It’s been a while since I read a hardcore management book, and frankly I wasn’t really expecting this to be one when I picked it up.

You see, hardcore serious books don’t normally have the word NAKED splashed across the cover (which got me quite a few extra glances from bemused passers-by as I perused it in a Burger King joint).

To be sure, the Naked Corporation isn’t just about hardcore management (by hardcore management, I mean that it interests only management freaks) and corporate governance. It also covers how corporate transparency (or opacity) affect and is affected by stakeholders of the firm, including whistleblowers and other employees, business partners, customers, communities, and the owners and shareholders.

The authors Don Tapscott and David Ticoll start the book by arguing for openness and transparency.

Leaders see transparency as a threat or an opportunity. Some fight it or hide from it. Others believe they will do better for shareholders when they openly align their business with the interests of stakeholders, sorting out trade-offs along the way. Increasingly, in the face of transparency and legitimate expectations, smart firms take the second path.

“Do well by doing good” sounds simple, maybe too simple. Isn’t that what preachers have been telling us for thousands of years? Why is this any truer today than yesterday? One reason: Today’s business environment depends on trust - and mandates transparency - like never before.

The authors also give general characteristics of the transparent firm.

Open enterprises display similar qualities […]. [T]he firm infuses the values of the new integrity: honesty, meeting commitments, caring, transparency, and the maximization of economic, social, and environmental value.

In the ending chapter “breaching the crisis of leadership”, the book zooms in to the most important person of the firm if an open corporate strategy is to be pursued:

It all starts with the CEO.

Ok the quote sounds rather duh here, but in the context where I ripped it out from (p. 299), it did have some impact. The point is that intentionally or not, CEOs lead by example, and their actions speak loudly.

Go read this book if you’re a CEO or aspiring to be one, or if you’re a business student (it’s brimming with useful case studies for that next paper of yours).

Local firms really need this.