The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business

This is a very good book which has opened my eyes into looking for companies that are honest and transparent with their customers, shareholders and employees. This book calls companies to stop hidding behind secrets that destroy corporations (Enron and others) and start being transparent, by providing informaiton to your customers, shareholders and employees. Companies need to show that they are responsible to the environment, to their stakeholders and other corporations. This book is calling companies to be ethical in their daily transactions and gives example after example of corporations who have fallen because they tried to hide the truth. This book shows that we need strong ethical people to run todays corporations and we as investors need to reward companies who are starting to become transparent. At the same time we need to punish companies who are not taking responsibility for their actions and wrong doings. This book also points out that most investors are blind with their investments and don't even realize what their largest investment is invested in (for most people their largest investment is their pension plan, and I admit I don't know what mine is invested in). This is a very good book and has opened my eyes to at least see what's going on out there and provided me with the tools to do some research and make sure I reward companies that are making an effort to save our environment and be honest with employee's, investors, stakeholders, and customers. The one question I have is are we raising a generation that will be able to have thequalities needed to run the corporations of tomorrow... Great book...

Tapscott and Ticoll have written another very detailed, practical and profound book about business that shows their knack for zeroing in on the heart of a momentous change that is stirring in the world and explaining it all clearly and completely. At the heart of The Naked Corporation is the notion that shareholders and other stakeholders are empowered by technology to know more and more about organizations faster and faster, which in turn greatly emboldens them to take action based on their new knowledge. In other words, perhaps the old adage "there's one born every minute" needs updating. They're still being born, but hopefully now only a few per hour? Corporations "getting naked" can't be good news for marketing departments. Their job can no longer be about creating a nice rosy image; companies and products must be the image - for real. Yikes...David Brett, Founder, Knexa.

Tapscott and Ticoll launched the Digital 4Sight research program two years before the buzz of ethical misconduct by Enron, Tyco, Woldcom, Arthur Andersen and others finally set off alarm bells and made front-page headlines. Once again, they are ahead of the curve in accurately predicting and understanding critical businesss and cultural shifts that have enormous impact. Their thesis that greater transparency is the core of the solution seems like a "no brainer". However, the response of most corporations seems to be shallowly focused on compliance with S-OX regulations--missing the point of the exercise. The authors argue that this is the time to rethink the fundamental values and leadership of the corporation in context of external and internal stakeholders. It is heartening to see examples of leaders that live and manage to their values and take the bold steps to go beyond focus on their quarterly financial results and regulatory compliance. This book convincingly outlines both the business rationale and the path to a return of trust and loyalty in the instituions we invest in, do business with, work with/for. I see light at the end of this very dark tunnel in the evoluion of business and personal conduct, only if we all take action and accountability.

Finally, the book we have all been waiting for, which explains, in no uncertain terms, the emerging age of business which requires corporate responsibility and accountability via transparency. The book outlines the systemic changes, brought about by technology and other factors, which are driving this change. Most importantly, The Naked Corporation explains stakeholder engagement and empowerment in detail - which is important for all of us to understand....this book is not only a "business" book, but a book for those of us whose lives are affected by business - all of us. It outlines the power we all have as stakeholders to effect change. The book is well-written and well researched. I find the concepts and the diagrams very useful and easy to follow. Great job!!

The bubble burst, the hype hobbled into oblivion, but the best oracles about this fascinating period just keep getting better. Tapscott and Ticoll were pioneers in seeing how the digital age would change everything from office politics to parenting to intellectual property. Now they apply their same quirky, acid insight to the new bad guys - corporations that have lost their ethical compass. Check out the great insights into leadership in an age when 'fibbing and faking it' just won't work anymore. I love the image of naked execs in glass corporate offices, having stones thrown.... Highly recommended.