Synopses & Reviews
A dazzling blend of business vision, history, social psychology, and economics,
The Support Economy starts with a compelling premise: People have changed more than the corporations upon which their well-being depends. In the chasm that now separates the new individuals from the old organizations is the opportunity to forge a capitalism suited to our times and so unleash a vast new potential for wealth creation.
In recent years, many books have offered fixes for this crisis, but they have dealt only with its symptoms. The Support Economy, is the first book to critically examine its cause: Managerial capitalism has outlived the society it was once designed to serve. It successfully achieved the efficient production of goods and services, but today's individuals want more. They want to take their lives into their own hands and are ready to pay for the support and advocacy necessary to fulfill that yearning. The next leap forward in wealth creation depends upon developing a new capitalism that speaks to the needs of people today.
The Support Economy will be the next "must read" big think book. It speaks to every business and technology leader, as well as every reader interested in the future of the economy and society.
Review
"[A] timely and thought-provoking book." Library Journal
Review
"This husband-and-wife team...give socialist utopians of yesteryear stiff competition with their manifesto for a more personalized capitalism." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Shoshana Zuboff and James Maxmin are no-nonsense visionaries, offering the most profound social analysis in years a manifesto for the coming order in business and society at large. The Support Economy is a dazzling display of intellect with heart brilliant, important, and sound. Read it or be left behind in the dust." Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence and co-author of Primal Leadership
Review
"This is a profound book that will affect the future of business practice." Thomas K. McCraw, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Straus Professor of Business History, Harvard Business School
Review
"This is a must-read for those wanting to be key builders of business in the twenty-first century." George M. C. Fisher, retired chairman and CEO of Eastman Kodak Company, former chairman of Motorola, and chairman of the National Academy of Engineering
Synopsis
Today’s “managerial” capitalism has grown hopelessly out of touch with the people it should be serving. The Support Economy explores the chasm between people and corporations and reveals a new society of individuals who seek relationships of advocacy and trust that provide support for their complex lives.
Unlocking the wealth of these new markets can unleash the next great wave of wealth creation, but it requires a radically new approach—“distributed” capitalism. The Support Economy is a call to action for every citizen who cares about the future.
About the Author
Shoshana Zuboff, Ph.D., is the critically acclaimed author of the classic work
In the Age of the Smart Machine. Called "the prophet of the information age," she is a chaired professor at the Harvard Business School. She has been featured in
The New York Times,
Fast Company,
Business Week, and many other publications.
James Maxmin, Ph.D., has been the CEO of Volvo, Thorn EMI, and Laura Ashley. He founded the investment company Global Brand Development and is currently advisory director to Mast Global. He has been featured in The Financial Times, Business Week, and many other publications.
Zuboff and Maxmin are married and live with their two children.
Table of Contents
The Support Economy Preface
Introduction
One: Building the Chasm
Part One. Challenge: New People, New Markets
Two: Dreaming Economic Revolution
Three: How Managerial Capitalism Made New People
Four: The New Society of Individuals
Five: The Individual as History's Shock Absorber
Six: The Individuation of Consumption
Part Two. Crisis: Old Organizations Meet New People
Seven: The Transaction Crisis
Eight: Organizational Narcissism: Products, Pyramids, and the Legacy of Contempt
Nine: Rediscovering the End Consumer, Over and Over Again
Part Three. Emergence: The New Enterprise Logic
Ten: The Digital Bridge
Eleven: Conceptualizing the New Enterprise Logic: The Metaprinciples of Distributed Capitalism I
Twelve: The Inner Workings of the New Enterprise Logic: The metaprinciples of Distributed Capitalism II
Notes
Index