Clicks and Mortar

About the Author

David S. Pottruck is the president and co-CEO (with Charles Schwab) of The Charles Schwab Corporation. Known for his visionary leadership, Pottruck has played a pivotal role in transforming Schwab into a leading financial services firm. His insights into blending traditional business practices with cutting-edge technology have been instrumental in navigating the internet-driven business landscape.

Terry Pearce is the president of Leadership Communication, a teacher at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and an executive communications officer at Schwab. Pearce is an expert in leadership communication and has dedicated his career to helping leaders inspire and connect with their teams.

Main Idea

The book "Clicks and Mortar: Passion Driven Growth in an Internet Driven World" by David S. Pottruck and Terry Pearce explores the intersection of traditional business values and modern technology. It emphasizes that successful companies in the new century will marry technology with the best qualities of people to create an environment ripe for profitable success. The main idea revolves around building and sustaining a passionate corporate culture that thrives in an internet-driven world. The authors argue that a company's culture is its central competitive advantage, crucial for inspiring loyalty, passion, and growth.

Table of Contents

1. Creating a Passionate Corporate Culture in an Internet Age
2. From Building Culture to Sustaining Culture
3. Cultivating Commitment Through Diversity
4. Leadership Practices: Inspiring Passion-Driven Change
5. Leadership Communication
6. Using the S-Curve to Achieve Success Through Renewal
7. Growing a Cannibal
8. Bringing Passion to the Internet World
9. Marketing
10. From Brand and Customer Experience to the Future

Creating a Passionate Corporate Culture in an Internet Age

In today's fast-paced, technology-driven business environment, developing a strong corporate culture is more critical than ever. Pottruck and Pearce begin by highlighting the importance of understanding what corporate culture is, how it is built, and how it can be sustained. They argue that culture is the sum of our beliefs, what we accept as right and wrong, and it speaks to us through various expressions including prose, poetry, art, government, and commerce.

The authors stress that in a business world driven by the Internet, where rapid and continuous innovation is essential to competition, corporate culture becomes a central competitive advantage. They explain that building a strong corporate culture requires understanding the collective beliefs expressed through values, language, and actions that inspire loyalty, passion, and growth.

Building a Culture for Growth

Pottruck and Pearce emphasize the basic human needs and desires such as food, shelter, love, and acceptance. They argue that a corporate culture that reinforces these needs is well-poised to compete in the Internet age. They provide the example of Charles Schwab, which aligned its values with its employees' need to make a difference in their customers' lives, leading to the company's thriving success in a highly competitive industry.

Determine and Declare Values: The DNA

The authors describe values as the DNA of any corporate culture. They argue that while the mechanics of processes and procedures may change, the core values should remain constant. The process of committing a company's values to writing, though time-consuming and demanding, is crucial for defining the company's strategic priorities and ensuring that these values are communicated and embraced by all employees.