Design Principles for a More Resilient Economy

In his new book When More is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency, Roger Martin offers an antidote to our fragile democratic capitalism.

If you follow my work at all, you’d know that any book that focuses on less is right up my alley. I’ve made a career of advocating the subtractive approach to business, work, and life. And a book by Roger Martin, whom I consider a mentor, would be even more so.

Roger Martin is, above all, a master thinker. He’s maintained a podium position on the Thinkers50 list for years, and has penned many a book and article on the art of business thinking.

His latest tome, When More is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency, is arguably his most ambitious and far-reaching. In it, he ventures into the rather heady space of contemplating what he maintains may just be the imminent demise of America’s economy. In fact, Martin’s great hope for this book is that it will save democratic capitalism from itself.

Why, you might ask, is our economic model in need of saving, the COVID-related economic collapse aside?