I recently participated in a panel discussion about the social impact of business. The first question from the moderator was, ‘What is the purpose of business?’ To answer this question, one must parse its intention regarding the term ‘Purpose.’ When asked about ‘the’ purpose of business, I assume we are answering in the context of […]
Serving Main Street
In the years leading up to the acquisition of my company, I developed an interest in the shareholder primacy versus stakeholder primacy discussion. I read transcripts of the Milton Friedman/John Mackey discussions, and on my long commute I listened to countless podcasts with hosts and participants debating the issue. I attended a conference where Raj […]
Cultural Stakeholderism
The debate between advocates for shareholderism and those for stakeholderism is perplexing. Should the prism through which we run our businesses be profit first? Or should it be people or purpose first? Should we be in the Ayn Rand / Milton Friedman camp? Or should we be in the John Mackey / Raj Sisodia camp? […]
Brand Strength and Authenticity
I recently had the privilege of presenting to a private company. My subject was ‘Building a Dominant Brand in a Competitive Marketplace.’ I intended to, based on my experience, share my journey and then my beliefs and convictions about brand dominance. When presenting to management and leadership teams, I am often impressed with the depth […]
Collectivism, Relationalism, and Individualism in the Workplace
I recently read two books that caused me to reconsider the value of ‘individualism’ in the workplace. The books are “Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and “The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life” by New York Times columnist David Brooks. Each is referenced by the other […]
Pricing, Implementations, and Rules
After twelve years of reliable use, I decided to replace my track car. Safety and sustainability were my primary motives. In taking myself through the process, a past management influence that I think about from time to time came to mind. Peter W. Schutz was the CEO of Porsche AG between 1981 and 1987. After […]
Organizational Conflict
November 17, 2020 Steve Freishtat Business In prior articles, I shared my experience when providing for a qualified individuality that allowed emerging self-organization within my company. That individuality (within boundaries) resulted in more authenticity – and this authenticity and the resultant engagement, morale, and creativity served the company well. An effect of more individuality within […]
Organizational Rules and Values
Rules vs Values In a presentation I attended in 2017, the speaker advocated for scripting behaviors and managing by ‘rules’ for employees in our companies. Based on the testimonials and stated results, it was a convincing presentation. The speaker cited many examples of successful companies that rigorously commit to rules-based scripting, direct instruction, and behavior […]
Higher Purpose in the Workplace
In 1996 I read Daniel Goleman’s book, ‘Emotional Intelligence.’ And while emotional intelligence or ‘EQ’ has made its way into the lexicon of business today, at the time of its publication in 1995, it was groundbreaking and unique. Self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and relationships, it turns out, could be more critical to success in leading our […]
Control vs. Power
For most of the time spent running my company, I was unable to distinguish between control and power. I believed that these were mutually dependent and proportionate conditions. Not ‘control’ in the sense of being non-deferential. Deference was never an issue. It was ‘control’ in an emotional sense – the inability to let go – […]
