Prosperity: Better Business Makes the Greater Good book club questions

1. 1.

   Mayer argues that shareholder primacy is a recent historical invention, not a fundamental feature of capitalism. Does that historical claim change how you think about whether it can or should be changed?

2. 2.

   If profit is the means rather than the end, what should the end be? How would you define corporate purpose for a company you work for or invest in?

3. 3.

   The book argues that purpose-driven companies perform better over the long run than shareholder-primacy companies. Is that an argument for purpose on its own terms, or does it undercut it — if purpose just maximizes long-run profit, is it really different?

4. 4.

   Mayer identifies trust as a key corporate asset that short-termism destroys. Can you think of a company you have personally stopped using or trusting because of short-term decisions? What specifically did they do?

5. 5.

   Employee-owned companies like John Lewis in the UK perform differently than publicly listed companies. What are the structural reasons for that difference, and are they always advantages?

6. 6.

   If you were redesigning corporate law from scratch, what single change would you make to better align corporate behavior with broader social interests?

7. 7.

   The critique of shareholder primacy is often framed as anti-capitalist. Mayer argues it is actually more pro-capitalism than the alternative. Does that framing change how you evaluate the argument?

8. 8.

   How does the question of corporate purpose play out differently in different industries — banking versus retail versus technology versus manufacturing?

9. 9.

   Mayer is an Oxford professor writing for a policy audience. What does the academic tone add or cost in terms of persuasiveness and usefulness to practitioners?

10. 10.

    The book acknowledges that purpose without profit is not viable. How do you draw the line between genuine purpose-driven behavior and purpose as marketing?

11. 11.

    Which corporations currently operating do you think come closest to Mayer's model of genuine purpose? What makes them different from the baseline?

12. 12.

    If shareholder primacy is as destructive as Mayer argues, why has it persisted and expanded globally rather than being reformed by the evidence? What political economy explanation accounts for its persistence?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.