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The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism
Harvard Business Review

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

How to unleash “human magic” and achieve improbable results

The Heart of Business is a timely guide for leaders ready to abandon old paradigms and eager to lead with purpose and humanity. This is how we can reinvent capitalism, so it contributes to a sustainable future.

Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer’s spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business.

Back in 2012, “Everyone thought we were going to die,” says Joly. Eight years later, Best Buy was transformed as Joly and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation’s favorite employers, vastly increased customer satisfaction and dramatically grew Best Buy’s stock price. Joly and his team also succeeded in making Best Buy a leader in sustainability and innovation.

In The Heart of Business, Joly shares the philosophy behind the resurgence of Best Buy: pursue a noble purpose, put people at the center of the business, create an environment where every employee can blossom, and treat profit as an outcome, not the goal.

This approach is easy to understand, but putting it into practice is not so easy.

The Heart of Business is a timely guide for leaders ready to abandon old paradigms and lead with purpose and humanity.

It requires radically rethinking how we view work, how we define companies, how we motivate, and how we lead. In this book Joly shares memorable stories, lessons, and practical advice, all drawn from his own personal transformation from a hard-charging McKinsey consultant to a leader who believes in human magic.

The Heart of Business is a timely guide for leaders ready to abandon old paradigms and lead with purpose and humanity. It shows how we can reinvent capitalism so that it contributes to a sustainable future.

The Heart of Business: Leadership Principles for the Next Era of Capitalism

The Heart of Business will be the defining business book of this decade. More +

Angela Ahrendts

Former Senior Vice President, Apple Retail; Former CEO, Burberry

The Heart of Business will be the defining business book of this decade. Hubert Joly shares his highly successful, simple, profound insights that reprioritize purpose, people, and profit. His proven philosophies are a brilliant guide for all leaders and companies preparing to rapidly pivot toward serving all stakeholders in this new age of inclusive capitalism.

Angela Ahrendts

Former Senior Vice President, Apple Retail; Former CEO, Burberry

Best Buy’s turnaround under Hubert Joly’s leadership was remarkable—a case study that should and will be taught in business schools around the world. More +

Jeff Bezos

Founder and CEO, Amazon

Best Buy’s turnaround under Hubert Joly’s leadership was remarkable—a case study that should and will be taught in business schools around the world. Bold and thoughtful—he has a lot to teach.

Jeff Bezos

Founder and CEO, Amazon

In The Heart of Business, Hubert Joly shows us what true and effective leadership is really about: articulating a noble purpose, putting people at the center, embracing all stakeholders, and treating profit as an outcome. More +

Aicha Evans

CEO, Zoox

Leaders often focus on the technology and business transformations underway. In The Heart of Business, Hubert Joly shows us what true and effective leadership is really about: articulating a noble purpose, putting people at the center, embracing all stakeholders, and treating profit as an outcome.

Aicha Evans

CEO, Zoox

This is must-read material for anyone looking to understand modern business as a force for global good, the changing nature of leadership, and why deep purpose needs to be at the heart of everything we do. More +

Alex Gorsky

Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson

Hubert Joly is a refreshing voice on organizational transformation, and with The Heart of Business he now shares an equally visionary perspective on the next potential phase of stakeholder capitalism. This is must-read material for anyone looking to understand modern business as a force for global good, the changing nature of leadership, and why deep purpose needs to be at the heart of everything we do.

Alex Gorsky

Chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson

This playbook for ‘unleashing human magic’ will change hearts and minds not only on how companies are run but how business and capitalism are taught in business schools. More +

Arianna Huffington

Founder and CEO, Thrive Global

In his inspiring and transformative book, The Heart of Business, Hubert Joly uses his years of experience at Best Buy to clearly show the importance of purposeful and human leadership and how to implement it. This playbook for ‘unleashing human magic’ will change hearts and minds not only on how companies are run but how business and capitalism are taught in business schools. This is a must-read and a defining book of our time.

Arianna Huffington

Founder and CEO, Thrive Global

The Heart of Business is a unique and very human guide to true leadership and ways to work together. More +

Ralph Lauren

Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Ralph Lauren Corporation

The philosophy of Hubert Joly’s The Heart of Business is from his heart and one he has shared personally as a director of our company for over a decade. His belief that the journey to success is led by pursuing a noble purpose and putting people first is part of what he calls ‘human magic.’ The resurgence of Best Buy under his former leadership is just one example of the transformative power of those heartfelt principles. Over these many years it has been my privilege to be inspired by Hubert’s honest sharing of these experiences firsthand. The Heart of Business is a unique and very human guide to true leadership and ways to work together, especially during these challenging times.

Ralph Lauren

Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Ralph Lauren Corporation

Hubert invites us to think deeply about a company’s purpose . . . and offers a set of principles and practical advice on how to make this vision a reality. More +

Satya Nadella

CEO, Microsoft

Through great storytelling and lessons from his own experience, Hubert invites us to think deeply about a company’s purpose—to contribute to the common good and serve all its stakeholders in a harmonious fashion by unleashing human magic—and offers a set of principles and practical advice on how to make this vision a reality.

Satya Nadella

CEO, Microsoft

 This book captures Hubert’s passion for purpose and people above profits and showcases with unique insight and practical examples how to make business an unstoppable force for good. More +

Paul Polman

cofounder and Chair, IMAGINE; former CEO, Unilever

Hubert Joly is a revered leader who has unequivocally proven the business case for stakeholder capitalism. This book captures his passion for purpose and people above profits and, just when humanity is at its most vulnerable, showcases with unique insight and practical examples how to make business an unstoppable force for good.

Paul Polman

cofounder and Chair, IMAGINE; former CEO, Unilever

The Heart of Business offers a joyful and inspiring vision of how to reinvent business and capitalism from the heart. More +

Darren Walker

President, Ford Foundation

Long before stakeholder capitalism and the idea of purpose in business were being talked about, Hubert Joly was already embracing both with impressive success. One of the very best business leaders now lifts the veil on why leading with purpose and humanity makes sense, along with how to make it work in the real world. Thoughtful, well researched, very practical, and eminently readable, The Heart of Business offers a joyful and inspiring vision of how to reinvent business and capitalism from the heart.

Darren Walker

President, Ford Foundation