The Politics of Fortune: A New Agenda for Business Leaders

National Security and Market Integrity are the two major areas of concern and focus in America today. This is a paradigm shift from the expectations of a post cold war economy, and the issues facing us are more alarming and dreadful. While the terror attacks can be blamed on the enemy operating from foreign lands, the collapse of Enron followed by several prominent bankruptcy filings are the creations of perpetrators from within corporate America. Never before in history have we faced the challenge on these two dimensions simultaneously. Prof Jeffrey Garten had brought out some of the points mentioned here in his earlier book " The Mind of the CEO". He had particularly warned of the dilution of long term interests of companies when CEOs chase quarterly figures. In this book he takes stock of the role of the CEOs in the present decade, at a time when their public image has taken a severe beating and the element of trust has severely eroded. Corporate America has a major role to play in shaping the destiny of the country and the pendulum of power now seems to be swinging towards regulation, thanks to the gross misuse and betrayal of freedom of free markets in the second half of the last decade. He looks at the situation both from a historical perspective, examining the foundations of the American economy and the current reality and threats faced by the country and its corporations. The dimension of globalization, the role of developed nations in acting as a catalyst of change, development and prosperity in the developing nations is analyzed well. The role of NGOs and the need for some new institutions to guide the policies and channel investments competing against compelling security considerations is another area of discussion. Ultimately one gets a clear "to do" list, as spelt out in the agenda points in each chapter. This applies to any CEO who cares for the well being of the nation, in addition to bothering about pleasing Wall Street and his wallet. The author also admits that it would be extremely difficult for the already over worked CEO to find time to take up all these extended responsibilities. They may not have the skills either, to understand issues as diverse as foreign policy, security, global trade, economic development and social welfare. The responsibility then shifts to Business Schools and corporate in-house executive programs to expand their curriculum to meet these challenges. The terrain is uncharted and the challenge is unprecedented, warns the author.

Jeffrey E. Garten methodically helps interested business leaders better define their roles and responsibilities when they deal with such issues as national security, corporate integrity, free trade, community involvement, foreign policy and business education in the aftermath of 9/11 and corporate scandals. Garten concisely reflects on past and present partnerships between governments, businesses and other players to provide business leaders with a roadmap in areas where he perceives their lack of involvement. Garten rightly fears that 9/11 and corporate scandals can lead to over-regulation that is detrimental to economic liberalism and its underlying benefits. Some business leaders probably do not have the time and resources to go way beyond their core mission: i.e. focus on the competitiveness and profitability of their companies. Other business leaders can better optimize existing resources at their disposal within or outside their organizations to keep themselves apprised of these macro issues thoroughly.

The author, dean of the Yale business school, has rendered a most valuable service to the business leaders of America, and in the process opened the possibility that new forms of business education, new forms of business practice, and new forms of moral global governance might yet emerge in America.Originally inspired by the "double-whammy" of 9-11 and Enron on business--(the one costing America, by Fortune's estimate for businesses alone, $150B in additional security measures, or close to 1.5% of the Gross Domestic Product; while others suggest 9-11 has reduced profits by 5-6%), the author provides an easy to read, well-documented overview of why CEOs have to engage in rebuilding the integrity of business, protecting the homeland, preserving global economic security and free trade, taking on global poverty, and influencing foreign policy.The author excells at pointing out, in the most gracious way possible, how all of the preconceptions of the current administration, and in particular its penchant for unilateralist military bullying, have proven both unworkable in achieving their intended results, while also unsuitable in being translated to economic gains. Military power does not translate into economic power or added prosperity.This book is *loaded* with common sense and specific ideas for getting business leadership back into the global stabilization dialog. The author focused on two ideas that I consider to be especially important: the need to reexamine how the taxpayer dollar is being spent on national security, with a view to redirecting funds (I add: from military heavy metal to what Joe Nye calls soft power: diplomacy, assistance, intelligence); and on the urgency of restoring the independence and expanding the mandate of the U.S. Information Agency so as to overcome the acute misperceptions of the US fostered by Saudi-funded schools for youths being taught to hate, and little else.The non-governmental organizations come in for special scrutiny, and the author has many good ideas, not only for promoting better business-NGO partnerships, but for auditing the NGOs and not ceding to them the moral high ground. As he points out, many organizations that oppose globalization or specific business practices do not have any standards or transparency with respect to who funds them, how decisions are made, and so on.Finally, the author concludes with a focus on business education. While citing many improvements made by many schools, he notes that a comprehensive study and reengineering overall has not occurred since the late 1950's and early 1960's, and that the time is long past when graduate business education must be completely revamped. He is exceptionally astute and credible throughout the book as he explores the many things that CEOs need to know but do not receive training on, to include understanding and dealing with government, NGOs, citizen advocates, and the real world. As he notes, Master's in Business Administration tend to train