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Conscious Capitalism, With a New Preface by the Authors: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business Paperback – January 7, 2014
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The bestselling book, now with a new preface by the authors
At once a bold defense and reimagining of capitalism and a blueprint for a new system for doing business, Conscious Capitalism is for anyone hoping to build a more cooperative, humane, and positive future.
Whole Foods Market cofounder John Mackey and professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. cofounder Raj Sisodia argue that both business and capitalism are inherently good, and they use some of today’s best-known and most successful companies to illustrate their point. From Southwest Airlines, UPS, and Tata to Costco, Panera, Google, the Container Store, and Amazon, today’s organizations are creating value for all stakeholdersincluding customers, employees, suppliers, investors, society, and the environment.
Read this book and you’ll better understand how four specific tenetshigher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture and managementcan help build strong businesses, move capitalism closer to its highest potential, and foster a more positive environment for all of us.
- Reading age1 year and up
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5.25 x 1 x 8.25 inches
- PublisherHarvard Business Review Press
- Publication dateJanuary 7, 2014
- ISBN-101625271751
- ISBN-13978-1625271754
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for the hardcover edition of Conscious Capitalism, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestseller:
Full of thoughtful insights.” Financial Times
Buy it. Read it. Implement it. It’s a true guide to the future.” Forbes.com
I highly recommend listening to what they have to say.” Howard Schultz, chairman, president, and CEO, Starbucks
This is the book I always wanted to write.” Bill George, bestselling author, True North
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Harvard Business Review Press; 1st edition (January 7, 2014)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1625271751
- ISBN-13 : 978-1625271754
- Reading age : 1 year and up
- Item Weight : 11.5 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 1 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #70,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #36 in Business Ethics (Books)
- #53 in Free Enterprise & Capitalism
- #850 in Business Management (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors

Raj Sisodia is FEMSA Distinguished University Professor of Conscious Enterprise and Chairman of the Conscious Enterprise Center at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico. He is Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Conscious Capitalism Inc. He has a Ph. D. in Business from Columbia University. Raj is co-author of the New York Times bestseller Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business (2013) and Wall Street Journal bestseller Everybody Matters (2015). He was named one of “Ten Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America for 2010 and 2011. Raj received an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University in 2016 and the Business Luminary Award from Halcyon in 2021. He has served on the boards of Mastek and The Container Store.
Raj has published sixteen books, including Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, which was named a top business book of 2007 by Amazon.com. His most recent books are Awaken: The Journey to Purpose, Inner Peace & Healing; The Healing Organization: Awakening the Conscience of Business to Help Save the World; and The Global Rule of Three: Competing with Conscious Strategy. Raj has consulted with and taught at numerous companies, including AT&T, Verizon, LG, DPDHL, POSCO, Kraft Foods, Whole Foods Market, Tata, Tesoro, Siemens, Sprint, Volvo, IBM, Walmart, McDonalds and Southern California Edison.

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, has led the natural and organic grocer to a $15.7 billion Fortune 500 company with more than 460 stores and 87,000 team members in three countries. The company has been included on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 20 consecutive years.
While devoting his career to helping shoppers satisfy their lifestyle needs with quality natural and organic foods, Mackey has also focused on building a more conscious way of doing business. He was the visionary for Whole Planet Foundation to help end poverty in developing nations, the Local Producer Loan Program to help local food producers expand their businesses, the Global Animal Partnership’s rating scale for humane farm animal treatment, and the Health Starts Here initiative to promote health and wellness.
Mackey has been recognized as one of Fortune's "World's 50 Greatest Leaders," Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Winner for the United States,” Institutional Investor’s “Best CEO in America,” Barron’s “World’s Best CEO,” MarketWatch’s “CEO of the Year,” Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year,” and Esquire’s “Most Inspiring CEO.”
A strong believer in free market principles, Mackey co-founded the Conscious Capitalism Movement (http://consciouscapitalism.org/) and co-authored a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book entitled “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” (Harvard Business Review Press 2013) to boldly defend and reimagine capitalism, and encourage a way of doing business that is grounded in ethical consciousness. Mackey cut his pay to $1 in 2006 and continues to work for Whole Foods Market out of passion to see the business realize its potential for deeper purpose, for the joy of leading a great company and to answer the call to service that he feels in his heart.
Mackey is also the co-author of the book, “The Whole Foods Diet” (Grand Central Life & Style 2017).
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John Mackey and Raj Sisodia have also thought deeply about this and have articulated a coherent philosophy of what the problems are with the current structure of business, how to go about transforming it and giving lots of examples of companies. A caveat: not all companies are good at all parts of what they advocate. So when they cite an example, evaluate that company only on the characteristic they are discussing.
I found myself nodding in agreement many times as I read the book because it articulated what I deeply believe. First, business is a noble enterprise, even a heroic one. It makes life easier for every one because of new products and services offered. It lifts entire populations out of grinding poverty and channels human creativity and energy into productive avenues. True, there are downsides as many thoughtful critics of global capitalism have pointed out, such as rampant inequality, environmental degradation and fostering of excessive materialism to name a few. But these are not inherent flaws of business. They are the unfortunate by-products of the way business is currently structured and the "goals" of most businesspersons at present.
At the core of the book is the notion that a business stands for much, much more than "maximizing" value for shareholders or meeting high revenue or earnings targets. This is exemplified by a quote from Mackey in the Foreword pertaining to his famous debate with Milton Friedman, "While Friedman believes that taking care of customers, employees, and business philanthropy are means to the end of increasing investor profits, I take the exact opposite view: Making high profits is the means to the fulfilling Whole Foods' core business mission. We want to improve the health and well-being of everyone on the planet through higher quality foods and better nutrition, and we cannot fulfill this mission unless we are highly profitable. Just as people cannot live without eating, so a business cannot live without profits. But most persons don't live to eat, neither must businesses live to make profits." BTW this debate is both instructive and entertaining. You can find it on Mackey's blog or by Googling it.
There are five parts to the book. The first talks about capitalism, how it evolved and how a different form that Mackey and Sisodia call "Conscious Capitalism" is coming into being. I am not quite convinced that it is coming into being but I certainly wish it were so. Conscious Capitalism recognizes that business is a subset of society and society is a subset of the planet and requires conscious leadership at all levels to function as described.
The second part of the book talks about the higher purpose of business and why it should be consciously articulated. Whole Foods own mission comes through in Mackey's quote above. When a company is clear about its purpose and the senior executives walk the talk, tremendous creative energy is unleashed.
The next part of the book mentions the different stakeholders - such as employees, customers, shareholders, etc - and how the interests of each must be met in a balanced way. They give the example of medical students dissecting a cadaver and studying the heart. liver, brain etc as separate entities. True, these are separate but a live human being needs all of these and they have to work harmoniously. You cannot have the liver demand all the blood and leave none for the brain. In exactly the same way the elements of business - the stakeholders - all have to benefit and prosper. I entirely agree with this and the authors make an excellent case for it and give examples but it is more art than science. This is perhaps the weakest part of the book because it is so hard to manage these conflicts. In part, these are conflicts because they have been defined as conflicts in our business school education and future managers are encouraged to pick a side rather than think in terms of a "win-win" solution. Thus, in many ways, our business schools today are part of the problem.
The fourth part of the book talks about what conscious leadership is and how to cultivate it. I think this is the best part of the book and explicitly incorporates the leaders own growth on many dimensions, including spiritual, as the vehicle for an organization's growth. This is easier when you have a charismatic founder/CEO like Mackey at the helm. It is less clear when you have an amorphous group of "top mangers" at the helm each of whom is jockeying for power. And you still have the $64,000 question of what can be done when these "top mangers" have no clue about what is meant by Conscious Capitalism and have no desire to change.
The last part of the book talks about the elements of Conscious Capitalism in a company's culture and explicitly mentions concepts like love and care that are rarely discussed in a business context.
This is a book about what business can be like and should be like. The authors feel that we are in the midst of a deep transformation that will bring this about. I would love to see this happen but am somewhat less sanguine.
"Firms of Endearment" is an earlier book that Sisodia co-authored and also covers many of the same concepts though not in quite as developed form. It is also an excellent read and well worth your time.
There are four principles that underpin the practice of Conscious Capitalism: Higher purpose and core values, stakeholder integration; conscious culture and management; and conscious leadership. I am going to focus on the first two.
Author Richard Leider, asks every audience he addresses the following question: What are the two most important days in your life? Most people, he reports, identify the day they were born and an event such as their wedding day. The answer Leider wants them to get to is, obviously the day you are born, but less obviously the day you realize why you were born.
(Pause here and think about this.)
Consider how different your working life would be when it dawns on you that you were born to ensure fairness in business, which is why you are a commercial litigator. You were born to make people’s movement about their cities and country safer and smoother. That is why you are so committed to your work in the Integrated Traffic Systems department of the local roads authority.
When the employees of your company, department or unit, see their work as infused with meaning, you will see a commitment rarely seen elsewhere.
Executive of Medtronics, the world’s largest medical technology company, regularly tell staff: “Your job here is not just to make money for the company; your job is to restore people to full life and health.” To drive this point home six patients are brought to every year-end party to describe about how a Medtronic defibrillator, or a stent, or a spinal surgery with a stimulator has changed their lives.
The Container Store, a hugely successful, multinational chain of stores selling containers, practices Conscious Capitalism. Their purpose is to “help people get organized so that they can lead happier lives.” Cofounder and CEO encourages his sales staff to do everything they can to sell customers products that they might not be aware they need.
He repeats “his lost man in the desert story” at every opportunity. Imagine a man lost for days in the desert, dehydrated, terrified and almost delusional with thirst. He sees you and desperately asks for water. Most people would feel good that they have helped the man by giving him a flask of fresh water. That is all the thirsty man asks for and wants at that moment.
However, there is so much more one can do for him. “He probably has heat exhaustion or sunstroke; he obviously needs a hat and sunscreen; he needs to be re-hydrated. You could call his wife and family and let them know he’s okay, since he’s been missing for days.”
A salesperson whose only focus is to meet target behaves very differently from salesman with a higher purpose. Up-, on- and cross-selling containers is not a way to extract more sales, but a way to get the customer more organized so he can lead a happier life. Purpose-driven salespeople outperform the target driven type across all product groups.
I have emphasised this principle of higher purpose because in my experience with a wide variety of companies in 14 countries, it is the one that seems to “get lost” over time. Often, the founders of the firm where driven by a higher purpose, but without a constant reminders, in a wide variety of ways, (bringing patients to the party or telling stories,) their initial purpose fades or is ambushed by slumps or the race to meet payroll.
It is well worth revisiting the issue of your business’ higher purpose if for no other reason than its economic value.
“Stakeholder integration,” another Conscious Capitalism principle, is a philosophical issue with profound practical consequences.
The stakeholders in any business are the shareholders, the staff, suppliers, the customers or clients, and the community in which the business operates. The common view of stakeholder groups is as a zero-sum game. There is only so much to go around and if staff get increases or suppliers are paid on time, and if contributions are made to the community, someone must get less.
The “Conscious” part of the book’s title “Conscious Capitalism, refers to wider and deeper understanding of how the world really works. People who are not highly conscious, think narrowly and in short time-frames. The do not see the whole picture and they do not see consequences.
When stakeholders are seen as an integrated whole, and this collective is not viewed in terms of a zero-sum game, we know we have to think win-win, and be highly creative.
If staff feel underpaid they will be disgruntled so they may work with less enthusiasm. This leads to lower profits of shareholders, and less satisfied customers. Businesses run on Conscious Capitalism principles outperform businesses based on other economic models.
The business is not mechanical it is organic. Every part affects every other part because each part is connected and interdependent.
There is much food for thought in this wise book. It deserves a slow read.
Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy
Top reviews from other countries
I must declare a bias: I am a real fan of the ideas presented here, and I have met both authors.
But trying to put that to one side, I still think it is a great book.
It is very thorough, very complete, and like my colleague Will McInnes' book Culture Shock: A Handbook For 21st Century Business it is full of practical advice and suggestions on building a different type of business.
It is clearly written, full of good stories and quotes. It also seems to include a good measure of honesty - as when John Mackey describes the problems he had with the SEC.
It is ideological, yes, but I think that is what we need right now. There's a lot of talk in business about disruption, and how business should respond, but this book sets out the beginnings of an intellectual and emotional framework for business in the 21st century.
Umair Haque's Betterness: Economics for Humans (Kindle Single) also comes to mind.
After an introduction, which aims to reset the narrative of business, the book is broken into several sections on making practical changes to the way a business works:
- Higher Purpose
- Stakeholder Integration
- Conscious Leadership
- Conscious Culture and Management
The book pulls together a lot of thinking from a range of very diverse sources. That is the whole point I suppose: to bring topics such as economics, sustainability, business management, psychology and systems thinking together. Indeed, the authors aren't afraid to mix words like love and care in with the kind of terminology (innovation, collaboration, decentralisation) you will read in many modern books on business management.
There are lots of practical examples and stories from Whole Foods Market. That company is obviously better known in the US than the UK, and there is a notable lack of any European examples (John Lewis, the Co-op, Cadburys etc). But as founder and CEO, John Mackey has been through most of the major decisions that need to be made in setting up and growing a large, listed company.
Once or twice I had a bit of a sharp intake of breath.
The term "free-enterprise capitalism" personally reminds me of "free market capitalism", in the style of Reagan and Thatcher. Something to which I have an instinctive and somewhat negative reaction. But, after a moment, I reminded myself to suspend a little, remember that I am not an economic theorist or expert, and read on.
And their real point is that capitalism generally has given itself a very bad name with the people who should be supporting it - those of us who believe in freedom for individuals and also in sharing, giving etc.
The other slight intake of breath came when Margaret Thatcher is listed amongst a list of leaders with high integrity, including Gandhi and other personal heroes. Again personally, I found this hard to take.
But again the truth is this is probably more about my biases and prejudices than anything else. And a good book, I believe, should challenge one's thinking, not just confirm one's prejudices. I resolved to dig out a biography and do some deeper research.
The book ends with sections on starting a conscious business, and transforming to become one.
An appendix covers the business case for Conscious Capitalism - including reference to Raj Sisodia's work on Firms of Endearment and a comparison with the "Good to Great" companies. This, in my view, is a very strong and compelling financial case.
Another appendix gives a very useful list of similar, related approaches (such as sustainable business, B-corporations etc), and explains why conscious capitalism is different.
In a final section, which contains a call to action, I was pleased to see a reference to Tom Paine, author of Common Sense and the Rights of Man. These, at the time, were seditionary works. They stirred people up.
This book is similar - some will hate it, but the mixture of emotion and intellect is powerful. Which is important, because, as the authors say, there's no time to waste.
Overall, this is a manifesto for a new type of business. Or, if you simply want to find out what Conscious Capitalism and Conscious Business are all about, this is a great starting point.
It is a big book as well as a great book. It will take you a while to read. But in my view it is really worth the effort.
The rub is that conscious capitalism only makes sense when you have become sufficiently conscious to understand what it means. Until you do the work on your self and become more aware and more conscious - you will never really be aligned with these ideas, and if you are not aligned, your business will not become a conscious business.
This is not another smart consultants fad (although many will try to jump on the bandwagon), it is a way of furthering the cause of human well being in all its forms - and we so desperately need this focus after centuries of serving the "Master" or the "Machine" .
Please read this book and absorb the ideas so that you feel as well as understand the message.
Mackey redefines what it means to be a successful business. Traditionally, a successful business is one that makes large amounts of money for its shareholders. Conscious Capitalism offers the alternative of a business that sees synergy (rather than conflict) between stakeholders (including shareholders, customers and the wider society). Underscoring this is the concept of a successful business being one that understands its purpose. A purpose-driven business, then, should make profits, but that is not its purpose, merely a side benefit. This paradigm shift in thinking helps businesses to see socially beneficial activity as an integral part of their operation rather than an addendum or compromise.
Although Mackey refers to the experience at Whole Foods and other large international conscious businesses, this book is applicable to the small one-man-band business as it is to the large corporation, and is an inspiring read for anyone who is in business for more than just earning a living.












