Customer Reviews

The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business

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Much as it pains me to say it, as a long-time reader and fan of Umair Haque's excellent HBR blog, I was left slightly disappointed by this book.

For all its good content (including a great foreword by Gary Hamel), it fell short of what I was expecting and hoping for - namely, Umair using the extended medium of a book to take his basic thesis to the next level and tackle some of the (IMNSHO deeply misguided) critics of his blog, who prefer to spend their time demanding 'linear' proof of causality, rather than appreciating the complex system of changing frame conditions in which business is now operating.

Umair's cause isn't helped by some extraordinarily poor editing, which sees not only key ideas and concepts, but occasionally entire paragraphs of text repeated verbatim on facing pages. As a result (rightly or wrongly), you're left with the impression of a book that achieves its 200-odd page count with unnecessary padding, rather than with the further development of his argument.

Ultimately, I have to agree with the essence of Philip Loden's review. If you want the benefit of Umair's thought-provoking perspectives, go visit his blog. If you want to get to grips with the why, the what and the how of creating "thick" (sustainable, shared) value in more detail, then I feel there are other, better books for the job - Jonathon Porritt's "Capitalism As If The World Matters" and the magnificent Ray C. Anderson's "Business Lessons From A Radical Industrialist" to name but two.

If you need to be told that our current corporate system is broken, that the world can afford less and less to ignore negative externalities, that radical innovation can disrupt an industry, that feedback loops based on customer input can dramatically improve the way you do business, and that taking pride in who you are and what you do can produce better outcomes than making quarterly earnings the measure of all things, then read this book. If you already believe these things, have actually heard of the Innovator's Dilemma, and instead are looking for ways to implement these principles or detailed case studies of companies that already have, then keep looking.

Growth in developed countries has been steadily slowing for the last half-century, and this is a lasting, historic shift more significant than a crisis, correction or crash, according to Umair Haque in this book. The global poor have been subsidizing the rich to fuel overconsumption, and the natural world, communities and society have been marginalized.

The problem is that under industrial-era practices, businesses have been able to extract what the author calls "thin value" profits by shifting costs onto someone else. The new types of enterprises which will thrive in the 21st century will be "constructive capitalists", which will do some or all of the following:

* Renew resources instead of exploiting them

* Be more responsive to supply and demand by allocating resources democratically

* Use "philosophies" that create value rather than "strategies" that extract value

* Creating new arenas of competition rather than dominating existing ones

* Seeking payoffs that are meaningful in human terms, not just financial ones

The book goes on to describe ways in which some companies are already making the shift. Walmart has taken on challenging new sustainability goals. Nike has adopted new design principles to reduce waste and maximize recycling. Lego has opened up the design of its products to users. Google aims to stay competitive by liberating data instead of trying to lock users in. Tata has created an entirely new category of car with its Nano, and Apple has done similar things with its products. Nintendo's Wii is turning video games into a focal point for social interaction.

The book is written in a bold, provocative style similar to that of Gary Hamel (who has written the Foreword). The author aims more to challenge you out of your complacency than to get you to agree with him. He challenges you to use the book not as a blueprint but as inspiration for creating your own blueprint for the future of your business.

I found the author's ideas quite stimulating, although I am not sure that it is possible to build a business using all of the features of "constructive capitalism". For example, most people did not see the need for an iPad before Apple created one, so I do not think that "allocating resources democratically" is entirely consistent with "creating new arenas of competition". In the Kindle version of the book, some of the figures are almost illegible, although this does not detract from the value of the book as a whole. I disagreed with much of what the book says in its predictions for the future, but I believe that it is partly right; the problem is, I do not know which parts.

In the final chapter of "The New Capitalist Manifesto", Mr. Haque makes a number of "humble suggestions" (Mr. Haque's marketing hyperbole throughout this book is anything but "humble") as to what "constructive capitalism" is:

"It'a time to replace [old-style capitalism] with a better kind of capitalism, that is intelligent, beautiful, just, virtuous -- and that does deliver the goods".

"It is to profit more from less economic harm, instead of being trapped to profit only through more harm."

The above "humble suggestions" are typical of the breathless, hyperbolic, meaningless, feel-good slogans which makes up the bulk of this book. Mr. Haque unleashes a flood of undefined terminology (thick value vs. thin value, betters vs. goods, authentic economic value, meaningful value, socio-productivity, socio-efficiency, socio-effectiveness, and on and on), which he uses in circular definitions, one undefined term supposedly defining the next layer of undefined terms.

Mr. Haque correctly points to some of the most egregious failings of laissez-faire capitalism, such as the need for endless growth of consumption of shoddier and shoddier products and services, which does irreversible harm to the environment, concentrates wealth and power in a very small elite, and does little or nothing to increase well-being and "happiness".

However, the psycho-babble of his breathless marketing hype, and the inane examples he cites of companies which supposedly show an emergence of his "constructive capitalism", only serves to reenforce the impression that Mr. Haque is a snake-oil salesman selling his companies' (Havas Media Lab and Bugglegeneration) charter to consult with venture capitalists, start-ups and clients to find new ways of reaching consumers via digital channels, making this book almost entirely a marketing brochure.

Mr. Haque seems desperate to show that free-market capitalism, from its own sense of responsibility for the larger society and world within which it operates, can reform itself to be "intelligent, beautiful, just, virtuous". However, capitalism is still capitalism, where "greed is good", self-interested decision making is the rule, and everything that can be externalized will be externalized in the name of profit and stockholder value. To believe otherwise is to set yourself up for the kind of "ah-ha" moment "of shocked disbelief" which Mr. Greenspan admitted to during his infamous Senate testimony about the collapse of the financial industry.

Getting this kind of nonsense published and reviewed as a "revolutionary", "brilliant" road map to a brighter from of capitalism is sad enough (it shows how desperate the publishing industry is). What is however, even more disturbing is that this kind of nonsense is given additional credibility by the "Harvard Business Review", where Mr. Haque is a blogger.

For a more detailed critique of this book, see

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I downloaded the Kindle version of the book, so I could read it before the print version was available. And I wasn't disappointed!

Umair Haque's book creates a framework for a capitalist revolution. How does a company create thick value? Value that endures in our "zombie economy"?

Haque gives us a lens for understanding what success means going forward. He examines the constructive capitalists (I know, another buzzword, but they're quite clever!) and why they are different from traditional capitalists. I really think this book and Umair's brilliant blog at Harvard Business Review is changing our way we think about business.

His concept of value-cycles (versus the now endangered "value-chain") is the foundation for strategy with sustainability at its core. Another one is "completing" the marketplace - in which these new constructive capitalists companies create new markets (eg. Tata Nano) by becoming socio-productive (another buzzword).

I have to say, once you read this book, you'll see why Haque creates these buzzwords- the present vocabulary of our business thinking is too limited. Haque's book and thinking show us new ways of doing business, new ways to create meaning, and new ways to succeed.

This book is a wake-up call for the multi-nationals based in the West: It's time to change. Forget your PACs and lobbyists. they aren't going to help you any more. Business must now create meaning. Meaningful work, meaningful products and services, and meaningful value.

Just buy the book.

A very thoughtful and well-researched book about establishing a successful company in the 21st century. By using examples and comparison of well-known brand names (such as Apple vs. Microsoft, Gap vs. Threadless, etc), the book details the different management practices as well as the change in management styles that have taken place in the recent years, which can lead to the rise of one company and the downfall or stagnation of another. Although the book mainly focuses on United States examples and large corporations, the book can serve as a useful guide for many small businesses in different parts of the world looking to expand or emerge in the local or international market. The Creativity chapter is especially interesting as it looks at global examples, such as example of companies in India and Bangladesh that catered to specific segments of the markets through innovation and through re-imagining their products. The book would appeal more to business-minded people or people with a background in business, but even for me the book proved an interesting and informative read.

Umair Haque's book makes an argument for what 21st capitalism should look like in the face of the economic, social, environmental and technical challenges we all face. Haque points out that the open-ended consumption model we have today is not sustainable and certainly crazy to be the preferred path for how emerging markets grow and develop.

Note: this s a long review as The New Capitalist Manifesto is a complex and unique book. It's not just a call for reform couched in populist terms, but a rather serious look at alternative ways of conducting capitalism in the future. It sits in the gaps between economics, business, environmentalism, social science and probably a few other disciplines than that. The combination makes for a complex, but accessible book that makes you think.

Haque's book is a studied look at the issue and strong advocacy for something he calls "constructive capitalism" that is based on creating close looped value cycles rather than unsustainable open-ended value chains. The book is a provocative and progressive look at a potential future for the capitalist economic system.

Recommended for anyone wondering what will come next, how companies will compete on a broader level and price and economic scale. I found the book helpful in thinking about what the future and future strategies might look like. Highly recommended for strategists and those looking to understand an implementable argument

Haque's central argument revolves around the observation that current capitalistic practices lead to what is called 'thin' value. Thin from the perspective that the value created relies on exploitation -- not in the Marxist sense -- but in the environmental sense. Resources depleted without an incentive to return them or replace them with something better.

In contrast, Haque encourages companies to create 'thick' value, which is described as generating profits by activities that create value for sustainability, authentically to people and build up rather than tear down people, communities and resources.

The books chapters

Chapter 1: A Blueprint for a better business sets the stage and makes the argument that the current type of capitalism is not sustainable. Rather than call for simply ripping it up and replacing capitalism with another system, Haque lays the groundwork for how capitalism can go through a revolution to meet the challenges we all face.

Chapter 2: Step One: The Loss Advantage / Changing value chains into value cycles discusses the notion of socio-efficiency and the value potential of limiting business loss and exploitation. This chapter goes into detail about the elements of a value cycle that Haque suggests needs to replace the value chain.

Chapter 3: Step Two: Responsiveness / From Value Propositions to Value Conversations is all about gaining agility and the ability to engage customers, suppliers and the public. Rather than a discussion about marketing 2.0, this chapter offers a look at how increased participation drives requirements for greater participation.

Chapter 4: Step Three: Resilience / From Strategy to Philosophy points out that the ability to survive is based more on your ability to constantly challenge your current business model, products and markets. Those that constantly look to disrupt themselves learn more and are more resilient than firms that seek to defend the same turf and terms of competitive advantage year after year. This chapter also makes the point that value extraction is significantly different than value creation.

Chapter 5: Step Four: Creativity / From Protecting a Marketplace to Completing a Marketplace discusses how creativity plays in this new system in identifying 'impossible' markets that can be found in the gaps in any market structure. The chapter discusses the different levels of creativity and how they apply to new ways of looking at market opportunities.

Chapter 6: Step Five: Difference / From Goods to Betters looks at the basis for creating meaningful differences in your customers, products and services. This chapter is particularly provoking in advocating a focus on creating products that support positive outcomes rather than just delivering features and functions.

Chapter 7: Step Six: Constructive Strategy / From Dumb Growth to Smart Growth covers how to create strategy and business models based on ideas such as Generosity, Creativity, Resilience, etc. This is perhaps the most challenging chapter as it seeks to offer a broader strategic model, one that has the potential to identify previously hidden sources of value and performance.

Chapter 8: Constructive Capitalism provides a summary of how the steps and concepts fit together. Its a good summary, however the topics and terms are specialized meaning that this is a place to refresh your understanding rather than a place to go for a quick summary.

Strengths

Balance, not in the FOX News fair and balanced sense, but in the recognition that the system that created these issues is perhaps the best system to fix them. I would have been easy for Haque to simply join the bandwagon and call for a return to government driven, controlled and managed economies in the name of the public good. This is not to say that Haque's recommendations are a validation of the current system, rather they represent a radical redefinition of the way economies work. Any book that would upset conservatives, progressives and environmentalists considers a broad range of opinions and needs definitely is worth reading as the truth is in the cracks between them.

Comprehensive in its outlook and consideration of the ideas of what type of capitalism should come next. Haque discusses what he sees as the logical next steps for capitalism, replacing value chains with value cycles. This gives the book and its recommendations greater credibility, as it's apparent that Haque has thought many of these things through.

Use of named companies like Wal-Mart, Google, Star-Kist, among others. This helps illustrate different points, but I am not sure that Haque has studied these companies in detail or just went off of available information.

Challenges

The book has an aggressive and progressive style, which sometimes gets in the way of the arguments as the author's passion shows through. Normally this would be good, but in places and in some chapters the book tries to cover too much ground and winds up dealing with issues at a more superficial level than intended.

The examples and descriptions used to illustrate Haque's points are rather general and lack specificity. It is more like he is looking for some examples to fit his description than capture the conscious decisions by companies to change how they compete.

The book is light in the area of the new kinds of management and management tools required to make this work. This is a significant gap as achieving these ideas requires adjusting management's approach which is largely based on cost and resource control. This is an area for future research and insight as the tools you used in the 20th century value chain cannot be expected to deliver different results in the 21st world.

The book is also light on technology. Its assumed that information and technology are parts of the future, its just that their role in constructive capitalism is not as prevalent as one would expect given technologies role in both empowering and exploiting people, economies and the environment.

Overall, this is a unique book, one that has few to compare it to as it deals with broad issues and trends in a directive and focused manner. Recommended reading for people who like to disrupt their own thinking and learn more by being challenged than having their beliefs confirmed.

PS Lately I have been referring back to this book and came to the thought that this book may be better off purchased in hard copy rather than the Kindle version, like I did, to make annotation and highlighting more usable.

Umair Haque's The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business is a blueprint for building a disruptively better business. What does that mean? It means throwing away the old cornerstones of capitalism (value chains, value propositions, strategies, protection, and goods) for the cornerstones of a 21st century, constructive capitalism (value cycles, value conversations, philosophies, completion, and betters). In the book, Haque not only tells us how to utilize these new cornerstones, but also why embracing these new values will yield more and more powerful value.

The strength of the book is in the deep thought Haque has given to its concepts. Rather than give quick tips and tricks for "recession proofing" your business, he goes deep into today's economic challenges and provides an entirely new framework for how we should think about business in the 21st century. Haque points out that today's world hardly resembles the world in which industrial age prosperity flourished. That was a big, empty, stable world. Today, our planet is more like an ark: tiny, crowded, and fragile. Growth in the industrial era was fueled by unsustainable practices, practices that shift costs to and borrow benefits from people, communities, society, the natural world, or future generations. While that may have worked in a big, empty world, we are no longer living in such a world. Therefore, argues Haque, we must change our way of thinking about business.

The examples and data Haque uses to illustrate these points are interesting and perfectly on point. He isn't just saying that we *should* do business differently, he effectively makes the case that we absolutely must or be prepared to face dire economic consequences. While the descriptions and examples of companies utilizing the cornerstones of 21st century capitalism are deep and detailed, this book is not an instruction manual for how to turn your business around. Rather, it's a strong case for why our old form of capitalism has failed us and a general outline for how we can begin to turn our currently reality around and lay the foundation for long-term economic prosperity and stability.

I recommend this book for anyone with a practical or academic interest in business, economics, or entrepreneurship. The ideas in The New Capitalist Manifesto provide a useful framework for thinking about the cornerstones of 21st century capitalism. Examples from Google, Walmart, Starbucks, Nike, Apple, and Whole foods illustrate how top brands are already integrating an appreciation of these cornerstones while propelling their business.

The end of each chapter also includes a condensed bullet-point summary of the concepts and high-level ideas covered. So while this book is in many ways academic, it is also incredibly accessible.

The New Capitalist Manifesto is a must-read. Haque's framework is both novel and interesting. The work is critical for anyone who wants to understand the world financial collapse and how we must now lead our way out of it, building a new, constructive capitalism creating enduring, meaningful, sustainable value.

With the world still reeling from the global financial crisis, `The New Capitalist Manifesto' reveals the attributes of a company that can survive in the 21st century; a company that is `responsible', `socially friendly', environmentally sustainable, truly `democratic' and innovative at its core. Haque is determined to see the aggressive, mean and profit-driven corporation of the industrial era transform into a socially aware yet profitable enterprise. Democracy in the production process is essential in the world of the twitter-using, constantly linked consumer with an information overload. The ideas put forth in this book will help synthesize production systems with the informed consumer while benefiting both. Check lists in the summing up sections at the end of each chapter will be useful to companies in how to adopt the most competitive practices and helping the company produce what Haque calls "thick value".

Haque envisions a capitalist society that is inclusive and actively works towards improving society's way of life. Idealistic yet stimulating, this book is a great read for anyone interested in current trends in business and economics.

The core concept behind the book - constructive capitalism - is compelling and one I very much agree with. The book largely falls short through the use of examples for businesses that fit the new model proposed in the book. The author over hypes the corporations that it sees as new leaders, but ignores areas where these companies are not disrupting. For instance, Google is praised as a for innovating around Google Docs and Microsoft is seen as a lumbering giant...all of which is true. However, the book ignores the fact that Google search, it's core business, has only had incremental innovation and many of Google's latest ventures have completely failed. The book also criticizing corporations (ex - food producers) for using their size to squeeze out competitors. Isn't that what Google has done with online advertising? It can also be argued that Google is constantly playing catch up in the marketplace (Android vs. iPhone OS & apps; Chrome vs. Firefox, Safari, Explorer; acquisitions vs. build). Additionally, other examples highlight companies that are certainly innovating, but not on a large enough scale to determine if their business model is sustainable or scalable (Threadless). There are many other examples in the book where the cherry picking skews the points the author is trying to make. The bottom line is that the concept of constructive capitalism is very good, but multitude of examples largely fails to sell the concept.