Connect

Why being radically connected with society is not just the right thing to do, it is an imperative for a company's bottom line

Based on John Browne's decades of experience as one of the world's most successful and innovative CEOs, with research by McKinsey & Company, Connect is a practical manifesto that redefines the role of business in society. Through insightful analysis and vivid storytelling--ranging from ancient China, Andrew Carnegie and the Homestead Strike of the late nineteenth century, to oil spills and privacy issues emanating from the technology of the twenty-first--Connect explores the recurring rift between business and society and proposes a way in which companies can prosper by connecting with the world around them. There is an enormous prize for leaders who engage creatively and constructively with society, and who make its needs part of their company's business model. The evidence presented in Connect shows that the value of radical connection amounts to 30 percent of corporate earnings. The shares of companies that connect outperform those of competitors by 2 percent every year, amounting to a performance boost of 20 percent over a decade.

Connect rejects stale ideas about corporate social responsibility disconnected from commercial activity and from the needs of real people. It identifies four tenets of "connected leadership," a radical new paradigm that shows how companies and executives can thrive by close engagement with society.