Corporate Caring
Clicks and Mortar:
Passion Driven Growth
in an Internet Driven World
By David S. Pottruck and Terry Pearce
Jossey Bass, 2000, 314pp.
$26
By Eugene E. Kim
If you've ever interviewed at a Silicon Valley startup, you know the drill. Ask recruiters about company culture, and they'll tell
you about their casual dress code, Foosball table, and pizza and beer Fridays. Unfortunately, as great as these sound, they're usually not the answers you're looking for. Most people don't join
startups because of the free sodas. They join companies that stand for something, and whose employees are passionate about their work.
Company culture
is about values, not superficial perks. Understanding this concept is crucial for corporate survival in a world where change
is the only constant. In Clicks and Mortar: Passion Driven Growth in an Internet Driven World, David Pottruck and Terry Pearce explain how to sustain this culture in today's businesses.
One problem with many business books is that they only pay lip service to words like vision and culture. The strength of Clicks and Mortar is that the authors rigorously define what they mean by these terms, suggest real solutions for achieving ideals, and back their methods with personal experiences and numerous case studies.
Defining the term "value" is easy. Pearce identifies it as the "nonnegotiable tenets against which we measure the worthiness of our choices." However, pinpointing one's values isn't as simple. Pottruck explains that when he and Pearce first met, Pearce advised Pottruck to write an autobiography as a means of identifying personal values.
