Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, The: Eradicating ...

Looking at Ethical Profits from the Global Poor:
Rather than teaching the poor how to fish you should provide them with the information they need to reach a life beyond fish and rice. That goal is nicely laid out by author C.K. Prahalad in his wonderful volume "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid." Prahalad correctly points out that it is the poor who stand most to profit from free, global markets. While that is true, the goal cannot be reached without a government being willing to assume a leadership role in making transactions easier for customers and accepting the responsibility of helping to create wealth rather than merely taxing wealth. Prahalad shares the belief of many that poverty and non-functional economies are not caused by Western dominance but by the inattention of the West. The author issues a call to change, insisting that business no longer can afford to neglect a market of 5 billion people who already are consumers and will help business generate even more profits once these 5 billion become more highly-informed consumers. It is information, not charity, that provides meaningful relief, stresses Prahalad, who calls upon business leaders to make meaningful and sustained improvements in the lives of billions of people. In case study after case study the author provides evidence for his premise that the win-win formula of innovation offers the dual function of helping the poorest of the poor while at the same time generating corporate profits. When you take a close look at India and its opportunities for successful business intervention, you see further evidence for Prahalad's assertion that the greatest potential for economic growth is in the billions of people living at the bottom of the economic pyramid. By Gunjan Bagla Author of Doing Business in 21st Century India

Interesting and insightful read, not just for business people:
I learned about CK Prahalad and the BOP about two years ago doing a school project. I'm a graphic designer, so my approach is far removed from the typical business person's. After this project, I used this book to guide my senior project (design equivalent of a thesis), in which I made up a company that served the BOP in Venezuela and created a brand and packaging system for it. As a non-business person, it was sometimes challenging to follow the book, but it was not overwhelming. I agree with other comments that say that it was a bit technical (especially with all the abbreviations), but it was still approachable. I'd recommend this not just for business people and entrepreneurs. Poverty is a world-wide issue and this book shows new and innovative ways of dealing with it. We can find uses for this theory in many different realms and disciplines and the theory forces us to think outside of the box. I was especially appreciative of the non-subsidies and the notion that poverty alleviation can come from sustainably profitable operations. I also like the idea of environmental sustainability as a must when dealing with the vast majority of the world as consumers. I would also recommend "Out of Poverty" by Paul Polack. I liked Prahalad's position better, as Polack falls short in addressing exclusively money as a poverty factor and disregards life quality as something we should address; something that Prahalad does address. But Polack addresses an even poorer segment of the world and we can learn from both theories.

How to Profit by Helping those Less Fortunate:
With endorsements by Bill Gates, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, the CEO of VISA Inernational, and One-Minute Manager co-author Ken Blanchard, this book sets up high expectations. And it meets them--with a dramatic and (dare I say) revolutionary approach to empowering the poorest of the poor around the word: not through handouts, but through a clever reinventing of capitalism. In other words, corporations can lift up the bottom through good old fashioned self-interest. As much an economics text as one on marketing, this book has the potential to drastically change the entire world economy. Among Prahalad's key points: * Poor people in developing countries crave the same lifestyle enhancements as the rest of us, and will spend money if they can demonstrate sufficient improvement in their condition * Companies that understand and harness the cultures where they operate can make handsome profits serving this underserved sector--especially where they enable massive saving of time, productivity, travel, etc. * When properly structured, offers to the bottom of the pyramid can actually be more secure, with lower default rates (especially when using self-help groups as in the well-known microlending model pioneered by Grameen Bank and others) * The bottom of the economy is a fantastic proving ground for new processes and products that can then be "exported" up the economic ladder (as one example: a prosthetic technology that created a superior artificial foot that can be manufactured and installed for $30 or so, versus several thousand dollars in upper-class cultures) * In many cases, the bottom can leapfrog some of the popular technology infrastructure in more developed locations and go to something better (e.g., skipping petroleum fuels and grid-based power lines and going directly to on-site solar, avoiding not only the significant infrastructure costs of rural electrification but also the issues of global warming and ongoing consumption cost) While he's a bit too rah-rah for my taste about the positive role multinational corporations can play in all this, and he's willing to tolerate financing plans that would be usurious in a modern consumer society (though still far cheaper than dealing with unregulated local moneylenders), he shows over and over again, both in the technical/theoretical part of the book and in the much more readable case studies, that profit can provide a great incentive to improve the lives and facilitate empowered decision-making among the very poor. As someone who has spent my entire life focused on improving the world, I find this very exciting, and would love to see this as a required text in every class on economics, marketing, and international policy. Shel Horowitz's award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, demonstrates how to build a business around ethics, environmental sustainability, and cooperative practices--and how to develop marketing that highlights those advantages.

Great book for any serious business person:
This is a great book for anyone serious about expanding their business, or starting their own business. It gives a real look at the world's poor. Every stereotype is wrong.

Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found the information eye-opening. I was thrilled to read about so many creative and resourceful people (actual case studies) who are truly commited to serving those who live on $1-$2 a day around the world. Their needs are real and the heros are those creative individuals who are 'pushing the envelop' in serving them while still making an honest profit. The case studies are also available either via a CD in the back of the book or via the website in the paperback edition. This is an EXCELLENT read.