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THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF KOCH COMPANIES Discovery SEPTEMBER 2015 THIS ISSUE... 3 Molex sponsors Chicago Marathon 4 Unite to do right 7 Looking Back: The growth of Koch 8 Perspective: Charles Koch on “Good Profit” Tuesday, Oct. 13, is an important day on Koch Industries’ corporate calendar. That’s when Charles Koch’s new book — his first in eight years — will be released. “Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World’s Most Successful Companies” is published by Penguin Random House, the world’s most global trade book publisher. More than 100,000 hardback copies of the book were printed in mid- September. E-reader and audio book versions will also be available in October. “Good Profit” has already attracted attention from newspapers, blogs and broadcasters. That attention will likely grow as worldwide rights are finalized — although no translations are expected to be published before next year. Advance orders for the book began in June, when GoodProfitBook.com was launched. That site includes information about the book, its author and several options for preordering. Those who preorder “Good Profit” have the opportunity to interact with Charles Koch by asking questions on the website. WHAT’S NEW With more than twice the content of his last book, Charles Koch has devoted much of “Good Profit” to the many developments at Koch Industries during the past eight years. He also devotes a chapter to each of the five dimensions of Market-Based Management ® , followed by a chapter with detailed case studies of MBM in action. “Good Profit” is much more personal than anything Charles Koch has written before. It includes many observations about his parents, brothers, business partners and wife. But they aren’t the focus of the book. What he really brings to life is the way that Market-Based Management has transformed the company’s approach to business in a way that helps people improve their lives. For Koch, that’s the only reason any business should exist. SPREADING THE NEWS Charles Koch spent more than a year writing “Good Profit.” (He explains why on page eight of this issue.) When it is released, he will give several interviews to broadcasters and journalists, and make a few personal appearances at select events. His goal in making those appearances is to explain how good profit — the kind that results from helping improve other people’s lives — differs from the bad profit generated by corporate welfare, deception and unfair competition. “The main reason we strive to increase our capital and our business,” Koch writes, “is to enable us to make a greater contribution to our customers, communities, employees, and society as a whole. “That same focus will help any company create good profit as well.” GoodProfitBook.com Charles Koch’s new book, “Good Profit,” is his first since “The Science of Success,” published in 2007. Work on translations, including Chinese, has already begun. Re-writing the book on MBM ® “Good Profit” photos by [email protected]

Transcript of Discovery THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF KOCH COMPANIES · Discovery THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF KOCH...

THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF KOCH COMPANIES

Discovery

SEPTEMBER 2015

THIS ISSUE...

3 Molex sponsors Chicago Marathon

4 Unite to do right

7 Looking Back: The growth of Koch

8 Perspective: Charles Koch on “Good Profit”

Tuesday, Oct. 13, is an important day on Koch Industries’ corporate calendar. That’s when Charles Koch’s new book — his first in eight years — will be released.

“Good Profit: How Creating Value for Others Built One of the World’s Most Successful Companies” is published by Penguin Random House, the world’s most global trade book publisher.

More than 100,000 hardback copies of the book were printed in mid-September. E-reader and audio book versions will also be available in October.

“Good Profit” has already attracted attention from newspapers, blogs and broadcasters. That attention will likely grow as worldwide rights are finalized — although no translations are expected to be published before next year.

Advance orders for the book began in June, when GoodProfitBook.com was launched. That site includes information about the book, its author and several options for preordering.

Those who preorder “Good Profit” have the opportunity to interact with Charles Koch by asking questions on the website.

WHAT’S NEW

With more than twice the content of his last book, Charles Koch has devoted much of “Good Profit” to the many developments at Koch Industries during the past eight years.

He also devotes a chapter to each of the five dimensions of Market-Based Management®, followed by a chapter with detailed case studies of MBM in action.

“Good Profit” is much more personal than anything Charles Koch has written before. It includes many observations about his parents, brothers, business partners and wife. But they aren’t the focus of the book.

What he really brings to life is the way that Market-Based Management has transformed the company’s approach to business in a way that helps people improve their lives. For Koch, that’s the only reason any business should exist.

SPREADING THE NEWS

Charles Koch spent more than a year writing “Good Profit.” (He explains why on page eight of this issue.)

When it is released, he will give several interviews to broadcasters and journalists, and make a few personal appearances at select events.

His goal in making those appearances is to explain how good profit — the kind that results from helping improve other people’s lives — differs from the bad profit generated by corporate welfare, deception and unfair competition.

“The main reason we strive to increase our capital and our business,” Koch

writes, “is to enable us to make a greater contribution to our customers, communities, employees, and society as a whole.

“That same focus will help any company create good profit as well.”

GoodProfitBook.com

Charles Koch’s new book, “Good Profit,” is his first since “The Science of Success,” published in 2007. Work on translations, including Chinese, has already begun.

Re-writing the book on MBM®

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I want to thank you for what Flint Hills Resources is doing for our young people through its collaboration with the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. I think it is fantastic!

Bringing the arts to so many people in such a creative way is what makes the Ordway program outstanding and a great boon for our community.

Thank you for what you are doing and for what it means for all of us who are involved in the arts.

Philip Brunelle Artistic director and founder

Together We Sing

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Letters and other submissions become the property of Koch Industries, Inc., and may be reproduced in whole or in part, including the author’s name, for any purpose and in any manner. Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Susan Armitage

Melissa Cohlmia

Philip Ellender

Rich Fink

Jeff Gentry

Greg Guest

Charles Koch

Steve Lombardo

Walt Malone

Dave Robertson

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

Email us at:

[email protected]

DISCOVERY NEWSLETTER

Download the app for

news that comes to you.

www.KOCHind.com

DiscoverySeptember 2015

Volume 21 | Number 3

© 2015 Koch Industries, Inc. Koch is an EOE. M/F/D/V.

Molex recently announced a multi-year partnership as official sponsor of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, beginning with this year’s event on Sunday, Oct. 11.

The event assists in raising millions of dollars for charitable causes and the sponsorship will provide opportunities for Molex employees to get involved as runners, volunteers and spectators.

“The Bank of America Chicago Marathon connects people from all walks of life and around the world who are committed to health and fitness. This aligns with our vision to provide innovative solutions for technology breakthroughs that help improve people’s lives,” said Martin Slark, CEO of Molex.

“As an official sponsor, Molex is excited to show our spirit for Chicago and support one of the world’s preeminent marathons.”

www.molex.com/marathon

Dear Mr. Holden,

What most impressed me when I saw you on PBS was not the subject — the need for penal reform — it was the way you all conducted yourselves.

Here you were, two people from opposite ends of the political spectrum. But the way you two behaved, you were not just representing left and right. You were two civilized Americans, working together to serve the people of this great nation.

As an American, I was proud to have you both as our representatives, irrespective of point of view or the subject at hand.

Balbir Mathur President, Trees for Life

Wichita, Kansas

I just saw the op-ed (by Charles Koch and Mark Holden) with its full-throated endorsement of the clemency initiative.

I cannot tell you how much this means, nor can I adequately express my gratitude.

This goes a long way toward insulating the initiative from routine politics and elevates it to its rightful place as a program to correct injustice.

Norman L. Reimer Executive director, National Association of

Criminal Defense Lawyers

Foundation for Criminal Justice

Washington, D.C.

To read more about Koch’s support

of the SAFE Justice Act and overall

criminal justice reform, see the article

that begins on page 4.

When I first saw the completed David H. Koch Plaza at NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, I thought I should write to tell you all how wonderful it is.

The red umbrellas, the trees, the comfortable chairs and benches, and the gently overflowing fountains (which are a favorite of my partner, who is an engineer); it is perfect.

Today the beautiful trees and fountains cooled the mind on a hot and muggy day, so this seemed to be the right time to finally write.

It is a brilliant addition to a brilliant museum. Thanks from myself, other New Yorkers and the Met’s thousands of international visitors.

Your employees deserve to be proud of the result.

Nancy Rueth Public relations executive (retired)

New York, New York

I love the new Discovery app. It makes it very easy to navigate through all the content — even on a smartphone screen.

It allows me to read when I have some downtime at home instead of only when I’m in the office.

John Prytulka Enterprise architect

Koch Industries

Wichita, KansasIn July, employess in Wichita got to “test drive” the new Discovery app in Café Koch.

Postal Pipeline

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Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia – Al Jubail is not only the largest industrial city in the Middle East, it is the largest civil engineering project in the world.

In 1996, Guardian Industries chose Al Jubail for the first advanced glass plant of its kind in the Gulf region. That facility is about to become even more advanced, thanks to the installation of a Magnetron Sputter Disposition Unit that should become operational early next year.

Sputter coating is an effective way of adding multiple layers to the surface of glass after it has been formed into sheets. In the Middle East, where harsh sunlight and high temperatures are a fact of life, coated glass has become an essential building material.

“Because our SunGuard Advanced Architectural Glass reduces ultraviolet ray penetration,” said Ron Vaupel, CEO of Guardian, “it not only keeps customers more comfortable, it can result in dramatic energy savings.”

Vaupel noted that the tallest building in the world — the Burj Khalifa in Dubai — was built with Guardian glass made in Al Jubail.

Since 2012, Koch has owned a 44 percent interest in Guardian Industries.

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

Email us at:

[email protected]

Vadodara, India – Although it is best known for making world-class mass transfer equipment, the Koch-Glitsch facility in Gujarat made local headlines recently for a different sort of equipment: replacement limbs purchased for amputees.

“So far this year, we’ve donated 23 high-tech artificial limbs to disabled people in this area,” said Jatin Parikh, president of KCTG - India. “These limbs are distributed by the Amputee Association of India Trust.”

According to Dr. Virendra Shandilya, president of the Trust, the replacements Koch-Glitsch purchases are more advanced than those that are usually available in the area. With proper training, recipients can not only walk again, they can run.

“At Koch, we are committed to the well-being of society,” said Alessandro Attura, president of Koch-Glitsch Global. “These donations, made on behalf of our 550 employees in Vadodara, reflect that commitment.”

The Vadodara manufacturing site is one of the largest KCTG facilities outside the United States. Koch-Glitsch also has two global design centers in India — one in Mumbai and another in Vadodara.

Birmingham, England – Every year, 400,000 metric tons of carpet waste are buried in U.K. landfills. To help find ways of reducing that amount, Carpet Recycling U.K., a nonprofit association, hosts an annual conference to share ideas about recycling, sustainability and innovation.

In June, INVISTA — one of the world’s foremost producers of nylon carpet fibers — sponsored the awards dinner for this year’s Carpet Recycling U.K. conference, held in Birmingham.

“At INVISTA, we’re always looking for ways to minimize waste and improve the sustainability aspects of our products and processes,” said Marc Ahrens, vice president of INVISTA’s commercial flooring business.

“Through our relationship with our customers and the carpet industry, we are always seeking new and innovative ways to be more efficient and cost-effective in how waste is handled.

“Carpet Recycling U.K. is just one example of that,” said Ahrens.

CarpetRecyclingUK.com

International News

4

Unite to do right At this year’s NAACP convention in Philadelphia, President Obama made a point of praising Charles and David Koch (among others) for promoting criminal justice reform in the United States.

“You’ve got to give them credit,” Obama said to the surprised group of attendees. “Good people of all political persuasions are starting to think we need to do something about this.”

There were many in the audience — and in the mainstream media — who had trouble believing what they had just heard.

Given the Kochs’ outspoken opposition to Obama’s anti-free market policies, and the attacks on Koch by Obama administration officials (including one who implied Koch companies are not paying taxes), this was unexpected praise.

Many were just as surprised last year when retiring U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Kochs “should be applauded” for their continued work with and financial support of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to protect and defend Sixth Ammendment indigent defense rights.

That support was “a good thing to hear,” Holder said, because it showed “people from very different places along the ideological spectrum understanding that we have to make our criminal justice system more fair.”

In reality, Koch has supported groups such as the NACDL for more than 10 years. In fact, Koch won a Defender of Freedom award from that Association in 2011.

But for those who have repeatedly tried to portray Koch (the company, its shareholders and even its employees) as one-dimensional and ultra-conservative, with little concern for others or anything but the bottom line, the past several months have been quite an eye-opener.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Nowhere is this more obvious than in Koch’s repeated efforts to help make criminal justice reform a topic worthy of strong bipartisan support.

In January, Politico (a publication with an audience rated more liberal than Fox News viewers are conservative) published an op-ed by KII’s chairman and CEO, Charles Koch, and the company’s general counsel, Mark Holden. In it, they decried the legal injustices that often devastate low-income American families.

“If ex-offenders can’t get a job, education or housing, how can we possibly expect them to have a productive life?” wrote Koch and Holden. “And why should we be surprised when more than half of

the people released from prison are again incarcerated within three years of their release?”

Three months later, eight Atlanta Public Schools employees who falsified test scores (in hopes of helping poverty-stricken schools and their students meet federally dictated education standards) were convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, rather than ordinary criminal laws, such as fraud. Holden then joined Van Jones, a liberal political contributor to CNN and former Obama administration official, in writing an op-ed for USA Today that deplored such blatant overcriminalization.

The Atlanta teachers “were charged under a law that had nothing to do with their actions,” wrote Holden and Jones, who pointed out that racketeering is “a felony typically reserved for mob bosses,

drug kingpins and terrorists.”

They concluded by asking “How many Americans have to be similarly mistreated — and how many people’s lives have to be ruined — before policymakers act?”

IT’S PERSONAL

In March, Holden and Jones appeared on “Anderson Cooper 360º” to promote the same issue.

On a program entitled “America’s Prison Problem,” Holden, who grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, spoke from personal experience.

“I worked in a jail when I was in college and it was a sobering experience. A lot of the kids I grew up with were the poor kids. They didn’t have any money, they had drug addictions. They got in trouble and got caught in the poverty cycle. Now they’re at the bottom of society and they can’t get out.

“We need to start treating people in the criminal justice system individually, consistent with the Bill of Rights,” Holden said. “People who make mistakes — let’s not write them off forever.

On national television, Mark Holden (center) spoke about the personal experiences that drive his passion for criminal justice reform — a passion shared by Charles Koch.

People who have served their

time — particularly non-violent

offenders — why not have

restoration of rights: the ability to

get a job, housing, be with their

families and have a productive life?

5

Let’s give them a chance to reintegrate and re-enter society.”

A month later, Holden appeared on PBS “NewsHour,” with Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, to address the issue again.

“This is a very important issue to our leaders, Charles and David Koch, because we’re interested in helping people improve their lives and removing obstacles to opportunity, particularly for the disadvantaged and those who have the odds stacked against them,” Holden said.

“We believe in what is called classical liberalism — in a limited government and strong individual rights and individual liberties. We believe strongly in the Bill of Rights.”

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

Shakespeare once described unlikely partnerships as “strange bedfellows.” Few partnerships in recent years have seemed

as unlikely as the newly formed Coalition for Public Safety, a group formed to aggressively pursue criminal justice reform.

In February, Koch announced its support for the coalition, which encompasses several diverse organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, FreedomWorks, the Faith & Freedom Coalition, and the Center for American Progress.

As noted in the New York Times, the Coalition is willing to spend millions in promoting its goal of widespread reform. Organizers of the coalition call it “the largest national effort working to make our criminal justice system smarter, fairer and more cost effective.”

Supporters who are funding the Coalition include Laura and John Arnold, Koch Industries, the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

While Shakespeare might have called these “strange bedfellows,” Charles Koch prefers to characterize the group as “unlikely allies.”

As Koch explained in an editorial published the same month the Coalition was formed:

“To advance a free and flourishing society … we need to encourage people from all walks of life to join us.

“As Frederick Douglass said 160 years ago, ‘I would unite with anybody to do right; and with nobody to do wrong.’ I would like to see all of us devote ourselves to doing what is right.”

BURDEN OF PROOF

Suspicious critics who may want to think Koch is all talk and no action now have even more proof of the legitimacy of Koch’s intent. Koch companies recently deleted the question on job application forms that asked about prior felony convictions (an action called “ban the box” by reform advocates).

coalitionforpublicsafety.org

In his new book, “Good Profit,” Charles Koch tells the story that led to that decision. It began with a problem at the company’s Texas refinery that should have been resolved at the state level, with a civil remedy. Instead, it ended up becoming a federal criminal case.

“That,” Charles Koch explained, “introduced Koch to the many imperfections of the American criminal justice system.” If a large company with significant resources has to struggle for justice, Koch wondered, what chance does a little guy have?

“This experience influenced, in part, our decision to consider the job applications of people with prior felony convictions, rather than ruling them out at the start.” By doing so, Koch hopes to advance societal well-being.

NO JOKE

In part because of Koch’s efforts, widespread support for criminal justice reform is growing across the polarized political landscape. Van Jones has called it “real live no-joke bipartisanship.”

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in an interview with the National Law Journal, remarked on a meeting in his office with “representatives from the ACLU, the founder of the Tea Party, the Koch brothers” and others. Faced with such a diverse group so obviously willing to set aside differences for the benefit of the common good, Holder said, “it was like, wow … people need to see who’s here.”

I would like to see all of us devote ourselves to doing what is right.

6

Find more stories at

Value by designVisitors to Koch’s offices in London, Geneva or Singapore are probably unaware that those facilities were designed by the same group responsible for offices in Ames, Iowa, and Kennesaw, Georgia.

Koch’s workplace design and project management team (a division of Koch Business Solutions) must balance efficiency, ergonomics, collaboration and innovation — regardless of where in the world a project may take them.

That team is led by Tracy Nelson, a 20-year Koch employee who graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in interior design and came to Koch two years later.

“Tracy is one of the most creative people we have at Koch,” said Craig Highfill, her supervisor and Koch’s vice president of facilities solutions. “She also understands Koch culture and applies our principles to her work, just like every employee should.”

As Nelson puts it: “Our design work is all about change and innovation. We’re always looking for new ways to design space that will benefit the business.”

When Tracy started at Koch, the design industry focused almost entirely on personal space — such as cubes or offices — rather than team spaces. “Now it’s about collaboration and knowledge sharing,” Nelson said. “If people are isolated in offices or behind tall panels, new ideas won’t spread as fast.”

Office environments are also changing due to widespread use of mobile technology.

“Previously, most communication involved paper, so conference rooms had little or no technology,” Nelson said. “Creative destruction changed all that. Global connectivity and multimedia options are now requirements for Koch conference rooms.”

Nelson believes that good workplace design helps attract and retain top talent at Koch. “It also promotes employee engagement, which we know leads to fulfillment.”

Nelson’s workplace design team has grown as the demand from customers has increased. “We now have several facility planners, an ergonomic specialist and a collaboration technology specialist — and we’re trying to hire three or four more.”

After celebrating the completion of Building H in Wichita (a three-year project), Nelson and her team still have plenty of other challenges to tackle. Upcoming projects include work for the lighting division at Molex’s corporate office in suburban Chicago, and office work near Washington, D.C.

But Tracy and her team don’t require glamorous projects or locations to find fulfillment in their work.

“We do lots of small projects that are great for the businesses.

“For instance, last year we handled a project for Koch Pipeline — a 5,000-square-foot terminal office in Helena, Texas. My team did the design and I did all the ground-up construction management.

“They had been working out of trailers for three years, so a nice metal building with offices, workstations and a conference room was a great improvement for them.”

I like that I get to work on such a diverse

range of projects with people from all

over the world. Every day around here is

a new challenge or opportunity.

Tracy Nelson’s office overlooks Building H,

a project she worked on from start to finish.

Wichita, Kansas Houston, Texas

7

Looking Back

Change makes demands on

our minds, takes us beyond

our comfort zones, shatters

our mental habits.

-Leonard Mlodinow

NoteworthyThe Upright Thinkers – The Human Journey from Living in Trees to Understanding the Cosmos by Leonard Mlodinow

Mlodinow’s latest book is the story of human progress in general, and the development of science in particular.

The author, in his words, “begins with the development of the modern human mind and features the critical eras and turning points at which that mind leapt to new ways of looking at the world.”

Using examples from the lives of Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein and — just as important — many more unfamiliar names, he makes the case for the importance of intellectual curiosity and the power of new ideas to shake up the old order.

In other words, “The Upright Thinkers” is also a story about the power of creative destruction.

“Science,” Mlodinow concludes, “is the soul of modern technology, the root of modern civilization. It underpins many of the political, religious, and ethical issues of our day. And the ideas that underlie it are transforming society at an ever-faster pace.”

Charles Koch’s brief review of this book (which he calls “beautifully told”) will appear in the November issue of the Harvard Business Review.

Exceeding expectationsWhen Charles Koch’s first book, “The Science of Success,” was published in 2007, it included a remarkable graph that most people outside of Koch Industries had never seen.

That graph compared the growth in value of the S&P 500 (an American stock market index based on the market valuations of 500 large, publicly traded companies) versus Koch Industries. In both cases, the comparison assumed the ongoing reinvestment of dividends.

From 1960 — the year before Charles Koch came to work at his father’s firm — through the end of 2006, the value of the S&P 500 grew about 125-fold, providing an impressive rate of return for investors.

But during those same 46 years, the value of Koch Industries soared 2,000-fold, 16 times greater than the S&P 500.

“It is worth noting,” Koch wrote at the time, “that our rapid growth has continued even after becoming a large organization.”

Charles Koch went on to say, “Our approach to management has enabled us to succeed through decades of dramatic change.”

But what about the changes that have occurred since then? Did the Great Recession and its global consequences or the sheer size of Koch Industries dampen the growth of the company during the past eight years?

And how has the recent meltdown in global stock markets affected performance?

When Charles Koch’s new book, “Good Profit,” is released in October, it will include an updated chart comparing the value of Koch versus the S&P 500 from 1960 through the end of this year.

Using the same assumptions as the earlier chart, it will show that the value of Koch Industries will finish the year 5,000 times greater than the value of the company in 1960. That’s more than double where the company was just eight years ago.

In case you’re wondering, the S&P 500 currently stands at about 185 times its 1960 level, meaning Koch’s valuation has now outperformed America’s

largest public companies by a margin of 27-to-1.

How does Charles Koch explain such remarkable growth?

“We prefer to look at business through a win-win mindset, which was the guiding philosophy behind the MBM framework we began to develop in the mid-1960s. This framework has enabled Koch to grow tremendously.”

The latest Vision for Koch Industries calls for a long-term growth rate that doubles earnings, on average, every six years.

As stated in the Vision: “This necessitates significantly accelerating the application of MBM®, becoming much more forward-looking in talent acquisition and development, remaining private and continuing to reinvest 90 percent of earnings, while conducting all affairs lawfully and with integrity.”

Koch emphasizes that the growth of the company is about much more than just the pace of earnings.

“To the extent this Vision is realized, we will not only fulfill our role as a business, but further benefit society by helping people improve their lives through new business opportunities, new and better jobs, and safer communities in which people are mutually supportive.”

GoodProfitBook.com

Investment in Koch vs. S&P 500

1960 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005 20151970 1980 1990 2000 2010

5,000

4,500

4,000

3,500

2,500

1,500

3,000

2,000

1,000

500

8

Perspective

Charles KochChairman and CEO, Koch Industries, Inc.

As the Oct. 13 publication date for “Good Profit” draws near, I’m often asked about my reasons for writing the book. Many people — especially Koch employees — want to know how it will be different from “The Science of Success,” published eight years ago.

While it’s true that both of these books have the same subject, Market-Based Management®, they are very different in several important ways.

For starters, this new book was written with a broader audience in mind. “The Science of

Success” started as an employee handbook, while “Good Profit” was written for a general audience as well as employees. By all accounts, “Good Profit” is much more readable than my first book — even though it is more than twice as long.

It’s also more personal, with a great deal of family history, background information and candid reflection. I can thank my wife, several company leaders and my editors for encouraging me to write about those things more personally, and in greater detail.

In addition to being more current, “Good Profit” offers much greater depth and detail than “The Science of Success.” I’ve also made a point of trying to provide more and better guidance about how to apply MBM®.

What has remained constant throughout both books is our commitment to applying MBM across Koch Industries. My goal is also unchanged: I want to enable any business or organization — nonprofits included — to create more value in society. MBM is a proven approach that makes that possible.

THE TITLE

Not surprisingly, some of the questions I’m asked revolve around the book’s title: “Good Profit.” Does that mean there is also such a thing as bad profit? Absolutely.

Good profit occurs when we help create long-term value for others in a principled way. This is the kind of profit that benefits society. I believe the only reason for any business to exist is to create good profit.

Unfortunately, bad profit has become much more common.

Bad profit is generated by businesses that rely on corporate welfare, special treatment, short-sighted opportunism or outright fraud to prosper.

A favored few may benefit this way, but society as a whole suffers — especially the poor.

Any business that chooses bad profit rather than good deserves to be put out of business. Just as important, any company that wishes to generate good profit must be willing to embrace — not resist — what Joseph Schumpeter called “the perennial gale of creative destruction.”

Consider all that has changed at Koch since my first book was published eight years ago.

Since 2007 we have not only weathered the Great Recession and global political upheaval, we have entered entirely new (for us) industries and invested more

than $42 billion in growth, acquisitions and improvements.

Since then we have more than doubled the book value of the company — a remarkable achievement for a company our size.

During those eight years we have also improved our Vision and our entire approach to recruitment and management, internships, self-insurance, compensation systems, military outreach, opportunity origination networks, methods for achieving environmental and safety excellence, and MBM programs. We have also reached out with our first-ever national ad campaign.

THANK YOU

In my acknowledgements for “Good Profit” (which is dedicated to my wife, Liz), I thank our employees for making all that possible, and for helping to build Koch Industries into what it is today.

In particular, I thank those employees who have helped develop MBM into the effective framework that has made Koch so successful. (The many examples of success mentioned in the book are proof positive that MBM works independently of yours truly.)

In my conclusion, I mention the fact that I was named after my father’s mentor, Charles de Ganahl. He was a highly principled entrepreneur who gave Fred Koch a tremendous opportunity, even though Fred was only 24 years old at the time.

My father believed in working hard so he could make a real contribution, and thus have a life of meaning. In a letter he wrote to his sons he said, “I should regret very much to have you miss the glorious feeling of accomplishment.”

I share his belief in the importance of accomplishment and the fulfillment it makes possible. It is why I wrote this new book.

My hope is that “Good Profit” will enable everyone who reads it — and who applies its lessons — to enjoy a better, more fulfilling life.

Proceeds from the sale of “Good Profit” are being donated to the Youth Entrepreneurs Foundation.

If there is such a thing as good

profit, does that mean there is

also bad profit? Absolutely.

GoodProfitBook.com