Accountable

Author Warren Valdmanis and Michael O'Leary
Narrator Joe Knezevich
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Publish Date 20 August 2020
Run Time 9 hours and 5 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Business and Management, Business ethics and social responsibility, Capitalism, Corporate crime / white-collar crime, Corporate finance, Corporate governance: role and responsibilities of boards and directors, Fraud, Human rights, civil rights, Law, Political campaigning and advertising, Politics and government, Popular economics, Society and Social Sciences, Transformation law, change of corporate form.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Capitalism is failing and the tools we are relying on to fix it - corporate social responsibility, divestment, impact investing, and government control - are only making things worse.

-Chevron boasts about the $50 million per year it spends on renewable energy whilst it spends 200 times that on oil exploration

-Goldman Sachs touts its 10,000 Women initiative but its board ranks 358th out of the Fortune 500 for gender diversity and women earn 55% less than men do on average

By focusing on corporations rather than people, we've put our faith in empty trends and brand-focused window-dressing. Why should those responsible for our current crisis be trusted to fix it?

In Accountable, authors Michael O'Leary and Warren Valdmanis offer a blueprint for everyone to take responsibility for using their economic power as consumers, as investors, as employees, and as voters to trigger a fundamental shift away from an economy that is unethical, unfair, and destructive to our environment and institutions. Their investigation cuts through the tired dogma of current economic thinking to reveal a hopeful truth: if we can make our corporations accountable to a deeper purpose, we can make capitalism both prosperous and good.

Trenchant and gripping, this is an indispensable guide and call to action for citizens to take control of our economic power and hold corporations to a higher standard.

© Michael O'Leary, Warren Valdmanis 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critics Review

A thoughtful, well researched and compelling way to rethink how to assure that prosperity and fairness are linked

Deval Patrick, Former Massachusetts Governor

Presents a fresh, balanced, highly readable and deeply informed case for how the pursuit of sustained financial success and the exercise of social responsibility to employees, consumers and society not only can-but must-go hand in hand if we are to have the world we seek in the future. I learned a lot

John Pepper, former Chairman and CEO of P&G

More than ever before, this is the book our economy needs

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation

Unwilling to settle for easy answers or superficial changes, O’Leary and Valdmanis push us all to ask more of our economic system

United States Senator Michael F. Bennet

Striking in its clarity and insights borne from the authors’ experience as investors on the frontlines of capitalism’s excesses and potential. The case studies of some of the best-known companies and investors don’t pull punches while offering tangible examples of the changes in culture and rules of the game required for a new type of capitalism

Daniella Ballou-Aares, CEO and Co-Founder of the Leadership Now Project

Solving our biggest social and environmental problems means reshaping the role that businesses play in our society. This informative book addresses the challenges we face in achieving this crucial transformation

Sir Ronald Cohen, Chair GSG (Global Steering Group for Impact Investment)

In today’s reality, business represents a picture of dysfunctionality, of excesses benefitting the few, of gross injustice. Tomorrow’s business leaders have an obligation to create a different reality reflecting our better hopes and inspirations. Accountable takes you on that journey. It’s a wonderful trip

Peter Georgescu, Chairman Emeritus of Young & Rubicam

For decades the dominant view has been that the purpose of companies is to make money for their shareholders. No more. Combining compelling examples and analytical insights, O’Leary and Valdmanis explain why the world is changing and provide a roadmap for how shareholders and citizens can and must transform the corporate landscape to save capitalism from itself

Oliver Hart, Harvard University, Nobel Laureate in Economics, 2016

The authors have been at the forefront of thinking on how markets and business can better serve society for many years. Accountable captures not only the history that underpins modern-day corporate purpose, but its present and future. The central message-that capitalism can and must be part of the solution to society’s greatest challenges-has never been more important

Martin Whittaker, CEO of JUST Capital

The issues posed could not be more topical or provocative. The coronavirus pandemic has catapulted capitalism into the future, where we need new and better answers to the crucial questions ‘What matters most in our society’ ‘How should we organize work to support those priorities?’ and ‘What’s a fair way to pay people for their contributions?’ Accountable offers a fresh and compelling perspective on these questions.

David Roux, founder of Silver Lake

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