Advanced Praise for World Inc.
"This book should be read by all consumers and corporate managers who care about the future of this planet. This very readable book points towards practical and pragmatic solutions to designing and manufacturing products that enhance our twenty-first century lifestyles without depleting earth's finite resources."
— Frank Boren, former President of the Nature Conservancy, Member of the ARCO Board of Directors, and Founder of Sustainable Conservation.
"If ever there were a time in the corporate governance and environmental arenas where the insights of the activist could provide value-added to the corporate businessman today is that time. Piasecki lays out near term solutions to current relevant issues that will help ensure your business's long term market success.
"The pragmatic view Bruce Piasecki conveys on implementing change processes here build on his successful 1990 book In Search of Environmental Excellence: Moving Beyond Blame.
"By addressing consumer products and services through case studies and the end user's viewpoint Bruce Piasecki clearly demonstrates how today's informed consumers are demanding more than merely high quality and low cost - they have a larger sense of value. By adopting his thesis on social response product development insightful and entrepreneurial businesses will be able change their corporations to better serve their customers and capture additional value.
"A must-read for those interested in moving to the top, or staying there, in their industry sectors over the next five years."—Steve Wolff, President of Power Production, Dayton Power & Light
"Leadership in the corporate world involves many aspects, as described by the author; however, anticipation of change, willingness to invest based upon a look beyond the horizon and a commitment to the long term health of the planet is the centerpiece of this book.
"Dr. Piasecki has chosen to analyze the thought processes of the leaders of very successful enterprises and concludes that alertness to the need for change and societal concerns are the key drivers in their successes. As the author concludes, 'those that do not address these drivers will be consumed or cease to exist.'"— Kenneth R. Dickerson, Retired Senior Vice President, ARCO
"Dr Bruce Piasecki's most recent book, World Inc., presents a rare but important vision into our future world-a robust world where 'buy and sell' decisions are made not only on the basis of price, quality and availability but also on the basis of environmental, social and economic criteria that occur across the value chain of products and services.
"Those in Corporate America who are early movers in integrating these essential concepts launching superior products and services will be rewarded in the global marketplace. Dr. Piasecki has focused on the leaders of two companies (HP and Toyota) to show how these early movers are developing sustainability strategies that are already showing early signs of success.
"The author also makes the contrasting point that those companies who are slow to move or don't move at all into these sustainability strategies risk the potential of being added to the growing scrap heap of companies who have failed to heed past visions of change in a timely manner."
—Bill Sugar, Former Senior Director, Anheuser-Busch Corporation
"The guiding value of what Piasecki terms 'senile' capitalism was profit maximization through raw competition. That was surely the dominant operating principle of business in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More recently, it spawned a wave of contempt for government and a profound suspicion of regulation. But I think that 'socially responsive' capitalism requires a much more nuanced balance between competition and cooperation."—Ross Gelbspan, Climate Change Expert, Editor, and Author of the Pulitzer-Prize Winning Book The Heat Is On
"By linking environmental and social performance to product differentiation at major companies such as Toyota and HP, Bruce Piasecki has illuminated an important source of competitive advantage and stock value in the 21st century. Told in a colorful and engaging style, this book is a shaper of things to come. Executives who want their companies to achieve industry leadership in the coming 60 months would do well to read it!"
—Dr. Chris Laszlo, Founding Partner, Sustainable Value Partners, author of The Sustainable Company
"A powerful book to document and support social responsibility and environmental awareness among successful leading 21st century businesses. Well documented with case studies from Toyota, Hewlett-Packard and other familiar companies in this very well written and interesting book. Important reading for all forward-looking executives and managers."
—Jessica Fullmer, CEO/Founder, Sustainable Business Institute
"World Inc. opens the window on the coming of age of business social responsibility and reveals the forces at work requiring business leaders to anticipate the near future and what this will mean for the consumer and society.
"Piasecki thoughtfully reveals why Toyota's break through and efficient hybrid auto, the Prius, is the vanguard of a product development trend that adds social response to the traditional drivers of price and performance."
—Paul M. Bray, Esq., is President of P.M. Bray LLC
Paul's company offers services in areas of environmental, planning law, and bill drafting. Bray has extensive experience with the New York State Legislature.
"Bruce Piasecki's latest book, World Inc., is the unfolding story of the design revolution where the mind is designing away the past mistakes of the First Industrial Revolution. The implications of the design revolution will unleash a more perfect form of capitalism, making products not for people but about people." —Chandler Van Voorhis, Co-host of GreenWave Radio
GreenWave Radio is a nationally syndicated radio talk show heard on Business Talk Radio Network. In 2002, Chandler was the recipient of the nation's top conservation award, the ChevronTexaco Conservation Award. |
