Mission: How the Best in BusinessBreak Through
by Michael Hayman and Nick GilesPublished by Portfolio Penguin, £20(Buy on Amazon)
Economic theory (and common sense) state that the main reason firms exist is to make their owners (and investors) money. Any contribution to wider society is a by-product of their own self-interest.
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As Adam Smith put it: "it is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest". Michael Hayman and Nick Giles, joint founders of PR firm Seven Hills, don't dispute that money makes the business world go round. However, they argue in Mission: How the Best in Business Break Through that the most successful companies also set out to solve a problem.
Given their background in publicity,it's no surprise Hayman and Giles placea lot of importance on a firm's marketing, branding and message. However, they also show that having an overarching goal can boost staff morale and ensure effective teamwork. Their other key observation is that setting up andrunning a company is time-consuming and risky.
So an entrepreneur needs to feel that they are contributing to something more than just the bottom line if they are to develop staying power especially when that bottom line may be written in red ink for the first few years.
The book's real strength is in the number of case studies. Drawing on plenty of research and their own extensive contacts list, the authors examine a wide range of businesses, from darling of the "sharing economy" Airbnb through to manufacturing giant Dyson. While most of the stories focus on what companies have done right, a whole chapter deals with what entrepreneurs can learn from failure, including a look at Richard Branson's failed attempt to break into the world of soft drinks.
There are times when the book could do with being more detailed. The chapter on the importance of networking and developing personal relationships could easily have been expanded beyond the dozen or so pages it receives. Mission also focuses primarily (though not exclusively) on technology companies, since these are the firms that Hayman and Giles have had most contact with in their professional lives.
However, these criticisms shouldn't detract from the fact that this is an engaging, highly readable business book, full of provocative suggestions, particularly for entrepreneurial types who might prefer the operational side to the promotional their networking advice is to "put aside the paperwork, difficult as it may seem, and accept that party invitation. Or better still throw your own."
If you are considering setting up on your own, or have already done so, you are likely to come away with at least one or two useful tips. Even if you don't run your own business, you will almost certainly enjoy reading the experiences of those who have in this book.
Mission: How the Best in BusinessBreak Through, by Michael Hayman and Nick Giles. Published by Portfolio Penguin (£20).//
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