Amazon Reviews

Kellie McElhaney has done the world of business a great service by providing leaders with a well-written, actionable guide to branding their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. There have been plenty of books extolling the many benefits to companies of pursuing CSR. Such companies can expect happier, more engaged and productive employees, more loyal customers and clients, and a stronger bottom line. However, no book -- until Just Good Business -- has described how businesses can take the important next step, that is, branding their CSR efforts. This Kellie does in spades, in an easily readable style, full of personal anecdotes and real-world (and recent!) organizational case examples. In addition to teaching CSR at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, Kellie serves as executive director of the school's Center for Responsible Business, and consults for a number of top-rank firms, including McDonald's, HP, Ernst & Young, Gap, eBay, Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, Levi, and Dow. Long story short, she knows her stuff. If you're ready to take your corporate social responsibility program to the next level, then this book will take you there.

McEleheney doesn't waste any time getting right into the meat of her business-minded approach to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Just Good Business is a roadmap for any size organization to shorten the learning curve when engaging in CSR efforts. There are plenty of good-intentioned corporate leaders who fall into the trap of trying to fool customers and stakeholders with distant and unconnected CSR programs like planting trees or mailing out holiday cards linked to a charitable donation program. McElhaney provides a clear, proactive and formulaic approach to avoiding such embarrassing forays. The book is full of real life case examples from top companies that she has advised. The subtitle of the book, The Strategic Guide to Aligning Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand, could not be more appropriate. A key theme throughout the book is the need to connect your CSR efforts to your core business, and again there are plenty of examples of both success and suicide by the business elite.

CSR is often viewed with some skepticism in the business world, but there is nothing naïve in her approach or advice. She has been at this game long enough to know what works, and what doesn't, and this book a compilation of her knowledge and experience in both academia and industry. Just Good Business is written in the style of a good management book, and will be easily understood by executives looking for the boiled-down version of her 15 years of pioneering work in this field. The content is filled with first-hand knowledge of how to sell a CSR program internally, as well as a complete formula for development, implementation and measurement. There is nothing in this text that conflicts with making money, shareholder primacy or efficiency. It is all about building trusted brands that build value. `Best of all, the chapters are short and sweet for reading on the train, plane or in the hotel.

Paul A. King, Sustainability Executive
Bovis Lend Lease

Kellie McElhaney is a well-regarded pioneer in the emerging field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the founder of the University of California's Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business. She also serves as the University's Distinguished Faculty Fellow in Corporate Responsibility. In "Just Good Business," McElhaney provides a strategic guide to make CSR count in any business.

In "Just Good Business," McElhaney ties corporate acts of social good to good business practice, branding, and financial growth. In the book, she provides her "Seven Rules of the Road," and provides useful anecdotes and case studies from her years of research and consulting about corporate CSR pioneers like Hewlett-Packard, Brown-Forman (Jack Daniels), EBay, Whirlpool, Timberland and Nike among others.

"Just Good Business" serves as a good resource and alignment tool for companies that seek a brand that is kinder and gentler, and a bottom line that is richer.

Just Good Business is a must read for any company considering a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy or a redesign of an existing CSR program. McElhaney offers a world of advice and practical steps to shape how CSR can (and should) fit within the firm's business mission and to guide it through the development process. Especially useful to those new to CSR, McElhaney brings color to each of her points with enough real world examples to help anyone envision how such strategies could be put to work in his or her own company.

It is easy to see how McElhaney's wisdom would be valuable to any large corporation working to make CSR an integral part of an established business. As an entrepreneur with a company still in the early stages of development, I found this book to be just as useful. Although my startup is a social venture and by nature committed to CSR, reading Just Good Business reminded me that we need to take time to effectively communicate that fact, rather than assuming our customers will "just know" without being told. I highly recommend other entrepreneurs read this book, as it will be far easier to launch with a CSR plan that already supports your branding strategy and visa versa, than to redesign down the road.

One last note for non-profit organizations - McElhaney peppers the book with ideas for what corporations ought to look for in non-profit partnerships. Assuming companies heed her advice - and they should - this knowledge gives non-profit organizations a valuable peek inside the minds of the decision makers at companies with whom they may want to collaborate. By understanding McElhaney's advice to companies, non-profits are better equipped to find corporate partners that would benefit from being tied to them and their social mission.

Highly recommended!

Kellie A. McElhaney's JUST GOOD BUSINESS: THE STRATEGIC GUIDE TO ALIGNING CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND BRAND uses ten years of the author's consulting experience inside companies to build a basic treatise on CSR practices in a title for managers and leaders alike. From knowing a customer to practicing consistency, JUST GOOD BUSINESS is a top pick.