Harvard Business Review Press The Heart of Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

_Five "Be" concepts, grab and hold attention for Leader_My favorite part of the book was The Case For Purposeful Leadership.

Amazing book, must read for everyone in corporate life

Livro excelente. Li em menos de 2 semanas…extremamente envolvente. Vale o investimento. Super recomendo.

I preordered Hubert Joly's The Heart of Business as soon as it became available for preorder. Since it arrived a few days ago I couldn't put it down. Not only it is a smooth read, the topics it touches makes you reflect and criticize yourself, how you run your business, and your interactions with your teams.The Heart of Business not only was an amazing read but, it really resonated with me due to the fact that working at Best Buy I have the privilege to observe how everything Hubert is talking about comes to fruition and leads to success when you know where your heart is as a person and as a business.There are many examples and guidelines for anyone who is aspiring to become a good leader, person and/or run a successful business.Thank you Hubert for this masterpiece.

Covid has taught us that we need real contact with each other. Joly didn't need Covid to teach him what this means for business as he brings it front and center in every page of his book.Best Buy's (BB) CEO Hubert Joly has written a compelling book which may open the eyes of those focused on a more traditional business approach.When Joly joined BB in July 2012, the company was limping downhill. Its share price languished around $11, company financial indicators were going south, and BB stores had inconsistent and lackluster customer service. A failing company’s board of directors often hires an outsider CEO to make tough decisions and cut staff. An outsider won't have relationships or affection for the staff like long time leaders. When BB hired a French CEO, Hubert Joly, from outside the tech or retail world (he headed travel business Carson), I assumed it was to close stores, cut employees and pump-up profitsBut instead of closing stores and firing thousands of people, Joly took a different approach - one he describes in “The Heart of Business.” Joly’s personal and business journey transitioned from a philosophy of numbers and ‘only results matter’ to leading via a more human first approach. Or as an industrial psychologist taught me early in my CEO career, “focus on people and results will follow.” In fact, Joly began his BB CEO stint by working at a corporate store, traveling and talking to scores of employees.“The Heart of Business” is not just another business book. It describes a personal journey, the transformation of Joly, BB and even the business community from a shareholder value model to a larger model focusing on empowerment and societal change. It includes research and results bolstering the case of why engaged employees, a diverse workforce and a bigger mission are better than focusing only on revenue and profitability.We learn about strategic changes, from how and why BB shook up retail by dumping sales spiffs and commissions to how suppliers get retail floor space to why its legendary founder Dick Schulze was brought back. But the main message is Joly's thesis that every business needs a noble purpose to inspire employees.He says employees are a "source" not a "resource" and each is an individual with hopes, dreams and aspirations which should be heard. He describes changing corporate policy on how health care benefits were expanded to include transgender needs based on listening to concerns of only one employee. He talks about the importance of creating trust and a team environment necessary for success. And he changed performance evaluations to focus on human metrics first, followed by business metrics like customer satisfaction and lastly, financial performance. Joly describes five key ingredients to shift to an employee focused environment:-Connecting the individual's search for meaning with the company's noble purpose,-Developing authentic human connections,-Fostering autonomy,-Growing mastery, and-Nurturing a growth environment.Each gets a chapter and Joly easily slides in examples, stories, research and results to make his case that motivation comes from purpose and relationships rather than purely from money.Even for Chicago school economic purists focused only on profitability, this book will give practical tips to motivate people, develop teams and deal with real life human challenges.BB stock jumped tenfold since Joly took over as CEO. He not only pushed the frontiers of business leadership, but he did it with a coherent set of ethical principles that go beyond traditional financial measures. This book is a must reads it will make any business leader more effective and any person better.

Great book for emerging leaders that want to know more about the history and turnaround of different organizations.

Five sixth of the people working across organizations today are not fully engaged at work. In terms of loss of productivity, this costs us several trillion dollars. Apart from burning themselves at work, they create dissatisfied customers, unhappy shareholders, disgusted suppliers, and a toxic work environment. The basic assumption is that work is drudgery, and one seeks ‘work-life balance’ to live life and escape from the misery of work.On the other hand, the small minority who find work meaningful, enjoyable and a way of finding meaning to a purposeful life, excel, enjoy, and energise the workplace. The book is about finding the difference.Stakeholder capitalism that goes beyond the narrow concept of shareholder wealth maximization, is at the core of this book. The book is based on Hubert Joly’s personal experience in turning around Best Buy from Bankruptcy to stakeholder prosperity.There are two excellent frameworks in this book. Consider 4 aspects of an individual. 1. Doing what you love. 2. What you are good at. 3. What you can be paid for. 4. What the world needs. The illustration on page 30 depicts these four aspects in intersecting circles (like high school set theory on intersection of sets). 1 and 2 create PASSION at work. 2 and 3 create a valuable PROFESSION. 3 and 4 create a meaningful VOCATION. 4 and 1 create a MISSION. The magic lies in the small space where 1,2,3, 4 intersect; the true noble PURPOSE that we strive to live for, and the core of all that we do. This clearly illustrates the need to align an organization’s PURPOSE with that of an individual.This brings us to the next interesting framework on page 66. ‘The Purposeful Human Organization- a declaration of interdependence’. The noble PURPOSE for which the organization exists acts as the guiding star for engaged employees who create Delighted Customers, Vendors as Partners, Thriving Communities AND Rewarded Shareholders. The stress is on AND. Forget the myopic traditional view of enhancing shareholder value at the expense of the rest.While considering new business ideas, Best Buy uses four questions:• Does it fit with our purpose as a company?• Is it good for the customer?• Can we deliver?• And can we make money?Profit is an outcome, and not an imperative. This architecture energizes each individual and unleashes human magic leading to ‘irrational performance’. I am reminded of Peter F. Drucker Quote: “The purpose of an organization is to enable ordinary human beings to do extraordinary things.”In the twenty first century when automation has replaced monotonous and repetitive tasks, we have a great opportunity to enrich people’s lives through meaning, purpose, love, creativity, and passion. Words that were unknown in the industrial age. Welcome to the conceptual age.Outstanding book. Not to be missed.