Just Good Business: The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Responsibility and Brand [Hardcover]

Kellie A McElhaney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1576754413 | ISBN-13: 978-1576754412 | Edition: 1

Every major company has a corporate strategy based on business objectives and competencies of the firm. Most major companies claim to have a corporate social responsibility strategy, most of which are not linked to business objectives or competencies of the firm. These companies are adopting CSR practices, but aren't reaping the benefits of these initiatives because A) they aren't strategic and B) they're failing to communicate them effectively. Fortunately, closing the CSR story-telling gap can represent great opportunity for savvy companies who want to seize it. Just Good Business shows leaders and managers how to develop a unifying strategy for guiding their CSR work. She walks readers through the process of connecting their CSR efforts to the company's core corporate strategy, business objectives, and core competencies. She then shows with her 7 Principles of Branding & CSR why it's critical to embed CSR initiatives into larger corporate strategy, and to tell their CSR story.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise from the Publisher for Just Good Business

"Kellie's book offers a practical and visionary approach to CSR in business. She is passionate and insightful and a brilliant communicator. This book will be invaluable in showing business leaders everywhere how to approach and communicate the benefits of CSR in business strategy."
--Enda Kelly, Partner, Ernst & Young

"Kellie is the leading expert and advocate for CSR. There's simply no one better. We've benefited enormously from her counsel and collaboration. I strongly recommend Just Good Business to business leaders who want to make CSR an integral part of their overall brand strategy."
--Gary Elliott, Vice President, Corporate and Brand Marketing, HP

"For organizations looking to propel their current CSR efforts, Kellie's practical and inspiring book is a must-read. Kellie has helped us at McDonald's to better understand and evolve our thinking around this important subject."
--Bridget Coffing, Vice President, Corporate Communications, McDonald's Corporation

"With clarity and in-depth case studies, Just Good Business shows how to leverage CSR programs by branding them and linking that brand to the corporation and its business model. It changes CSR from random feel-good expenditures to a program that both draws on and supports the firm's business strategy."
--David Aaker, Vice Chairman, Prophet, and author of Spanning Silos and Brand Portfolio Strategy

"Kellie's thought partnership and deep experience have been a great complement to our efforts, particularly as we have worked to bring CSR to life in our brands. Her book should be required reading for any executive whose company is embracing CSR as a core tenet of business strategy."
--Art Peck, Executive Vice President, Operations & Strategy, Gap Inc.. and President, Gap Inc Outlet

From the Back Cover

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can help companies build customer loyalty, recruit and retain employees, and stand out in a crowded marketplace. But to be most effective, CSR must be intimately connected to the corporate brand--it must reinforce a company's unique identity and be an integral part of how a company tells its story. How can your company make the most of this potential competitive advantage and business strategy?

Kellie McElhaney, one of the world's leading experts on CSR strategy, offers a detailed process for seamlessly integrating your CSR efforts into your overall business objectives. "My goal," she writes, "is not to tell you how to force your CSR strategy to be more authentic. My goal is actually to help you develop a CSR strategy that is authentic because of its natural linkage to your company's mission, vision, and values."

Just Good Business lays out a framework of seven principles that help you develop CSR initiatives that make good business sense and tell the world about them in ways that are compelling and memorable. McElhaney offers a wealth of practical advice on implementation, including how to measure the results of your CSR.

McElhaney draws on over ten years of previously unpublished CSR consulting engagements inside companies grappling with developing strategically aligned CSR initiatives. The book's case vignettes, examples, best practices, and strategic recommendations span a host of industries and sectors and draw upon her work with leading corporations, such as McDonald's, Nokia, Levi Strauss, Digicel, Birkenstock, Gap Inc., HP, and Pepperidge Farm.

Savvy companies carefully manage their brand in every area. CSR shouldn't be any different. Just Good Business offers a detailed blueprint that any company can use to ensure that its CSR strategy delivers significant, quantifiable, bottom-line benefits.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 1 edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576754413
• ISBN-13: 978-1576754412
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.9 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets right to the alignment and value aspect of CSR November 8, 2008

By Paul A. King

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

McEleheney doesn't waste any time getting right into the meat of her business-minded approach to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Just Good Business is a roadmap for any size organization to shorten the learning curve when engaging in CSR efforts. There are plenty of good-intentioned corporate leaders who fall into the trap of trying to fool customers and stakeholders with distant and unconnected CSR programs like planting trees or mailing out holiday cards linked to a charitable donation program. McElhaney provides a clear, proactive and formulaic approach to avoiding such embarrassing forays. The book is full of real life case examples from top companies that she has advised. The subtitle of the book, The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand, could not be more appropriate. A key theme throughout the book is the need to connect your CSR efforts to your core business, and again there are plenty of examples of both success and suicide by the business elite.

CSR is often viewed with some skepticism in the business world, but there is nothing naďve in her approach or advice. She has been at this game long enough to know what works, and what doesn't, and this book a compilation of her knowledge and experience in both academia and industry. Just Good Business is written in the style of a good management book, and will be easily understood by executives looking for the boiled-down version of her 15 years of pioneering work in this field. The content is filled with first-hand knowledge of how to sell a CSR program internally, as well as a complete formula for development, implementation and measurement. There is nothing in this text that conflicts with making money, shareholder primacy or efficiency. It is all about building trusted brands that build value. `Best of all, the chapters are short and sweet for reading on the train, plane or in the hotel.

Paul A. King, Sustainability Executive
Bovis Lend Lease

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking the next step with corporate social responsibility October 31, 2008

By Peter Economy

Format:Hardcover

Kellie McElhaney has done the world of business a great service by providing leaders with a well-written, actionable guide to branding their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. There have been plenty of books extolling the many benefits to companies of pursuing CSR. Such companies can expect happier, more engaged and productive employees, more loyal customers and clients, and a stronger bottom line. However, no book -- until Just Good Business -- has described how businesses can take the important next step, that is, branding their CSR efforts. This Kellie does in spades, in an easily readable style, full of personal anecdotes and real-world (and recent!) organizational case examples. In addition to teaching CSR at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, Kellie serves as executive director of the school's Center for Responsible Business, and consults for a number of top-rank firms, including McDonald's, HP, Ernst & Young, Gap, eBay, Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, Levi, and Dow. Long story short, she knows her stuff. If you're ready to take your corporate social responsibility program to the next level, then this book will take you there.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to Kinder, Gentler and Richer Companies August 23, 2009

By Thomas M. Loarie TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Kellie McElhaney is a well-regarded pioneer in the emerging field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the founder of the University of California's Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business. She also serves as the University's Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Corporate Responsibility. In "Just Good Business," McElhaney provides a strategic guide to make CSR count in any business.

In "Just Good Business," McElhaney ties corporate acts of social good to good business practice, branding, and financial growth. In the book, she provides her "Seven Rules of the Road," and provides useful anecdotes and case studies from her years of research and consulting about corporate CSR pioneers like Hewlett-Packard, Brown-Forman (Jack Daniels), EBay, Whirlpool, Timberland and Nike among others.

"Just Good Business" serves as a good resource and alignment tool for companies that seek a brand that is kinder and gentler, and a bottom line that is richer.