(continued from front flap) Praise for STRONG $24.95 USA / $29.95 CAN Be the Solution the Be FLOW, Inc., is an organization cofounded by John Capitali Conscious and Entrepreneurs How Mackey and Michael Strong to promote Mihaly Be the Solution Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of fl ow as optimal “ In the past, many believed you either went into ‘public service’ to do good, or you ‘went into What if the distinction between business and doing experience—the state in which we are so immersed in business’ to make money. Few realized that the long-term success of business depends on serving good vanished? What if all those who engaged in challenging, creative activity that we forget that time is people, not making money. Few realized that perhaps the best way to serve the public was business were committed to a deeper purpose, and all passing. To be engaged in fl ow activities is happiness through free enterprise. Whole Foods Market founder John Mackey, visionary thinker Michael those committed to doing good were entrepreneurial itself. Whether we are creators of enterprises or Strong, micro lender Muhammad Yunus, and a few others understand these truths. Be the and enterprising? What would it take for a world entrepreneurially creative within our life as employees, Solution is the best single book to read to understand the emerging ways in which entrepreneurs Be the of seven billion such people to solve all the world’s we can embody the entrepreneurial spirit and, in the can change the world.” problems? words of Michelangelo, “criticize by creating.” — GARY HOOVER, serial entrepreneur, founder of Hoover’s Business Information Service, Hooversworld.com More and more people are looking for meaning and In addition, FLOW refers to the global fl ow of goods, purpose in their lives as employees, as consumers, and services, capital, humans, ideas, and culture, in a “ Michael Strong speaks the truth. A must-read for our new American government.” Solution as investors. More and more people have more than positive win-win-win world based on love rather than —SAM WYLY, founder, Green Mountain Energy; author of 1,000 Dollars and an Idea enough material goods and are more interested in the fear. Combining the best of the positive psychology qualities of the goods they buy; in the experiences and human potential movements with the best of free “This book is totally fantastic. Treat your mind to a feast. Use it to tune your vision towards what associated with the services they provide and buy; in the market thinking, FLOW offers a unique perspective really works.” way the companies they buy from act as citizens; and on how to Be the Solution in the twenty-fi rst century. in self-actualization—rising up Maslow’s hierarchy. As —CHARLES HARPER, Senior Executive VP, Chief Strategist, John Templeton Foundation How Entrepreneurs and an increasing percentage of the population reaches the MICHAEL STRONG, educated at Harvard, St. John’s point at which they no longer need more stuff, what “ Perhaps more than ever before, young people today are motivated by the desire to make the world Problems World’s the All sts Solve Can College, and the University of Chicago, has created will they do, how will they live their lives? several high-performance private and charter schools, a better place. Unfortunately, many have little idea about how to do it, and their educational Conscious Capitalists studies provide them with little direction. In contrast, this book is a road map about how we including a school that was named the 36th best If you are one of these people, wondering where to go can get from where we are to where we want to be—to a more peaceful, more prosperous, and public school in the United States on the Washington Can Solve All the from here, how to “be the solution” in the twenty-fi rst more environmentally sound world. Plus, it is exciting, uplifting, and adventurous. Indeed, it Post’s Challenge Index. The author of The Habit of century, Be the Solution provides an original perspective provides the recipe for a better world.” Thought: From Socratic Seminars to Socratic Practice, on how to create a better world. Focused entirely on Strong has consulted for hundreds of educational —DR. JAMES GWARTNEY, coauthor of Economic Freedom of the World: 2007 Annual Report; World’s Problems Gus A. Stavros Eminent Scholar Chair at Florida State University entrepreneurial and Conscious Capitalist solutions to institutions around the world. Prior to his career in the challenges and opportunities facing humanity, Be education, he was a doctoral student at the University “This is a very thoughtful and timely book that asks us to look around—and to look within—the the Solution shows how the entrepreneurial passion to of Chicago working on a dissertation on “Ideas and amazing opportunities that entrepreneurship offers to the world. I recommend this book to create a better world, in combination with Conscious Culture as Human Capital” under economics Nobel anyone interested in fi nding solutions to the current crisis.” Capitalist business practices, can solve far more of the laureate Gary Becker. Strong is currently the CEO and world’s problems than any other approach. Chief Visionary Offi cer of FLOW, Inc., the nonprofi t —GIANCARLO IBARGUEN, Executive President, Universidad Francisco Marroquin organization he cofounded with John Mackey. In combination with leading Conscious Capitalists such “ At last, a book about the heart of capitalism as a force for creating good in the world for solving as John Mackey writing on “Conscious Capitalism,” many of our tough societal problems. I hope our political leaders read it.” Jacket Image: © Jupiter Images leading social entrepreneurs such as Muhammad —R. EDWARD FREEMAN, Olsson Professor of Business Administration, Academic Director, Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, University of Virginia Yunus writing on “Social Business,” and leading legal reform experts such as Hernando de Soto writing on “Is Economic Freedom for Everyone?,” entrepreneurial educator Michael Strong lays out a philosophical, MICHAEL STRONG social, and legal framework for a FLOW vision through Foreword by JOHN MACKEY, CEO which all problems may be solved entrepreneurially. Whole Foods Market (continued on back flap) ffirs.indd vi 2/11/09 11:23:01 AM Additional Praise for Be the Solution “Michael Strong and his coauthors sketch out a provocative and appealing vision of what you might call ‘bleeding heart libertarianism.’ Regardless of where you fi t on the ideological map, they will challenge the way you think about social progress. So if you’re interested in how to make the world around you a better place, take the challenge and read this book.” —Brink Lindsey, VP for Research, Cato Institute; Author of The Age of Abundance “If you want to contribute to making a better world and you have an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit, this is the book for you. Ours is the age of doing good by doing well. The notion that market competition is all about greed is just a monumental error that you can help a new generation to avoid.” —Herbert Gintis, Santa Fe Institute and Central European University “In Be the Solution Michael Strong, John Mackey, and other visionary authors organically develop a new framework for capitalism so that the benefi cent and transformational potentials of entrepreneurship and free market can be powerfully unleashed for societal good. Be the Solution cogently argues that the essential feature and primary virtue of capi- talism is not profi t-motivated exchange of commodities but voluntary exchange of abilities. Be the Solution demonstrates that when capitalism is rightly framed and entrepreneurship is properly nurtured in a culture of freedom, the entrepreneurial spirit of humanity will bring forth new innovative solutions to many of the persistent and pervasive problems of the world. At once informative and inspirational, Be the Solution will provoke you not only to think outside the existing paradigms but also to act for the realization of your vision by invoking in you the highest value and the innermost virtue of humanity—freedom and creativity.” —Yasuhiko Genku Kimura, Founder and Chairman, Vision-In-Action, Author of Think Kosmically Act Globally ffirs.indd i 2/11/09 11:23:00 AM “Be the Solution is out on a frontier of thought where no one has trav- elled before. It redefi nes the word ‘prescient.’ A breathtaking integration of futuristic thinking about economics, politics, social justice, and human happiness, it is nothing less than a blueprint for a transcendent tomor- row for humanity. Once or twice in a lifetime you come across a vein of thinking like this—one that that makes you feel as if life and the world are suddenly new again. The inspiring future Be the Solution paints for us will be the very motivation we have needed to pursue it.” —Dan Palotta, Author of Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofi ts Undermine Their Potential “Be the Solution will undoubtedly be added to my ‘must read’ book list for those who inquire about the causes of world poverty and what can be done to solve these problems.” —Philip Sansone, President and Executive Director, Whole Planet Foundation “This is a desperately needed synthesis of the work of the world’s most insightful thinkers on how to solve the problems of poverty. It lays bare fallacies in policies that annually misdirect billions of dollars into devel- opment of initiatives that don’t work. And it offers situation-contingent guidelines for programs that will. A must read.” —Clayton M. Christensen, Professor, Harvard Business School; Author, The Innovator’s Dilemma ffirs.indd ii 2/11/09 11:23:00 AM Be the Solution How Entrepreneurs and Conscious Capitalists Can Solve All the World’s Problems Michael Strong CEO, FLOW® Foreword by John Mackey John Wiley & Sons, Inc.