The Heart of Business
Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism
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4.7 • 29 Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
Named a Financial Times top title
How to unleash "human magic" and achieve improbable results.
Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer's spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business.
Back in 2012, "Everyone thought we were going to die," says Joly. Eight years later, Best Buy was transformed as Joly and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation's favorite employers, vastly increased customer satisfaction, and dramatically grew Best Buy's stock price. Joly and his team also succeeded in making Best Buy a leader in sustainability and innovation.
In The Heart of Business, Joly shares the philosophy behind the resurgence of Best Buy: pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center of the business, create an environment where every employee can blossom, and treat profit as an outcome, not the goal.
This approach is easy to understand, but putting it into practice is not so easy. It requires radically rethinking how we view work, how we define companies, how we motivate, and how we lead. In this book Joly shares memorable stories, lessons, and practical advice, all drawn from his own personal transformation from a hard-charging McKinsey consultant to a leader who believes in human magic.
The Heart of Business is a timely guide for leaders ready to abandon old paradigms and lead with purpose and humanity. It shows how we can reinvent capitalism so that it contributes to a sustainable future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Joly, former CEO of Best Buy, debuts with a striking call to action for managers of companies large and small to "make business and the world better places." Joly was at the helm of Best Buy from 2012 to 2020, a time when "Amazon was supposed to kill" the company. Using lessons he learned during his successful turnaround of the then-ailing electronics retailer, Joly posits that most businesses focus on profits at the cost of all else (a fault he admits he had while a McKinsey consultant in the 1980s). Instead, he demonstrates how he learned that engaging people in a shared mission was a more powerful way to lead. He proves that investing in dreams and empowering great customer service pays off in what Joly calls "human magic," and to accomplish that, he exhorts leaders to follow five "be" rules: be purposeful, be clear about whom they serve, be conscious of what their true role is, be driven by values, and be authentic. Thoughtful questions conclude each chapter, encouraging leaders to examine their own beliefs, and there's no shortage of heartfelt, personal anecdotes. This smart, practical guide is a perfect resource for any business leader.
Customer Reviews
Great
Outstanding book about a necessary shift in how we lead businesses
Another corporate guy
Book full of stuff that sounds good.
Good Principles for authentic leadership
Jolly taps into the core of what makes a great leader and uses examples that shows his vulnerability and situation is where he would normally default to prior training. To his credit, he admits where he stumbles and shows how important it is for leaders to demonstrate a willingness to listen and accept contrarian views.