Be the Solution

by Michael Strong and John E. Mackey

Book Overview

Praise for Be the Solution

"In the past, many believed you either went into 'public service' to do good, or you 'went into business' to make money. Few realized that the long-term success of business depends on serving people, not making money. Few realized that perhaps the best way to serve the public was through free enterprise. Whole Foods Market founder John Mackey, visionary thinker Michael Strong, micro lender Muhammad Yunus,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470450037
• ISBN13: 9780470450031
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A must read for every business (small or large). Awesome, Intense!

In short this is an awesome book! Quite Intense. It is a must read for every business (small or large) in the world. I am a businessman and have been contemplating so many random ideas and visions ... but in this book, Michael Strong has provided concrete definitions to these ideas. The discussion on how the electronic media has completely taking over our perceptions of reality, especially for the K-12 group is right on. Never seen it articulated so accurately. Interestingly, the author's focus and emphasis on creating an environment of love and respect is quite crucial. It does seem like we do allow cultural innovation to take place in every realm of life except education. The refresher on Maslow's Hierarchy was awesome and John Mackey's "New Paradigm for Business" is great. The viable concepts of Conscious Capitalism are fantastic and the vision of FLOW as an entrepreneurial solution to the world's problems is a clear direction that all businesses should understand and adopt in a way that fits their business model and yet helps solve larger problems. Read it and you would agree.

For Once, A Book That Makes Me Feel Optimistic and Energized

I really enjoyed this book. Finally a olive branch I can present to my more leftist-oriented friends, without feeling that I am compromising my free-market principles (just to keep things pleasant) by keeping silent during political or philosophical discussions. The person who delivers the message does matter, and the persons who contribute to this book have certainly proven their "care about the world and environment" credentials.

Inspiring and Informative

I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring and informative book, and have recommended it to many of my friends. As a college student I was constantly surrounded by people blaming free market capitalism for the world's most pressing problems; those same people rarely had any insightful or practical plans for fixing those problems. However, this book offers an approach to solving the world's problems that resonated with me deeply. Be the Solution argues that economic freedom and entrepreneurial opportunity are the best conditions for innovation, wealth-creation, and increased prosperity for all, and the author, Michael Strong, provides many examples of how government intervention in the market place has been responsible for many of the world's most pressing problems. The book offers many examples of socially conscious businesses that are doing wonderful good in the world; I especially enjoyed the chapter by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and their micro-credit system for helping the poor. The chapter by John Mackey about Conscious Capitalism provides an enlightening and comprehensive view of business and how it can be a vehicle for doing good in the world, while also being profitable and creating value for all constituents. I thought the ideas that Strong presented regarding environmental trusts, and in general how security of property rights and entrepreneurial solutions to the tragedy of the commons dilemma are the most promising ways to protect the environment, were delightfully insightful and promising. Furthermore, I loved Strong's optimistic and idealistic vision of the future. I would recommend this book to anybody who is serious about social change. I am grateful to Michael Strong and all of the contributing authors.

Sheer Inspiration!

Michael Strong's "Be the Solution" is one of those paradigm-changers like "Think and Grow Rich"... it's as if "Grow Rich With Peace of Mind" was Napolean Hill's first book! Starting from the point that life on Earth really isn't as bad off -- with statistics! -- as the gloom and doom politicians and media make it out to be, Michael and his fellow FLOW entrepreneurs share a vision for the positive transformation of the world... starting today, with you. Read this book... and you'll create enough monetary and inner wealth in your life that neither you nor any hundred of your friends and family will ever have to steal it!

Grass Roots Capitalism

In BE THE SOLUTION, Michael Strong (with an assist from John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market) makes a case for common-sense, do-it-yourself, entrepreneurial capitalism in a way you've never seen before. His discussion of free enterprise as a way of doing good in the world is as far removed from today's headlines, featuring greed-is-good corporate capitalism, as the America of today is from the ideals laid down by our founding fathers. The message contained here is both simple and refreshing: if you want to solve the problems of the world--hunger, sickness, deprivation--help others ignite their entrepreneurial spirit in a culture of freedom. The organization that Strong and Mackey co-founded to accomplish precisely those ends, FLOW, stands for Freedom Lights Our World. And that says it all. Freedom coupled with entrepreneurial energy is the main driver of human advancement. This book is a must read for anyone interested in a radical, jargon-free, free enterprise approach to relieving human misery. Jerome Tuccille, author IT USUALLY BEGINS WITH AYN RAND, DILLERLAND, GALLO BE THY NAME, and other books