When More Is Not Better
When More Is Not Better
Roger L. Martin
Rory Sutherland
Excellent book. - Rory Sutherland
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When More Is Not Better

When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America's Obsession with Economic Efficiency

Roger L. Martin
By
Roger L. Martin
3.9
247
ratings on Goodreads

In "When More Is Not Better," Roger L. Martin, a luminary in the field of management thinking, delivers a profound critique of American democratic capitalism's current trajectory. Martin meticulously dissects the perilous path our economy has tread for over four decades—a journey marked by growing economic disparity and a relentless pursuit of efficiency that has culminated in a fragile economic system and an unprecedented chasm between the wealthy and the middle class. With an insightful blend of economic analysis and real-world examples, Martin challenges the conventional wisdom that more efficiency invariably leads to better outcomes. Instead, he unveils how this obsession has not only left many behind but has also made our economy more susceptible to catastrophic shocks. Through his compelling narrative, Martin calls for a radical shift in perspective: from a myopic focus on efficiency to a balanced emphasis on resilience. "When More Is Not Better" is a clarion call to rethink, reform, and rebuild the foundations of our economic system. Martin proposes a thoughtful blueprint for creating an economy that is both robust and equitable, one that can withstand future crises and bridge the widening gap between the rich and the rest. This book is a must-read for policymakers, business leaders, and anyone concerned with the future of democratic capitalism, offering a path forward to a more resilient and inclusive society.

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Released
2020
29 Sep
Length
243
Pages

1

recommendations

recommendation

Excellent book. - Rory Sutherland
Other data confirms this pattern, and perhaps there is no better illustration of how the average workers are losing out than the dramatic shift in the relationship between productivity growth and wage growth of nonsupervisory workers—the regular Americans we interviewed. Historically, up through the mid-1970s, there was an extremely tight relationship between productivity growth and wage-compensation growth. If workers were more productive, their pay went up proportionately, an outcome that spread the rewards of growth broadly, because economic growth and productivity growth are tightly coupled. For example, between 1948 and 1972, productivity grew 92 percent and wage compensation 88 percent—and they tracked each other closely each year. That meant that if workers produced more economic output for their employers, they were compensated with increased wages mirroring almost exactly the increase in output—fairness in the extreme. In 1972, however, that relationship broke up, and between 1972 and 2018, while productivity grew by 84 percent, growth in wage compensation barely budged, growing just 13 percent, or 0.25 percent per year for forty-six years (see figure I-2).
— Roger L. Martin, When More Is Not Better

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