Profit is Not a Four-Letter Word

Some people worship it, others rage against it. But John A. Stieber would like to set the record straight: Profit is neither inherently good nor evil. What it is is a powerful catalyst for producing every product or service that makes our lives easier – from a leak-proof roof to a Concorde jet.

And the pursuit of profit is not just the driving force for creating new and wondrous things. Profit is the best incentive to use our scarce resources efficiently, as the economic and environmental devastation left over from most of the profit-suppressed, communist-bloc nations will bear out.

"Profit" is a wonderfully succinct and incredibly lively primer on the topic: what profit is, where it comes from, how it improves the quality of life for everyone. With its breezy style, entertaining cartoons, enlightening parables, and dead-on-the-mark explanations, the book is designed so that business professionals of every stripe can grasp the key economic ideas concerning profit in one short read.

Though brief and to-the-point, "Profit" takes readers far beyond the technical formula of "what's left over after costs are deducted from revenues". Instead, it brilliantly illuminates the crucial, but often misunderstood business concepts of:
– fixed, variable, and opportunity costs
– the difference between accounting and economic profit
– the human endeavors required to make profit
– why making profit is good for companies and society