The Company We Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community, and Place

by John Abrams; Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 2005; 328 pages, $27.50, hardcover

South Mountain Company, cofounded by EBN advisory board member John Abrams, has been a pioneer in democratizing the workplace. The Martha’s Vineyard design-build firm, founded in 1975, became an employee-owned company in 1987. Not only is the company prospering, but it is serving as a model for other entrepreneurs seeking not only a bottom line of profit but also a bottom line that values the well-being of employees, community, and the environment.

In

The Company We Keep, Abrams tells the story of his company from its almost coincidental beginnings out of the back of a pickup truck to its highly respected position today. The 30-person company is known not only for the craftsmanship, energy efficiency, and environmental performance of its buildings but also for the role it has played on Martha’s Vineyard in addressing affordable housing needs and building community. In addition to focusing on South Mountain, Abrams also describes a half-dozen other progressive companies around the country that are leading a movement toward employee ownership.

The Company We Keep is a great read with a great message that should have relevance to virtually any company that cares about more than making money. Read it yourself, but also buy copies for friends and associates—as I have done.

– AW