3.27.2006 ET

(CSRwire) San Francisco-- There are an overwhelming number of books published on the challenges of running large companies. And while approximately 50% of the U.S. workforce work for large companies (500 workers or more), the other 50% work for or own smaller scale businesses. Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream fame) and Mal Warwick redress this imbalance in their new book Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun, which lays out the roadmap for starting and running a business while staying true to one's own ethics and values.

Cohen and Warwick address changes both in the culture of modern-day business as well as in the larger culture of America itself. These changes are reflected in the marketplace by the evergrowing demand of consumers for products that are NOT produced in an environmentally damaging manner, as well as for companies that treat their employees with dignity, respect, and decent pay. And, the authors lay out a roadmap for entrepreneurs who want to bring these values of environmentally sound products and respect for their employees to the businesses that they own.

Cohen and Warwick use case studies from companies such as Clif Bar, Eileen Fisher Inc, Hewlett-Packard, ShoreBank, Working Assets, and many more to show how the "triple bottom line" of profits, people, and planet have helped companies throughout North America grow and thrive.

The book also contains practical resources for business owners or managers who want to narrow the gap between their personal values and their business practices, including a self-assessment tool that enables the owner or manager to determine how her or his company can begin implementing values-driven business practices. Cohen and Warwick also illustrate the many dimensions of values-driven businesses, addressing the varied roles of their customers, employees, shareholders or owners, and the communities in which they operate.

Values-Driven Business is the first book in The Social Venture Network Series--a group of low-priced, down-to-earth paperback guides that will walk readers through the practical steps of starting and growing a socially responsible business.

"In Values-Driven Business, Ben Cohen and Mal Warwick use simple language and abundant examples to show how any company, no matter how small, can do well by doing good."
--Russ Feingold, U.S. Senator

"Invaluable reading for those starting or running a small to mid-sized business--and for entrepreneurial students in business schools. A practical, easy-to-read guide to running a socially responsible business from some of the most innovative and successful pioneers in the field."
--Prof. Kellie A. McElhaney, Executive Director, Center for Responsible Business, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Ben Cohen is one of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, president of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities and a founding member of the Social Venture Network. He is the coauthor of Ben & Jerry's Double Dip: How to Run a Values-Led Business and Make Money Too.

Mal Warwick is chair of the Social Venture Network Advisory Board and is the cofounder of Mal Warwick and Associates, a fund-raising and direct marketing agency that has served nonprofit organizations throughout the United States since 1979. He has written, coauthored, or edited seventeen previous books, including the standard fund-raising texts Revolution in the Mailbox and How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters.

Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun
By Ben Cohen and Mal Warwick
Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-57675-358-3
Paperback
$12.00
Number of Pages: 192
Publication Date: April 2006

Announcing the Social Venture Network Series

Until now, most books on socially responsible business practices have been aimed at major corporations. But small businesses are far more receptive to the "triple bottom line" of people, planet, and profits, because so many of them are started by people determined to bring their personal values to the workplace. And small businesses collectively are huge--they employ half the workforce. Of the more than five million businesses in the United States, only 17,000 have 500 or more workers.

To serve this large and growing market, Berrett-Koehler Publishers has partnered with Social Venture Network (SVN) to produce a series of low-priced, down-to-earth paperback guides that will walk readers through the practical steps of starting and growing a socially responsible business. This series represents the merger of the Berrett-Koehler value of "creating a world that works for all" and Social Venture Network's commitment to building a just and sustainable world through business.

Far too many companies are focused on the bottom line to the exclusion of everything else. But the members of SVN and the staff of Berrett-Koehler know from their own experience that there can be a new bottom line for business--one that values healthy communities and the human spirit as well as high returns. Drawing on the expertise of SVN members, the Social Venture Network Series will show the owners and managers of small companies how easy--and how profitable--it can be to run a values-based business.

The first two books in the Social Venture Network Series, Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun by Ben Cohen and Mal Warwick, and True to Yourself: Leading a Values-Based Business by Mark Albion are due out this spring. Watch for Marketing That Matters: 10 Practices to Drive Your Socially Responsible Business by Chip Conley and Eric Friedenwald-Fishman and Growing Local Value: How to Build a Values-Driven Business That Strengthens Your Community by Laury Hammel and Gun Denhart in Fall of 2006.

About Social Venture Network: Since its founding in 1987, SVN has grown from a handful of visionary individuals into a vibrant community of 400 business owners, investors, and nonprofit leaders who are advancing the movement for social responsibility in business. For more information, see the SVN web site: www.svn.org.

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