Passion and Purpose: John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, on the Power of Conscious Capitalism Audio CD – Import, 1 April 2009

You need not be an employee of whole foods market to appreciate John Mackey's approach to running a business. Others would do better to follow his example. Also, Enjoyed the second cd where he speaks about his personal journey. Very uplifting.

I thought this was a book when I first ordered it, then I saw that it said audiobook, but really it is neither. This is a set of 2 CDs, the first being a lecture that John Mackey gave to an audience which was recorded. The second CD is a one on one interview with John Mackey. That being said, I saw some value in the message (primarily from the first lecture style CD) but I was disappointed that this wasn't really a book/audiobook. I don't consider something to be an audiobook if there is no printed book it was read from; your definition may vary.I like that Mackey is proof that you can run a business ethically, with a deeper purpose and still make a considerable profit while simultaneously pleasing employees, customers, manufacturers, distributors and shareholders. He explains his ideals and how he has incorporated them into Whole Foods and it has brought the company (and its people) many happy returns. Mackey has even stopped drawing a salary from Whole Foods and that is really to his credit that he is in it for deeper reasons.Mackey waxes philosophical about his trademarked phrase "Conscious Capitalism" which essentially boils down to treat everybody well (from stakeholders to employees to customers) and have a deeper purpose for your business besides just getting rich. I don't really think this idea is anything new or radical; but he does offer some insight into how he did things a little differently at Whole Foods and it is interesting to hear.The second CD is a little weird. It seems the interviewer and Mackey are on 2 totally different wavelengths and it could have been edited down to exclude a lot of the awkward Q&A moments. The last 3 tracks on this CD start to get very spiritual/Christian/and bizarrely new age all at the same time...that's where it fell apart for me (fortunately is was only the last 10% and I'm going to pretend it didn't happen).

John Wooden, the legendary coach of the UCLA men's basketball team, has been referred to as the philosopher coach. After listening to John Mackey's two-disk CD set entitled Passion and Purpose: The Power of Conscious Capitalism, I now think of him as a "philosopher CEO." Mackey is the founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, an organic grocer based in Austin, Texas. Like John Wooden, Mackey is a thoughtful and effective leader. He also happens to be a student of philosophy.Disk one is a live talk Mr. Mackey gave to a group in Austin. During Mackey's talk, we learn about his philosophy of "Conscious Capitalism" and how it will prevail over time. To Mackey, globalization is really an anti-corporate movement. He notes that machine and war metaphors are often used to describe corporations and people don't trust them. There is a need for a new corporate philosophy and Conscious Capitalism is Mackey's view of the type of corporations society needs.Whole Foods' slogan is "Whole foods, whole people, whole planet." Applying the slogan's connecting logic to Conscious Capitalism, Mackey states "Conscious people, conscious company, conscious capitalism." It also happens to be how the CD is organized. Mackey describes his philosophy of Conscious Capitalism then moves on to describe Conscious Companies. Peeling the onion back another layer, he describes the conscious person. "Conscious Companies" are those formed by entrepreneurs who shape a higher purpose that pursues the timeless values of goodness, truth, beauty and/or heroism. The aim is to make the world a better place. While a necessity to survive, profit is a byproduct of the pursuit. The happiness of those involved is another byproduct of Conscious Companies. It comes not only from pursuing the deeper purpose but also from the connection that forms among the people who pursue that purpose together in community. Mackey cites other Conscious Companies including Apple, Google, The Container Store, Costco and Southwest Airlines.In addition to pursuing deeper purposes, Conscious Companies optimize stakeholder interests. Mackey believes that management should focus on customer and employee needs then shareholders will be pleased with the resulting profits. In other words, happy employees make happy customers make happy investors; it's a virtuous circle, according to Mackey. He does recognize, however, that shareholders must have the final word because they are the last to be paid and could be taken advantage of by management and other stakeholders.During Mackey's presentation we learn all about the myriad of programs and benefits Whole Foods Market has in place. It's impressive. Included in the innovative practices is one Mr. Mackey refers to as "appreciations" -- ending meetings by taking a moment to thank people for services they've done or for their positive qualities. Mr. Mackey notes that even the Whole Foods Market board of directors meetings end with appreciations. He states that it grows love in organizations and he observes that the person changed the most is the one giving appreciation.The second disk is an interview that provides a deeper look at John Mackey, the conscious person. This might sound egotistical on its face. Listening to the CD, I didn't feel that way. I believe Mr. Mackey's motivation in articulating his views is to help people see a way for corporations to be a force for good in society rather than the psychopathic entities they have been described as in certain media such as the documentary film and book "The Corporation."During the interview, we learn about John Mackey's journey as a leader and as a conscious person. As an advisor to corporate and government leaders, I'm interested in what shapes them and so I found this part utterly fascinating. The inner lives of corporate leaders are rarely revealed. It took courage for Mackey to be so open. Although some may not like what they hear, most, I suspect, will appreciate his honesty and agree with his values.In my own research I've found that organizations that thrive and survive for sustained periods of time have thoughtful leaders such as John Mackey. "Conscious" describes them quite well. They are aware because they invest time to reflect on their lives, their work and their values, to do the "inner work" as Parker Palmer described it in his masterpiece, Let Your Life Speak. They also have rich relationships with family and friends, which the research of Insead Business School professor Manfred F.R. kets deVries has identified as being critical to sustained superior performance.Although Mr. Mackey doesn't use the term "unconscious capitalist," it aptly describes the leader who often irreparably damages organizations. These men and women act with a desire to personally win in a competitive marketplace but their thought processes don't consider whether their actions reflect the good, the true, the beautiful and the heroic. It should come as no surprise then that the lives of unconscious capitalists rarely end well.Passion and Purpose: The Power of Conscious Capitalism is a valuable resource for leaders and those who aspire to be leaders. I highly recommend it. Hopefully, this is the beginning of John Mackey's work to publicly share his views so that others might learn from his wisdom and experience.

"Passion and Purpose" featuring Whole Foods CEO John Mackey is a remarkably insightful and original audio book consisting of two discs. On the first, Mr. Mackey energetically presents his theory of a 'Conscious Capitalism' for the 21st century before an appreciative audience of supporters. The second disc is an intimate interview where Mr. Mackey shares his personal wisdom about philosophical, spiritual and practical matters both within and without the corporate environment. The thoughts and ideas expressed on the two discs are intended to stimulate people who want to experience greater fulfillment in both their personal and working lives, especially those who strive to do the good.One might find it tempting to dismiss Mr. Mackey as an aging Baby Boomer whose insights into how love, compassion and forgiveness can inject a soul into the corporate machine as being hopelessly naive. Indeed, a recent series of articles in Mother Jones magazine has revealed Mr. Mackey's hostility to organized labor and universal health care, suggesting to some progressives that his rhetoric masks a hidden agenda that merely seeks to preserve the long-term profitability of Whole Foods.Setting these concerns aside, let's give Mr. Mackey the benefit of the doubt. As the leader of a successful business that has marketed nutritious foods to millions of people, Mr. Mackey speaks with authenticity; moreover, there are compelling reasons to believe he may be onto something. For one, it makes intuitive sense that a successful enterprise must articulate a coherent and inspirational vision in order to coalesce support among its numerous stakeholders (employees, shareholders and suppliers) in order to discourage a potentially ruinous culture fraught with adversarialism. Second, as consumers become ever more sensitive to environmental, social and economic justice issues, those companies that embrace positive values will be more likely to gain competitive advantages in the marketplace; as these kinds of businesses attract more capital, Mr. Mackey believes the capitalist system will finally develop the consciousness it has been sorely missing for far too long.The CDs are recorded with outstanding clarity, making them suitable for listening while driving or at home. You will probably want to repeat this thoughtful and inspirational recording to fully absorb Mr. Mackey's message and think about its applicability to your own life, as I have. I highly recommend it to everyone.

I approached this book with some scepticism having only recently visited a Whole Foods location which I chanced upon after getting lost in the Raleigh, NC area. The store itself was clean, well stocked, staffed with friendly employees, had a wide selection of organic and locally grown produce and had an annexe where environmentally friendly products were sold and causes announced.Having grown up in Britain where environmentally friendly goods had been on sale for some years and where Fair Trade products were available from charity stores like OXFAM, as well as the chains of Body Shops and Holland and Barrett stores, I found it difficult to believe that the blurb on the audio book was anything more than hype.In fact, disc one is a speech given by the CEO of Whole Foods who refers to his concept of Concious Capitalism to which I shall return shortly.The two discs are very distinctive, disc one being given over to the exposition of the view of how companies can grow and prosper even in a negative economic environment by taking a broader view of their roles and missions while disc two is an exploration of the inner workings of the man who guides Whole Foods and his philosophy of life.The first part is of great interest to me as an economist because of the identification by the CEO of three major aspects to his business. Firstly he articulates very well the role of the entrepreneur in what is know as the Austrian tradition. This is someoneone who has a belief in their product in the face of daunting uncertainty and obstacles who brings his or her product and service to the market place and by virtue of having something that customers wants, generates income and profits. Not for him the neoclassical view of a business which cites the function of the firm as making profit, a view which he dissects like a surgeon.Secondly he identifies a broader conception of an entrepreneurial business which is in stark contrast to the traditional American command and control model. He sees the enrepreneurial firm as existing in a complex environment where actions generate both feedback effects but which have an impact on the wider economic environment which he establishes as being stakeholders in the enterprise as opposed to moves in Western businesses to establish corporate ethical responsibility. From this perspective which is more of a network based model, what is stressed is partnership and co-operation from which all parties obtain mutual but perhaps unequal benefits,This brings us nicely to the third and most crucial part of his strategic outlook which is not based on neoclassical economics nor arcane game theory. He postulates his concept of Concious Capitalism which essentially is one of many forms of capitalism which can exist in a broad spectrum of general characteristics. He sees this concept as transcending the traditional maximum revenueminimum cost models and in doing so ends in a virtuous circle where all of the members of the network (stakeholders) as well as the external environment benefits.This view has much to commend it and the author identifies several other enterprises which follow a similar path and foresees a point in time when this will become the dominant form of capitalism.I have two main doubts about this view. Firstly, Whole Foods operates in a niche market among competitor firms in the market place. Customers are, on average, from higher income and social groups where perhaps not all partners in the home are wrking and where the family budget allows them to spend higher proportions of their income on fresh foods and organic goods. Also they can spend time on cooking in the home, a facility which is often denied to lower middle and blue collar groups where more than one job is the norm in order to obtain a minimumincome level and where food choices are more limited.Secondly, and more importantly, despite a more noble strategy Whole Foods and similar representatives of Concious capitalism are still subject to the vagaries of stock prices and the capital markets indicating value which may be asset stripped under the control of an aggressor.Though I am very supportive of the notions expressed here, and for the affinities with such works as the Living Company The Living Company, I feel that the anacronistic nature of the American Corporate Culture is such that the format set out will be eaten up by the huge predators which dominate the financial and business landscape.I give great credit to the author who leads from his principles but I fear for the future.Disc two really does not lend itself to too much attention. Although i found it to be of great interst personally, I feel that for many people there will be a bit too much of hippie mysticism about it.On the whole though I would heartily recommend this book to all students, teachers and practitioners of business wherever they may be.