On 30 January 2007, Nikos was the subject of Christopher Elliott’s frequent flier column, under the title “Take a stand even if it means not getting a seat”. Elliott writes: “Nothing gives your principles a workout like a business trip. Taking a stand for your beliefs isn’t easy when you’re outside of your comfort zone, but the rewards can be significant.” Read the article here.
On 24 January 2007, Purpose was the subject of a lengthy review in the Financial Times. Richard Evans remarked that Purpose “is rarely dull and makes some refreshing points about the value of integrity and having a genuine vision of one’s business. And it offers practical guidelines on how senior executives can identify and promote a sense of purpose.” The review was syndicated in the Los Angeles Times on 28 January, under the title “Purpose is the key, not profit”. Read the FT review here.
On 10th January 2007, Knowledge@Emory (http://knowledge.emory.edu) published a Q&A session with Nikos on the “Need for Discovery, Excellence, and Altruism in Corporate America”. Read Q&A here.
In Management First January 2007, an interview with Nikos was the Change Management Feature of the Month. Read interview here.
In January 2007, The Business Book Review selected Purpose as its first book to review of 2007, writing “Those who read this book will discover principles that are indispensable for companies that aspire to achieve meaningful success”. 50 Business Book Reviews are published each year and are available for subscribers at www.businessbookreview.com. Read the review here.
In December 2006, Purpose was named as one of Fast Company’s books of the year: “The best companies are driven by a higher calling than profit. That’s what motivates employees, customers, and shareholders. Mourkogiannis considers how companies develop a purpose and how they need to tend to it as they evolve.” See the article here.
On December 25th 2006, leadershipnow.com named Purpose as one the best leadership books of 2006 (“Yet those listed below—in no particular order—we believe, have added something unique or a useful restating of important insights that we all need to be reminded of as we develop our leadership skills.”) Read the full list here.
On December 22nd 2006, expertsonline.tv featured an interview with Nikos Mourkogiannis, “about the new challenges for leaders and why having an under pinning purpose is so crucial in business today”. Listen to the interview here.
On December 11th 2006, the weekly newsletter of The National Dialogue of Entrepreneurship (part of the Public Forum Institute) named Purpose as one of its recommended books of 2006: “The bottom line is that successful entrepreneurs should not make a choice between their values and success.” Read the newsletter here.
On December 11th 2006, Todd Sattersten of 800ceoread.com chose Purpose as his “Must Read” business book for 2006: “What is different about Purpose is it is thoughtful and deliberate. You don’t find that much in business books. Nikos slowly constructs his arguments and takes you along on his journey to understand the power of purpose. He is quick to say not all companies have a purpose nor do they need to, but the bridge between good companies and great companies is purpose. Purpose is a bedrock principle that once engaged drives everything a company does and once a company starts living by a purpose, deviation from it risks everything.” Read the whole post here.
Purpose was chosen as one the best books of the year in the winter edition of Strategy+Business magazine. James O’Toole wrote: “Mr. Mourkogiannis reminds managers that there is a rich lode of wisdom to be found in history books, and it is foolhardy for them to believe they can learn only from their own experiences, which, by definition, are circumscribed”. Read article here.
Purpose has been featured in two podcasts for the Cranky Middle Manager Show. In the first, posted on November 26th, 2006, Wayne Turmel – the host – interviews Nikos about his book, touching on topics like philosophy, duty and execution. Listen to the podcast here. In the second podcast, posted on 11th December 2006, Jack Covert of 800ceoread.com chooses Purpose as one of his favourite business books of 2006. Listen to the podcast here.
On December 4th 2006, Forbes.com columnist Saj-Nicole Joni published a column entitled “The Power of Purpose”, linking the ideas in Purpose with the 2006 American elections and three companies, whose leaders have taken Purpose-driven decisions. Read article here.
On December 4th 2006, Douglas R Conant, the Chief Executive of the Campbell Soup Company, was interviewed in BusinessWeek in an article entitled “Lighting a Fire Under Campbell”. In the article he named Purpose as one of the eight books that he keeps on his executive bookshelf.
On December 3rd 2006, Purpose was reviewed in the New York Times by Paul S. Brown in an article entitled “Guidance from Overlooked Corners”, highlighting it as one of three business books “that got lost in the shuffle in 2006”. Read the article here. This article was also published in the International Herald Tribune on December 22nd, 2006.
On November 25th 2006, Purpose was the subject of a podcast from the Ethical Corporation. Listen to the podcast here.
On November 21st 2006, Chris Partridge wrote about Purpose in an article in the The Times (London): “One of the most unexpected trends to emerge in the first years of the new millennium is the popularity of corporate rectitude”. Read article here.
On November 15th 2006 Jack Covert reviewed Purpose for 800ceoread.com, describing it as a book that “will change the way you look at your work and your life”. He also writes: “Purpose makes the case that all great companies need a purpose. Mourkogiannis defines purpose as "the reason for doing something that appeals to our ideas about what is right and what is worthwhile”. Pretty heady stuff.” Read review here.
On November 9th 2006, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, posted an essay on his blog entitled, Conscious Capitalism: Creating a New Paradigm for Business, in which he recommended Purpose: “I have especially drawn on Mourkogiannis’s ideas for this section and heartily recommend his book.”
Stefan Stern, a Columnist on Management for the Financial Times, published a review of Purpose in the November / December 2006 edition of Accounting & Business Magazine describing it as “challenging and thought-provoking”.
On the 1st November 2006 Nikos was interviewed on the Krow show on Voice America Business and discussed Purpose and the ideas behind the book. Listen to the interview.
On the 1st November 2006, Purpose was reviewed in “Canada’s National Newspaper”, The Globe and Mail and described as “compelling”.
Pierre Portevin of chiefinspiration.com has posted twice on Purpose, reviewing the book and (“Mourkogiannis reveals how Purpose provides the CEO with direction and focus”) and on 25th October 2006 describing the profiler.
On October 24th 2006, Simon Caulkin reviewed Purpose for World Business Magazine: “The book is thoughtful and well written. He writes convincingly of reward and morale, and of the link between purpose, social capital and innovation. He has a particularly good chapter on leadership that scores a number of important points. Read review here.
On 20th October 2006, Tom Ehrenfeld, business journalist and author of The Start Up Garden, described Purpose on his blog as “my new favorite business book of the year”. Tom Ehrenfeld wrote: “It builds upon many of the ideas of Jim Collin’s Built to Last, with a greater strategic focus.” Read the whole post here.
On 20th October 2006, Valerie Seckler interviewed Nikos Mourkogiannis for an article in Women’s Wear Daily, entitled “Keeping a Constant Aim Amid Fashion’s Quick Change”. Valerie Seckler quotes Nikos: "If you want to make it really big, it is important to remember what you stand for.”
Fashiotribes.com editor Lesley Scott issued a podcast on 20th October 2006 on Purpose, entitled "Successful Businesses Are Based on a Purpose”.
Jim Pawlak has reviewed Purpose for his weekly BizBooks column on business books (22nd October 2006). This review ran in The Chicago Daily Tribune, The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, The Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal, the Denton Record Chronicle, and The Dallas Morning News. View article.
Strategy Central has posted twice on Purpose. View the first post ( 15th October 2006) and the second post (17th October 2006). Mark Howell writes: “Long before you develop strategy, goals, objectives, and performance measures, you probably begin to do things out of a sense of purpose. It’s probably not even in the front of your mind in the beginning. Later you might realize that you’re supposed to have a mission statement. You might even know you’re supposed to have vision and values. But before all of that, or underneath all of that, must develop purpose.”
An excerpt from Purpose appeared in the October edition of Fast Company magazine. View excerpt.
An article on Purpose appeared in the September / October 2006 edition of Consulting Magazine. View Article. Inés Peschiera interviewed Nikos and quotes from him: “After Built to Last was published, I waited for Collins to write a sequel that talked about purpose, but he never did. Hairy goals are not purpose. And what needs to be known is that the real difference between good companies and great companies is purpose.”
On 25th September 2006 the Hindu Business Line of India (www.thehindubusinessline.com) reviewed Purpose in their books section and described it as “Recommended for purposeful reading”. View Article.
On 8th September 2006 Jay Bonasia wrote an article for Investor’s Business Daily inspired by Purpose, entitled, “Posing For The Future With A Powerful Purpose”. Investor’s Business Daily is a subscription site and can be found at http://www.investors.com/
The following interview with Nikos appeared on www.consultingmag.com on 6th September 2006. Nikos is interviewed by Ines Peschiera, Associate Editor of Consulting Magazine, on the subject of Purpose (requires Macromedia Flash Player 8). View Interview.
The following article was published on www.management-issues.com on 14th August 2006. Dan Bobinski draws on Nikos’s article in strategy business to examine integrity and long-term business success. View Article.
