Customer Reviews

The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family

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I like business and enjoy the company of most of the business people I know. Most of them are honest, hardworking, and have a competitive toughness that usually benefits the lives of many others. This is not the way they are portrayed in the popular media, which tends to focus on the awful exceptions and then smear all businessmen and women with the egregious behavior of the few.

Of course, no one is perfect, and many an honest person has missed the correct choice in a close call. Sometimes the shades of gray are quite hard to distinguish. Others suffer a moral collapse under tremendous pressure and give in to something they think will make things better, but it doesn't. However, let me stress again, these are the exceptions rather than the rule. This is true of business people regardless of their religious faith, if they have no faith, if they are tough negotiators, or if they have a softer style. People have to behave according to who they really are. Some folks mistake personal style for integrity or morality. This is an important distinction.

I say this to preface my review of a very good book because I want to be clear that I do not think that only Mormons are honest businesspeople or that they have some special lock on morality. This book has a contribution to make because what it shows is how these CEOs and top businesspeople have a somewhat different focus on business than one might usually find (but probably not exclusive to them) because of their faith and the experiences they had living that faith.

Jeff Benedict shows how service on a full time mission for the Church at 19-21 years old (or thereabouts) was foundational for these men. While there was some variation in what was learned, they all learned about study, perseverance, hard work, and the importance of their faith in their life. Most married young and none have divorced. Most have what nowadays would pass for a large family.

Do you recall the old saying that behind every successful man is a great woman? Benedict shows how each of these executives have benefited from a true partnership with his wife. He has to put bounds on his work, and his faith helps him do that, to focus on what all the work is for; their family! She has usually foregone working in a career outside the home for money (all volunteer and do much good work in their church and community) to care for the home and the children.

It is quite moving to see the pressure put on these men early in their careers to violate their commitment to their family, to keeping the Sabbath holy (particularly by not working on Sunday, as a rule), to violate their commitment to not drink alcohol, smoke, or drink coffee or tea. Some have experienced serious financial hardship, particularly when young and in college, and they still paid their tithing and describe the blessings of doing so.

Since several of the executives had their offices near the World Trade Center, there a few chapters that describe what happened on 9/11/01. They all focused on their people and putting their safety above their own. It is also interesting to read how they recovered from the disaster. And yet, their duties at church still had to be done, and all were very focused on their families during this time. Several of them are very close friends and even attend the same congregation of the Church.

It is a very interesting book. If you are a Mormon, as I am, you will enjoy seeing how our faith can be lived with great success and without compromise. If you don't know much about Mormons, I believe you will find this book informative and you will admire the way these executives do their business well, but not as the center or the entire substance of their lives and how their faith helps them focus on business as something as a means rather than as an end. And in our time of astronomical CEO compensation, you will find what some of these CEOs do for pay quite refreshing.

I do think Benedict does need to do a book on Mormon Women who are successful in business and still live their faith successfully. I am sure it will have a different view of things than is shown in this book, but women do work successfully and still live their faith. Some are single, but I am sure there are those who are married and with long lasting marriages and children. Yes, there would be different and difficult pressures on such women, and most Mormon women would not choose it for a variety of reasons, yet it is a story that would be interesting to read and valuable to everyone.

But I don't want to be a grouse and reviewing a book that wasn't written. What is here is very good, interesting, and will be inspirational and valuable to a wide range of people for a variety of reasons.

Enjoy!

Provides great insight to the lives of men who are successful at work and in thier religion. The book gives readers an opportunity to see how these men balance their business life with life at home and church. I enjoyed reading about much these leaders can accomplish without sacrificing their standars. I loved the final chapters that told the story how these Mormon leaders guided their companies through the September 11 attacks.

I have often wondered how the corporate leaders that Jeff Benedict chose to write about actually live their lives day to day. How do they balance work and family? Why are they successful? From a multitude of interviews with the leaders and family members, the front room drapes of each home are drawn back and we see how they function. I learned about the importance of priorities - being true to the boundaries that one sets. Now, I don't let a day go by now without asking myself the question that Kevin Rollins, CEO of Dell, asks: "What do I do when I'm alone and don't have to do anything else? Do I do frivolous things? That's when you define what you are." You should see my calendar now. It's changed after reading this book.

This is one of the better business books I have ever read. It is a light read, and goes quickly. As I read the book, I considered my relationship with my own family. My 3 year old son kept approaching me on Saturday afternoon wanting to "color" with him. Rather than blowing him off and saying "I'm too busy," I put my book down and shared 10 minutes with him doing something HE felt was important. The greatest message is that the only titles that matter in this life are "Husband" and "Father." Everything else is irrelevant.

Knowing one of the principle subjects of the book, I appreciate the power of the strong women in the lives of these successful businessmen. To be successful at home and in life, a strong marriage & united partnership is key. As the Book of Matthew states, "By their fruits ye shall know them." You can plainly see that with these great families profiled.

As an MBA professor at Tulane, I often deal students who are struggling to find a balance between family and spiritual life on the one hand and career success on the other. And frankly, as the father of nine children, I have personally struggled finding a way to invest adequately in family and worship while trying to financially support my family as well.

Jeff Benedict's "The Mormon Way of Doing Business" addresses this concern head on, providing real stories from the lives of very successful businessmen who have also found ways to foster successful families and close relationships with God. The book is uplifting, inspiring, and practical, providing a variety of very specific ideas my students and I can implement to both succeed at work and to draw closer to God.

I highly recommend the book to anyone who has struggled to find a balance between work, worship, and home, and to anyone who desires to more fully enjoy the redeeming grace of God. I can honestly say that this book and the lives of the individuals featured in the book have helped me find my way more clearly. I give the book a full 5 stars, and an extra star if I could, for addressing an issue of such vital importance to me and my students.

As this book so clearly points out real success in business goes far beyond the CEO's wages and notoriety. The whole life lived defines real success. As a society we have too long attached celebrity status without admitting what makes a true leader worthy of emulation. Benedict has brought forth some outstanding examples of doing it right. I am hopeful some leaders will also read another take on the way business is better done in my book People Are Everything.

While there are not great revelations in this book, it is refershing to see more evidence that faithfulness to fundamental values works. Fairness, loyalty, and self-discipline are not confined to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but are well-established traits of all of these leaders to the benefit of their families, church, and businesses.

The book does not try to recruit the reader to the LDS flock. It simply lays out some of the fundamental tenets of the faith and demonstrates through the careers of these leaders how those tenets have been valuable in building strong families and organizations. It is refreshing to read of this path after reading so much of the leadership of Enron, World Com, et al.

The actions and reactions of September 11, 2001 were interesting all by themselves.

In light of the recent problems with delayed and cancelled Jet Blue flights, it has been more interesting watching the performance of Mr. Neeleman having learned about him in these pages.

I intend to keep this book in close proximity for quite some time.

This is a fascinating, must read book for the busy business executive or government official. It offers a unique glimpse into the lives of seven successful business executives who have managed to balance their family responsibilities, devotion to faith and build successful careers. The book focuses on how their faith and values have helped them be successful, well-rounded individuals and proven leaders.

If you're a non-Mormon (as I am), don't be concerned the book is a polemic for converting you to the LDS Church. It doesn't even come close. It's a book that shows how values and treatment of others is essential to success for everyone in a leadership position in business or government. No matter what religion you might practice, this book shows how the application those values can make a difference.

Jeff Benedict is a skilled writer, and his treatment of this difficult subject is a delight to read. It is lively and fast-paced. He doesn't get bogged down in details or chase off on tangents.

If you want a quick and interesting read about a critical management topic, buy and read "The Mormon Way of Doing Business." You won't be disappointed.

I like the book; it is not a book of propaganda for the Mormon church. It talks about how some sucessful Mormon businessmen and CEO operate in accordance with the values taught by their faith. It is a useful addition to management literature. The book does not go into management theories and successful business models. It does not give you much empirical data based on surveys or business ratios. The focus of the book is on the moral values that make a difference in the lives of these individuals who make contributions to the company they work for, care for the employees, and have their self identity rooted in things (such as family, a desire to serve) other than wealth, fame, and status.

Yes, it make a lot of refernces to the Mormon faith. The author says it as he sees it. This book is good addition to the study of business ethics.

This is a very insightful book for all business environments and levels of management. It is great to read of successful people that can retain ethics during times of tense negotiations. The book provides patterns of success to maintain a balance in life with spouse, children, religion, and business.