ABSTRACT
Reengineering a major industrial corporation and reconceptualizing its strategic mission is a daunting undertaking, but Ray Anderson adopted a radical approach to business and economics. The standard economic model subdivides the products of a modern industrial economy into two categories: goods and services. Anderson was among the first to realize that this categorization represents a false dichotomy. With the exception of purchases motivated by concerns over personal prestige, consumers do not buy goods for their physical presence—they buy them for the services they provide. Does one buy a refrigerator, for example, because one likes a large colored metal box in one’s kitchen? The answer is no. This good is bought because of the service it provides in the form of refrigeration of food.
