Most people want to read about what Jack Welch, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have done as managers. They would learn a lot more by reading about what Yvon Chouinard has to say about how he developed Patagonia.

This case history is filled with the kind of common sense wisdom that almost all companies and business leaders lack, including the best-known celebrity CEOs. Accounting rules don't require us to look at environmental damage so most companies don't think about the harm they cause in this regard. Yet if we don't do what we can to do less environmental harm, what's the point of having money in a spoiled world?