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Tom Chappell's Book Proves That Doing Good is Good for Business
Managing Upside Down: The Seven Intentions of Values-Centered
Leadership, shows how a company can be profitable
without losing sight of its social and moral responsibilities.
(Kennebunk, Maine): Can companies that promote social values and believe in doing
good survive and prosper in today's cutthroat environment? "Absolutely," says Tom
Chappell, co-founder and CEO of Tom's of Maine, the world-famous natural personal
care products company, in his latest book Managing Upside Down (William
Morrow, September 1999).
"I have been running our company according to a mission of respecting customers,
employees, community, and the environment, and we are creating more products and
making more money than I ever dreamed of," Chappell writes in the book's introduction.
A combination management guide and riveting case study, Managing Upside Down
presents a totally new way of doing business, proving that a company that serves
its customers and communities while partnering with suppliers, retailers, and employees
can not only make money, but can make a difference, too.
At the heart of Managing Upside Down are Tom Chappell's SEVEN INTENTIONS®
of Values-Centered Leadership. Each Intention is a step along the path to running
a business profitably without losing sight of the company's social and moral responsibilities.
Chappell explains how to implement the SEVEN INTENTIONS® and shows how
they have worked for Tom's of Maine.
He reveals that several years ago, after seriously thinking about selling the company,
he and his wife Kate instead decided to embark on the biggest expansion in the company's
history. This was no small feat, yet by January 1999, approximately 18 months after
implementing its expansion plan, Tom's of Maine launched 27 new personal care products
and 70 new cough, cold, and wellness products. How did Tom's of Maine achieve such
stunning results, quadrupling its product lines in just two years?
Managing Upside Down reinvigorated Tom's of Maine, allowing the creative
juices to flow. Tom Chappell flattened the hierarchical structure and divided employees
into small working teams. Most importantly, though, he made sure that no one lost
sight of the company's reason for being—its values and its mission.
By following THE SEVEN INTENTIONS® of Values-Centered Leadership listed
below, managers anywhere can achieve far-reaching results:
- CONNECT WITH GOODNESS: Set aside your own ego, open up, and connect
to a universal force that is bigger than you and available to everyone—the power
of goodness.
- KNOW THYSELF, BE THYSELF: Explore who you are, your gifts,
and what you care about most in life. These are the clues to finding meaning
in your work.
- ENVISION YOUR DESTINY: Envision your future with your head
and your heart. The Upside Down approach is to allow your business goals to
emerge from who you are as a company, your essence, your reason for being.
- SEEK COUNSEL: Tom's of Maine listens to everyone—its board
of directors, employees, consultants, suppliers, retailers, and customers.
- VENTURE OUT: Build a creative strategy for every dimension
of your new business, make sure it is aligned with your values, and go for it—
even if there is nothing like it in the world.
- ASSESS: No matter how creative you might be or how unique
you are in the marketplace, you are still accountable to your values, vision,
and goals. Managing Upside Down is a trial-and-error process, and assessment
requires constant affirmation and editing.
- PASS IT ON: When you receive gifts, knowledge, goodness,
extra time, and profits, you are obliged to pass them along to others. Along
the way, you set up an exchange of experiences and a trial-and-error process
that can help everyone improve.
By presenting a behind-the-scenes look at his own company along with a step-by-step
guide for implementing values-centered management, Tom Chappell provides leaders
with the insights they need to run their businesses with their heads and their hearts.
Managing Upside Down is bound to become the classic guide to values-centered
leadership, much as his first book, The Soul of a
Business, set the standard in the early '90s.
Managing Upside Down can be purchased from
The Saltwater Institute or at
Amazon.
For more information about THE SEVEN INTENTIONS® of Values-Centered
Leadership program please visit The Saltwater Institute
or email values@saltwater.org
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