Book Review: Conscious Capitalism

Book Review: Conscious Capitalism

I love the opening—a young man, living in a commune, believing business is the enemy. Seeking to change the world, John Mackey and his friend decide to open a store focused on healthy food and a higher purpose.

Then they found themselves in a difficult spot. As the business started taking shape, they were now the ’enemy’ trying to work out vendors, employees, financing, and keeping the business open. There’s a great story of a flood that decimated their first store, and how the community rallied around, fortifying them to keep going, and ultimately becoming Whole Foods as we know it today.

Profit for profit’s sake is still the ‘enemy,’ but that’s not really how most businesses work. The book moves on to talk about the different business models and what the Conscious Capitalism model means, and how it can benefit our staff, our customers, our environment, and future generations.

It’s nice to hear someone walk through their journey and how the ‘big bad business’ accusation can be left behind if we all help share the story. – CMW