Can you talk a little about South Mountain’s history and how the workplace democracy idea began?
In the early days, we never thought of ourselves as a company. My original partner and I were hippies looking for a way to pursue our craft. The last thing we were interested in was business. When we arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, we found ourselves, ironically, in business. After a few early mishaps, I found myself interested in and wanting to learn more about business. Once I got my bearings, and had some long-time employees who wanted to stay with the company, I was ready to return to my roots and develop a community-based business that belonged to the people who did the work. What inspired you to make South Mountain a democratic company? When my original partner left, I was left with a great company and a great team. The inspiration for organizational restructuring came from two long-term employees who said they wanted to stay with the company rather than spin off their own buisnesses, but that they needed a greater stake. Together we looked for models that would do more than addres
