In Pursuit of the Common Good: Twenty-Five Years of Improving the World, One Bottle of Salad Dressing at a Time

"In Pursuit of the Common Good" (subtitled: Twenty Five Years of Improving the World, One Bottle of Salad Dressing at a Time) is a non-fiction work written by the late Paul Newman and Aaron E. Hotchner (American author, most known IMHO for his novels about Ernest Hemmingway). This book is about the founding of "Newmans Own" natural foods, how it all started with Newman not being sure what to do with leftovers of his personal salad dressing made in a batch intended as holiday gifts for friends, and why they decided to give 100 percent of the profit from "Newmans Own" to charity. I feel that the first few chapters would be interesting for anyone planning to start a small business, especially one selling food products. The challenges and pitfalls that they overcame are very interesting- I had no idea that a well-known movie star would have to go through all of this just to start a business. I was also surprised that Newman was very involved in the formula for the salad dressing, and other products such as the salsa and pasta sauces. IIRC the first maranara sauce was based on a recipe Newman wrote on the back of a paper bag and went through no less than 10 "pre production" iterations before it met with PLN's approval to produce. The methods used by Newman and Hotchner to gather public opinion about their products are noteworthy also. Newman's Own saved many thousands of dollars by not listening to the so called "marketing experts" and using their own methods (saving an estimated $1,320,000 in pre-production research). It's worth noting that prior to Newman's Own, large food producers such as Kraft, etc. felt it was impossible to offer "all natural" foods with fresh ingredients for sale to the general public. In this way all of Newman's Own products were pioneers in the area of natural foods containing no chemical preservatives. Newman at first balked at the idea of having his face on the product labels but was encouraged to do so by Ellen Posey (wife of broadcaster and former F1, Indy and sports car racer Sam Posey). Ellen was also responsible for the distinctive design of the Newman's Own product labels. It is a light and humorous read, and like the Newmans Own products, the proceeds from sale of the book go to "Hole in the Wall Camps" for crippled and terminally ill children. Each section of the book has a few pages of reprinted letters from people commenting about Newmans Own products. One letter is addressed to "Mr Redford"; Hopefully Paul took that with good humor. There is a section in the back of the book with Paul Newman's favorite recipes, some of which were originally published in Good Housekeeping magazine, others were published in "The Hole in the Wall Gang Cookbook".

Newman's Own salad dressings started out the butt of many a joke or cartoon (some of which are re-printed in the book), but in the last 26 years, has become both a multi-million dollar food company, and also a major source of funding for charities, as it gives all its profits to charity. And Newman's Own also led the way for mass-market organic foods, using only all natural ingredients and no additives. In Pursuit of the Common Good is both the story of the company, and Newman's participation in it, but also included letters from users with suggestions for alternate uses of the products (shoe shining for one), recipes, cartoons, and many stories of the children and organizations that benefited from the profits. Originally published as Shameless Exploitation of the Common Good in 2003, this soft cover reprint is a cheap, easy way to read the story of how a company can do good, set an example, and still provide a product that people buy because they enjoy it, not because it's the right or green one available.

The hardback copy of this book is the same but has a different title,"Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good". This was a fun book to read which both made me laugh and tear up. What Newman and Hotchner accomplished by just being themselves and making practical decisions is truly amazing. Their journey from making salad dressing to donating 200 million to charity illustrates that when people see a thing that makes sense in its goals and how it is run, they will pitch in both amazing amounts of money and time to help. What a wonderful creation the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps are. Paul Newman left a legacy of joy, and good eating.

I recommend this book as it's a great story and extraoridanarily inspiring. It shows the good in human nature and greatly counteracts all of the negatives that are repeatedly showered on u sby the media. I have always admired Paul Newman and he has left a wonderful legacy. I will be giving this book as Christmas presents. It should be required reading for every CEO across the globe.

May you rest in peace... you were the originator of social capitalism by shifting the paradigm to one of good products/services, word of mouth marketing, and a corporation's focus on the social good. Hats off!