The Surprising Solution
Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World
By: Bruce Piasecki
Published: November 2009
Format: Paperback, 316pp
ISBN-13: 9781402214509
ISBN-10: 1402214502
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
"The basis of the conversation is this: I now believe that the best path to that common goal of a better world resides in the rising role of large firms to build better products", writes Founder of the American Hazard Control Group and management consultant Bruce Piasecki, in his important and visionary book about the role of corporations in shaping the future through innovation The Surprising Solution: Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World. The author makes a compelling case that while major corporations wield tremendous power, and must and will assume a leading role in social responsibility.
Bruce Piasecki moves far beyond the flat world concept often associated with globalization and multinational corporations. The author acknowledges that the global economy has created both winners and losers, but he considers the single minded cost cutting approach to globalization has ended and is no longer effective. In its place, Bruce Piasecki presents the concept of the S Frontier based on the following critical factors:
* Severity of Market Factors
* Swiftness of Information
* Social Response Capitalism
Bruce Piasecki (photo left) recognizes that the American public views globalization in a different way from people on other continents. For the author, the key to creating Social Response Capitalism is through innovative products and services, and not through government action and regulation. Bruce Piasecki sees the synthesis of environmental thinking, with corporate innovative skills, will lead to bridging the gap between these often polarized worldviews. The author states clearly that the new frontier of globalization is already a reality and its impact is being felt globally. Through ending the narrow thinking of old style capitalism and intrusive regulatory environmentalism, the resulting innovation in products and services will benefit all of humanity.
For me, the power of the book is the bold stance that Bruce Piasecki takes on the importance of combining corporate power and ideas with social responsibility. Global information moves at the speed of electrons in the modern world, placing information at the fingertips of everyone on the planet in seconds. The author recognizes the Severity of problems facing the Earth, including Peak Oil and global climate change, and the tragedy of narrow profit only thinking on people around the world. Bruce Piasecki offers a powerful and profitable alternative to both capitalism and socialism, through creating a better world for everyone. The author points out that his Social Response Capitalism alternative is not only better for people and the planet, but is also more profitable as well, providing the best of all worlds for humanity.
I highly recommend the insightful and thought provoking book The Surprising Solution: Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World by Bruce Piasecki, to anyone seeking a more human approach to the growing and critical issues facing the world today. Through the power of creative thinking, and by offering innovative products that provide real solutions to problems, both the global population and the large corporations will benefit in both the short and long terms.
Read the idea packed, yet very practical book The Surprising Solution: Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World by Bruce Piasecki, and discover some very exciting and empowering ideas for solving the problems associated with globalization. Learn how to think in terms of better, instead of thinking about more, and how that change in thinking will lead to a more creative, more sustainable, and more just future for everyone on the planet.
