Turnaround Challenge

1 Introduction; 2 Crises; 3 Oracles; 4 Alternatives for Business; 5 Option 1: Trapped in Incongruence; 6 Option 2: Extensive Prosperity; 7 Successful Transitions; 8 Immediate Implications / Conclusions

Michael Blowfield is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment where he researches business transformation in an era of climate change and resource constrained economies. He is also a Teaching Fellow in Corporate Responsibility at the London Business School and Visiting Professor at Middlesex University Business School. He has worked as an academic and consultant in the field of corporate social and environmental responsibility with a particular focus on the socio-political context of corporate responsibility, and the role of business in society. Leo Johnson is the Co-Founder of Sustainable Finance, now a part of the PwC group. He is a Business Fellow of the University of Oxford Smith School of Enterprise & Environment, and a Judge of the Financial Times "Boldness in Business" Awards. As the Presenter of the BBC World News show "Down to Business" he has worked with social enterprises around the world that address the challenges of reaching scale. Formerly with the Environment Department of the IFC in Washington, he is a Trustee of the UK's Green Alliance and the New Economics Foundation.

"Turnaround Challenge marries innovation to Jane Jacobs. It provides a compelling analysis of the next wave of urban-propelled economic growth that promises to reshape business as well as the cities we live in."--Richard Florida, author of Rise of the Creative Class, University of Toronto and NYU"A fast-paced, hope-filled yet deeply grounded tour of the innovations and technologies with the potential to resolve our era's greatest environmental, social and economic challenges, where unrestrained business alone has clearly failed."--David Rowan, Editor, WIRED magazine"A fascinating journey that begins with the birth of capitalism and mass consumption and engagingly describes why this current model is no longer fit for purpose, given current and complex challenges. The authors draw on science, philosophy, history, and political economics, as well as business and social trends, to weave three realistic future scenarios and their respective implications for business, government, and communities. This book is a highly rewarding read for those of us who want to believe in the capacity of human beings to transform systems and practices."--Pamela Hartigan, Director, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, University of Oxford"This book is full of information, full of important ideas, very readable, and highly relevant to the challenges we are all faced with at this time. Two things are certain: society is struggling to get to grips with its sustainability challenges, and business will have a huge influence in meeting those challenges moving forwards. The book sets out clearly the challenges for business in both rich and poor countries. More than that, it shows the shortcomings of conventional thinking, and offers engaging new arguments for practical new directions for business to explore and suggestions for how it can be encouraged to act."--Professor Sir David King, Chairman, Future Cities Catapult"Vital and timely, fresh and provocative, t

Johnson was both amusing and entertaining. Matthew Stadlen, The Daily Telegraph