This book made me struggle. It was a struggle to stay in it. Unlike what I expected from what I thought a spiritual book, this book was much more like a text book. Great nuggets throughout, but hard to stay involved. The material and examples, although, were very relevant to the theme of the book.
The author expands on the virtues required to build wrong leaders and businesses. These virtues can equal success – not necessarily financial success, but also not limited to financial success.
Compasion, perserverance, gratitude, courage, respect, and so many more – virtues for a successful business. So many companies are described that had those basic virtues. While not all of them, Johnson & Johnson, Chick-fil-a, Cummins, and more were shown as examples of virtuous businesses.
One of my favorites and a great take-away from the book was one virtue – gratitude. An example was Truett Cathy and the company he founded, Chick-fil-a. Being grateful with words of “thank you” and “it’s my pleasure” are things that are overlooked by many businesses today large and small. Those small statements, when meant sincerely can have a huge payoff.
The author made a statement that for me, while deep in the book, set the tone – “This book has not been about the pursuit of wealth, but the obtaining of it.” Wealth is not always money.
One interesting fact was that Johnson and Johnson’s early mission was to “put the customer first and shareholders last” while being “governed by fairness and the grace of God.” Later on that very same page, the author points out that Johnson & Johnson “has never posted a loss in its entire 120-year history”. Coincidence?
Small, medium, large – every business owner needs to read this book.