of their business, from marketing their product and selecting franchise operators to investing in socially responsible companies. Excerpts of dialog between Ben and Jerry, sprinkled throughout, add a "homey" flavor. This informal and easygoing style makes us believe that the two really want to make a difference in this world. Recommended for public and academic libraries with business collections.?Bellinda Wise, Nassau Community Coll. Lib., Garden City,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Cynics sometimes insinuate that the successful combination of social values and profits realized by ice-cream purveyor Ben and Jerry's Homemade, Inc., is too good to be true. These pessimists suggest that the company's touted social programs are only a ploy to garner free advertising and note that former CEO Robert Holland was picked by a corporate headhunter rather than from among the 20,000 applicants openly solicited with great fanfare by the two company founders. Now Holland has been replaced by a man who had been chief operating officer for a firearms manufacturer. Never mind! Cohen and Greenfield assure us here that selling need not lead to selling out. Though they use their own company as their argument's best example, this is not a corporate history. Regularly interspersing dialogue between themselves throughout the text, Cohen and Greenfield borrow Body Shop founder Anita Roddick's phrase "values-led business" and demonstrate how to start and run a successful business "based on the idea that [it] has a responsibility to the people and the society that make its existence possible." Expect demand. David Rouse

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684834995
• ISBN-13: 978-0684834993
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #306,133 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great story of a different kind of company, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

Here is the story of how two guys built a company that 1) Makes money, and 2) has a social conscience. It details the dilemna's, decisions, and trade-offs that Ben and Jerry's had to make between the myriad of forces that regularly tug at the company because of its mission, and the realities of the marketplace. For example, it shows how B&J dealt with their brownie supplier in inner city New York when the supplier couldn't handle the capacity and quality that B&J required.

Very inspirational AND very pragmatic!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Guys, Great Company, June 18, 1999

By	Theresa Wallingford (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BEN & JERRY'S DOUBLE-DIP CAPITALISM: LEAD W/YOUR VALUES & MAKE MONEY TOO CST: Lead With Your Values and Make Money Too (Audio Cassette)

I listened to this book on audiotape. Ben and Jerry discuss how the idea of an Ice Cream Shop came about, how it almost didn't happen, then how it became a growing successful business. They tell the business side as well as the human side of their venture, with actual stories, from both points of view. They stressed the importance of running a company that was fun to work at, that cared about the employees, and gave back to the community. Together they explain what a values lead company is all about, and why employees want to be a part of their team. Then they discuss how they and other values lead companies work together to help charitable causes and why it is so important to them. I was fascinated with their sincere ongoing dedication to charitable causes and their devotion to employee satisfaction. This was a great book, very inspiring from the business point of view and heart warming as well.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable portrayal of the "other" side of big business, July 21, 2000

By	Y. Patel "wackenhut" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

great book for those who HATE big business and its "selfishness". Although the book, I think, is poorly written at times, it is always very interesting as it offers a perspective one NEVER hears about in the business section of the newspaper or in business/management books. More execs should read this and thing long and hard about their "social mission", as well as their strategies. The social effort seems to have worked well for B&J.