The Age of Autonomy
Why is Southwest so uniquely able to succeed where others can’t? The thing that makes Southwest employees a powerful force for success is that they are autonomous workers working toward a common goal…
Somewhere Between Complacency and Fear
Cecil Ursprung, the former CEO of Reflexite Corporation, once described his ideal organizational culture as being a permanent ‘state of mild dissatisfaction.’ You may not agree with the word ‘dissatisfaction,’ but I expect you would agree that innovation flourishes when employee owners are constantly seeking ways to improve the company and that happens when employees are not satisfied with the status quo. Creative energy flows when people refuse to walk away from situations that are ‘good enough.”
Selling Ownership to an ESOP: An Attractive Route to Cashing Out
Any business owner who evaluates their succession options without investigating the concept of an employee stock ownership plan will be making a mistake. What is an ESOP, and how does it work?
Improving State-Level Policy Advocacy for Employee Ownership
If undertaken nationwide, initiatives to support employee ownership at the state level could dramatically improve not only the welfare of prospective employee owners, but also revitalize an important source of U.S. firms’ competitive advantage in the global marketplace…
Communication for an Employee-Owned Company
Communication benefits the employee-ownership plan of a company in many ways. A well-communicated plan and a well-planned communication campaign are much more likely to accomplish your objectives…
Re-booting Capitalism: The Action Agenda for Business
Capitalism is living in interesting times. Politicians, academics and activists around the world are debating the merits of the capitalist system, and how and if it could be improved…
Client Profile: Dini Partners, Inc.
Dini Partners, Inc. became an S-Corporation as of Jan. 1, 2012. ‘It was clearly a way to define an ownership transition. The ESOP provided a path to an orderly transition of ownership. Also, as some of our senior members of the staff transition into retirement, we needed a vehicle to incentivize the younger, talented professionals to have a long-term stake in the firm.’
The 2012 Election Cycle: An Embarrassing Circus, Perhaps, but a Great Opportunity for Employee Ownership, for Sure
It is time to make the case that employee ownership is a solution to a lot of what is wrong with our country, and we need to continue to promote the concept until we have 30,000 or 40,000 employee-owned companies rather than the static 10,000 we have had for the last decade or more. If we can do that, we will have put a large part of the country on a much stronger footing, and moved toward solving some fundamental economic and social problems…
Employee Ownership Companies on the Hunt – Acquisitions by ESOP Companies
With ESOPs now formed almost entirely at very healthy companies – and many of those enjoying the unique cash flow benefits of operating as ESOP-owned S corporations – a growing number of these companies have become the predators of the M&A jungle…
California Center for Employee Ownership (CCEO)
The California Center for Employee Ownership provides information and resources to promote a better understanding of employee ownership in California.
Sundt Construction Company
Sundt had its share of ups and downs, but in 1992 when J. Doug Pruitt took over as the company’s COO, the company was headed toward bankruptcy. Today, the 100 percent ESOP-owned company operates out of eight offices located in Arizona, California, Texas, and North Carolina, and works on large construction projects in both the public and private sectors…
We the Owners: Employees Expanding the American Dream Official Trailer
Integrating art, business and education, this documentary film captures inspiring stories of employees and founders from three companies, each structured with distinct forms of broad-based employee ownership, who share an insider’s view of shared wealth and responsibility, high involvement culture, and their approaches and challenges in creating opportunity and prosperity through ownership.
Immigrant Worker Owned Cooperatives: A User’s Manual
This booklet provides a “users’ manual” for workers, especially immigrant workers, and their advocates, for organizing a worker-owned cooperative as a worker empowerment strategy.
Using Ownership Incentives in China
Roy Weber met Cheng Wang, a business consultant and Chinese entrepreneur, at Cheng’s hotel bar in Silicon Valley. Although Roy was slightly familiar with Chinese business practices, he welcomed more advice from a Chinese national. Could Roy transplant Silicon Valley’s model of employee ownership to China, and what would this process entail for a technology startup?
Client Profile: CMC Rescue, Inc.
CMC Rescue became 92 percent employee owned in 2011. Jim came to the realization that employee ownership could realistically be the only way to assure continuation of CMC with its current operations and employees…
The Decision-Maker’s Guide to Equity Compensation
This book describes the full spectrum of equity compensation plans (such as stock options, stock purchase plans, stock grants, restricted stock, phantom stock, and stock appreciation rights) available to private and public companies as well as LLCs. Unlike most books on equity compensation, it focuses on helping decision-makers decide what kinds of equity to choose, and who should get how much and when.
Positioning and Marketing your Company – Internal and External Customers
This presentation and accompanying worksheet discuss ways to clarify and refine your company’s value proposition, for both employee owned and other firms. It outlines ways to position your brand both internally and externally, gives examples of existing company approaches, and focuses on customer collaboration, strategic growth, and customer development.
Worker Cooperative Case Study: Isthmus Engineering & Manufacturing
While the U.S. manufacturing sector has shrunk over the past 30 years, the fully worker-owned Isthmus Engineering & Manufacturing (IEM) cooperative has thrived in the automated manufacturing industry.
Let’s Deal with Sustainability Once and for All
I think the reason we are still undecided about the sustainability of the employee-ownership model is simply that there are still significant numbers of business leaders (and, more importantly, business advisors) for whom the idea that allowing employees to earn capital as well as salary and benefits just sounds wrong.
Client Profile: n-Link Corporation
n-Link Founder Sandra Green explains that in the early days she wasn’t exactly certain what employee ownership entailed but knew intrinsically that it was a good thing for the company and the employees.
Sustaining Employee Ownership for the Long Term: The Challenge of the Mature ESOP Company
What do veteran ESOP companies have much to teach us about what it takes to sustain employee ownership over the long term?
Principled Entrepreneurship and Shared Leadership: The Case of TEOCO (The Employee Owned Company)
The case describes a unique corporate culture that motivates employees to achieve the organization objectives. It also discusses the company development strategy, the concept of shared leadership and how their recent partnership with a major private equity firm may have changed TEOCO’s culture and its business model…
Creating a High-Performing Workplace
Beyster Institute Senior Consultant Martin Staubus is teaching a course entitled ‘Management 269: Creating a High-Performing Workplace.’ In this interview, Professor Staubus describes the course’s five themes.
Client Profile: Flexpak Corporation
Flexpak Corporation, has been a leader in providing thermoforming and packaging services to its clients for many years. The employee-owned company, founded in 1974 by Donald Bond is headquartered a few minutes from downtown Phoenix, Ariz.
Employees Matter: Maximizing Company Value Through Workforce Engagement
Increasing numbers of businesses view their employees not as a mere cost but as invaluable contributors for business success. These firms are implementing strategies to fully engage employees at all levels. The Employees Matter report identifies sixteen fast growing entrepreneurial firms that employ employee ownership and engagement strategies which they perceive as directly linked with improved business performance. Eight other notable companies with key lessons to share are included as sidebar profiles.