Additional Resources for The Self-Made Myth by Brian Miller and Mike Lapham

Please contact Cynthia Shannon, cshannon@bkpub.com, for more information on reprinting this material.

How to Challenge the Self-Made Myth

Miller and Lapham outline in The Self-Made Myth (Berrett-Koehler; March 2012) how people in various roles can challenge the self-made myth.

If you are a business leader, owner, or CEO  

• Spread the story of how your success was supported by external assistance such as public investments and fair rules.
• Be vocal in meetings at local Chambers or business associations about the need to fund vital infrastructure that builds a foundation of prosperity. 

• Join Responsible Wealth, an organization of business leaders and wealthy individuals who believe that the economic rules of America’s economy are unfairly titled in their favor.

 
If you are a progressive activist or community leader 

• Get others to recognize that not all business leaders are against you.
• Seek out businesses in your community with an open mind and build cross-class alliances that build greater political power.

If you are an elected official  

• Frame policies using language that moves toward a deeper understanding of the origins of individual and business success.
• Build and perpetuate an honest narrative that highlights the importance of investing in the common good.

If you are a student or an academic

• Organize programs at your university to involve other students and use this book as part of class curricula to spread awareness. 

The Self-Made Myth: and the Truth About How Government Helps Individuals and Businesses Succeed

By Brian Miller and Mike Lapham

March 2012

Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Paperback; $17.95; 192 pages

978-1-60994506-0