Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad: A Business Fable Taken from Real Life

Beans is the story of The El Espresso, a legend in its own time in Seattle and a coffee company that has prospered by intentionally staying small, inspiring fanatical customer loyalty in the process. Told over the span of a single day, it follows The El's founder, Jack Hartman, through a business crisis that will challenge him and make him clear on why he does what he does. Unsure of whether he has lost the passion needed to sustain his business, Jack hires a consultant who flies to Seattle to "help" him but in reality bears witness to the secrets of good business, whether it's a company of 20 employees or 20,000. In the process, Jack learns about "the Four Ps" and how applying these universal principles can reenergize his employees, his customers, and even himself.

Though fictionalized, this is a true story in the best sense of the word. It arrives at a time when people are yearning to return to honest ways of doing business―before corporate dominance, inflated executive salaries, accounting trickery, and outright greed became so much a part of our everyday business headlines. It is the story of how a pushcart David up against the corporate Goliaths succeeded by focusing on what is core to good business and a good life: honoring customers, trusting employees, building passion around a product, and turning an honest profit.

Leslie A. Yerkes is president and founder of Catalyst Consulting Group in Cleveland, Ohio. She is coauthor of 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work and author of Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work.

Charles Decker is Vice President for Client and Partner Relations for Acumentum, Inc., an electronic publishing company. He was formerly a senior executive at Amazon.com as well as a past director of the Executive Program book club in New York.