In an age when most business plans extend only to the next quarterly reporting period, the authors of this book propose an audaciously longer view of future planning. Reaching beyond the modern five or ten-year strategic plan, the authors take a cue from Kongo Gumi, a Japanese construction company launched in 578 AD that managed to thrive as a family-owned business for nearly 1500 years.With the 2010 publication of an international standard on social responsibility (ISO 26000), and increased attention to sustainability and sustainability reporting, many organizations today are heeding the call to operate with this standard in mind. However, once the guidelines are understood and the gaps measured, these same organizations often struggle during implementation.
