Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good: The Madcap Business Adventure by the Truly Oddest Couple

Everything I ever needed to know about successful entrepreneurship I learned from SHAMELESS EXPLOITATION. 1) It begins with a creative product, not in the search for a way to make money (sorry, Mr. Sinatra). 2) It begins with a product that fills a hole in a market (in this case, salad dressing made with fresh ingredients, no additives, conspicuously absent from mainstream grocery store shelves back in 1980). 3) Time-honored production and marketing methods can also be time-ragged and not right for your product. 4) Ask questions of everyone you know. 5) Put out a little venture capital and don't overreach (these guys put out $40,000 and lived within those means). 6) Don't compromise the integrity of your product, find ways to accommodate it. 7) There are other ways to publicize the product other than expensive advertising. 8) A movie star's name means nothing; it's all in the product and the hard work that goes into it (sorry, Frank). 9) You have to love and believe in your product. 10) You have to love the process of getting the product out there. 11) If you build it, they will come. Everything I ever needed to know about pursuing the common good I learned from SHAMELESS EXPLOITATION: 1) Just do it. 2) Invite everyone to participate. 3) Miracles can happen. Everything you ever needed to know about this book: 1) It's a fast read. 2) It's an honest read. 3) It's an insightful read. 4) It's an inspiring read. 5) The part about the charities served by Newman's own will blow your socks off. 6) The authors are highly entertaining tour guides of their adventure. 7) There are a few recipes to boot. 8) It is refreshingly free of those simplistic aphorisms that plague most business world books.

Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good is an easy book to find fault with. That said, it's also one of the most enjoyable, heartwarming and inspiring books I've read in a while. What these two did is beyond impressive. In a world filled with so many self-serving scoundrels and so much depressing news it's really a pleasure to see what a couple of pals out to have a little fun managed to accomplish. Hooray for them!

I was not sure I would like this book when I picked it up. The idea of a book about starting up a business is unappealing. But it has been delightful to read. I disagree with the person who found it smug. It is light, fun, very tongue in cheek. I have several friends who are planning to read it as well.

The Newman's Own Company website opens with the phrase "It started Out As a Joke and Got Out of Control". This book - written by Newman's Own co-founders, the actor Paul Newman, and his business partner and fishing buddy, the writer A.E. Hotchner, tells the story of a company that began as a lark and became the first American company to be a successful company and philanthropic organization rolled into one.For anyone who thinks that Paul Newman putting his name on something is enough to sell it, the truth is that celebrity food products are notorious failures. Moreover, the food business is one of the toughest to break into. The big guys like Kraft spend over a million dollars to develop a single new product and millions more advertising it; the stores charge exorbitant fees to stock new products and the race for prime eye-level shelving space in grocery stores is like being at one of those soccer match stampedes where people end up being crushed beneath the masses. Undaunted, Paul and "Hotch" put $40,000 into their venture, furnish an office with Paul's pool furniture and persevere, figuring that if their salad dressing actually tastes good, people will buy it. It turns out to be a formula that works and which they replicate again and again as they develop a whole line of food products.Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward have lived their long married life in Westport, Connecticut far from the Hollywood scene. He comes across in the book as an unpretentious, interesting and fun guy - a far cry from the usual self-important and bloated Hollywood ego. His equally unpretentious buddy A.E. Hotchner is the author of numerous plays, articles, movie scripts and books (including a book about another great buddy of his, Ernest Hemingway). These two share a wickedly funny sense of humor that runs throughout this very well written and readable book. The addition of some very amusing letters written to the company add to the fun.It's the story of a friendship, it's the story of a company, and it's the story of how corporate philanthropic giving can make a difference. It is also the most engaging story I've read about what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.... a great product, vision, persistence, staying away from naysayers, ignoring conventional advice, creating innovative branding, packaging and marketing strategies and above all, maintaining a sense of humor. A great read for just about anyone and a must read for anyone who wants to go into business for themselves!

I've been a Newman's Own product fan since the salad dressings first appeared on the shelves of Stew Leonard's many years ago and have been hooked ever since. From the tomato sauces to the popcorn, lemonade and everything in between. But what I wasn't aware of is exactly where all that money goes...what are the charities? Who does Mr. Newman and Mr. Hotchner support? In "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good" you get a really good understanding of how nutty these two guys are, howe dedicated to their products and, most importantly, their compassion for the various charities they support including the "Hole in the Wall Camps" throughout the world as well as the school bus for the children of immigrant farm workers among others. The school bus, for example, was on it's last legs and their was absolutely no money to purchase a new one. Newman and company agreed to purchase a new one...with no strings attached...and, interestingly enough, a number of years later purchased another one when that one died.It's a funny, feel good, break the rules book that I couldn't put down...not to mention the fact on my next trip to Stew Leonard's I loaded my cart with Newman's salad dressing, pasta sauce, lemonade and popcorn.-Bill Sobel 12/7/03