Sunday, January 1, 2012

Book Review: DOING VIRTUOUS BUSINESS


DOING VIRTUOUS BUSINESS

THE REMARKABLE SUCCESS OF SPIRITUAL ENTERPRISE

BY:
THEODORE ROOSEVELT MALLOCH

The 167 paged book with a foreword written by Michael Novak is divided into seven captivating chapters and two other sub-chapters:
         Spiritual Enterprising
2.    Spiritual Capital
3.    Virtue
4.    Faith, Hope and Charity
5.    Hard virtue: Leadership, Courage, Patience, Perseverance, Discipline
6.    Soft Virtue: Justice, Forgiveness, Compassion, Humility, Gratitude
7.    Spiritual Capital in a sceptical Age
Conclusion: Spiritual Enterprise in the Global Economy
Appendix 1: A Gallery of Virtuous Companies
Appendix 2: The Numbers
Notes
Index
About the Author

The author, who himself benefitted from having been reared in an observant home and raised in the cradle of faith used his experience to craft beautifully how one can operate a business empire in a total spiritual realm. His intellectual pedigree, interdisciplinary training and a life of real-world work was a great advantage to having a broad over-view that helped in a perfect delivery of the book.
His meeting with the world’s greatest investor of the time, Sir John Templeton, set the tone for the book. Being one who looks at life from all ramifications, the meeting afforded more opportunities than just to gain some useful perspective on the market or to discover which company to invest in, it was a meeting that charted a full course of how enterprises and the entrepreneurs who started them are guided by a spiritual force rooted in faith. He used the encounter, the challenges it offered, generous support from Templeton and his own endowment to found the Spiritual Enterprise Institute which is now a multidisciplinary business academic center dedicated to exploring and analyzing the modern phenomenon of spiritual entrepreneurship and spiritual capital in the context of globalization. The framework of the Institute is premised on the fact that virtues, while explicitly held and applied are defined broadly so as to accommodate the perspectives of all faith traditions. It encourages integrating the spiritual principles and practices of virtue and faith into the mission, values, planning and operations of business and institutions.

The whole emphasise of the book is to present an overview of the ability of people with religious faith and spiritual commitment to make great success of their business. It explained that success comes because faith changes business for the better, and it presented a good blend of spirituality, enterprise and virtuous living.

The book which is a glossary of spiritual business enterprise is a must read for every Christian entrepreneur. 


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255