The ESOP Podcast

It's time for our annual EO/ESOP Podcast Summer School series. We've selected some of our favorite episodes over the past year for your enjoyment over the summer break.

Today we're sharing an episode of the "Owner to Owner" podcast. Host Jesse Tyler was joined by three great employee owners at 100% ESOP King Arthur Baking Company, Michael Scanlon, Manager, Workforce Acquisition and Growth, David Turner, Recipe Developer, and Ana Gallo, Fulfillment Operations Manager.

Each guest shares personal insights on what ownership means to them; how they describe ownership when talking to family, friends, and strangers; the three words they use to describe ownership; their EO A-ha moments; and why anyone seeking work should consider a career at King Arthur.

This episode was originally published on October 11, 2023, as Episode 52 of the "Owner to Owner" podcast.

It's time for our annual EO/ESOP Podcast Summer School series. We've selected some of our favorite episodes over the past year for your enjoyment over the summer break.

Bret Keisling was joined by Peter Newman, founder of Peak Wealth Planning [www.peakwealthplanning.com/], a boutique financial advisory firm specializing in high net-worth individuals with an emphasis on employee ownership.

In this episode, Peter discusses the various considerations someone should make as they begin planning for a successful retirement. Many employee owners may retire with a nest egg that generates more income than the salary. Peter describes how a mindset shift can be necessary to focus on designing and funding a retirement lifestyle, and why making and implementing financial decisions during the career can have a huge impact on retirement.

This episode was originally published on January 10, 2023, as the first in a three-part series, which is now available in its entirety on our website. The show notes for this episode also include a helpful PDF called "The Employee Owner's Guide to Diversification and Retirement Planning."

https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/esop-summer-school-43-peter-newman-successful-retirement-planning

As the US begins to celebrate the July 4th holiday, we're resharing this classic episode in which Bret Keisling reflects on what the holiday means to him and how employee ownership can address what he sees as our most vexing problem in the US, our inability to work together to benefit us all.

Shoutouts to NCEO co-founder Corey Rosen, the Employee Ownership News, and the "Owner to Owner" podcast with Jesse Tyler.

The full transcript of this episode, which includes links to all of the topics mentioned, is available on our website https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/esop-summer-school-42-from-independence-to-interdependence

It's time for our annual EO/ESOP Podcast Summer School series. We've selected some of our favorite episodes over the past year for your enjoyment over the summer break.

In part 1, Bret Keisling was joined by Keith Butcher, managing partner and co-founder of ButcherJoseph & Co., a national investment banking firm focused on middle market M&A and ESOP advisory. Keith shares his view that when mature ESOPs run into trouble, it is not because the ESOP structure is flawed, but that the company and leadership team has lost its entrepreneurial and strategic spirit. He discusses the positive interplay between private equity and employee ownership and why it's a good thing, and why companies should act like they're going to sell in 3 years, whether they intend to or not.

This episode was originally published as the first in a two-part series, which is now available in its entirety on our website at: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/esop-summer-school-41-keith-butcher-of-butcherjoseph-part-1

It's time for our annual EO/ESOP Podcast Summer School series. We've selected some of our favorite episodes over the past year for your enjoyment over the summer break.

In this episode, Bret Keisling shared EO A-ha Moments from five previous podcast guests who, besides sharing a passion for employee ownership, all presented or moderated at the 2024 Employee Ownership Ideas Forum, sponsored by the Aspen Institute and the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, that was held in Washington DC on April 9-10, 2024. If you missed it, you can still catch selected video from the Forum on their website.

In this EO A-ha moment compilation you'll hear from Maureen Conway (Aspen Institute), Adria Scharf (Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing), Corey Rosen (the National Center for Employee Ownership), Evan Edwards (Project Equity), and Jenny Levy (Hypertherm).

Links to the full interviews and more are available on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/esop-summer-school-40-eo-a-ha-moments-volume-vii

Bret Keisling is joined by Gina Schaefer, founder, board chair, and retired CEO of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, which was founded in 2003 in Washington D.C. It has since expanded to 15 locations in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD metro areas. In 2021 it became a partial ESOP with plans to eventually become majority and then 100% employee owned.

Gina shares the origin story of A Few Cool Hardware Stores and its journey to employee ownership.  Starting with her EO A-ha Moment, which is directly related to the civil protests that took place in Washington D.C. in 2020, Gina discusses how small businesses can support their employees and communities.  She touches on the challenges and rewards of transitioning to employee ownership, emphasizing the importance of community and connection.

Gina shares the inspiring story of how her neighborhood hardware store hired a number of people who were in treatment at a nearby addiction center, and how the hardware store came to be known in the community as "Recovery Hardware," which became the title of her book.  

For more information on Gina, A Few Good Hardware Stores, and a link to where you can buy “Recovery Hardware” while also supporting independent booksellers, visit our webpage for this episode here: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/283-gina-schaefer-on-business-community-eo

Bret Keisling is joined by Gina Schaefer, founder, board chair, and retired CEO of A Few Cool Hardware Stores, which was founded in 2003 in Washington D.C. It has since expanded to locations in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD metro areas. In 2021 it became a partial ESOP with plans to eventually become majority and then 100% employee owned.

Gina shares the inspiring story of how her neighborhood hardware store hired a number of people who were in treatment at a nearby addiction center, and how the hardware store came to be known in the community as "Recovery Hardware," which became the title of her book.  

This episode is excerpted from next week's EsOp Podcast, which is a full conversation about Gina's path to employee ownership and so much more. For a full transcript of this episode, more information on Gina, A Few Good Hardware Stores, and a link to where you can buy “Recovery Hardware” while also supporting independent booksellers, visit our webpage for this episode here: https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/mini-cast-265-gina-schaefer-and-recovery-hardware

Part 2. Bret Keisling is joined again by Campbell McDonald, chief executive of Ownership at Work [www.ownershipatwork.org/], a UK-based charitable think tank, and a research fellow at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. They discuss the interplay between employee ownership and company “best practices;” the international growth of employee ownership; and Campbell gives a shout out to the Oxford Symposium on Employee Ownership, and the work performed by Graeme Nuttal in growing EO internationally.

They also discuss board of director differences between EO and non-EO companies, and how many EO boards need to get better equipped on addressing business challenges of their companies. Listeners may want to listen to part 1 of the conversation (Ep. 281) for context before listening to this episode. A link to that episode, and all our show notes, are available on this episode's webpage at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/282-ownership-at-work-s-campbell-mcdonald-part-2

Bret Keisling is joined by Campbell McDonald, chief executive of Ownership at Work [https://ownershipatwork.org/], a UK-based charitable think tank, and a research fellow at the Rutgers Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. They delve into the impact of employee ownership on businesses and communities, the importance of employee voice, sharing rewards, and leadership in employee-owned businesses. They also discuss the similarities in EO results, regardless of the form of EO or what country the employee-owned businesses operate in. 

Campbell shares findings from Ownership at Work's EO Knowledge Programme, which was commissioned in 2022 by the Employee Ownership Association (EOA) and set out to establish a new baseline in understanding the scale and impact of employee ownership in the UK. The EO Knowledge Programme is the sector’s most ambitious research project to date, consisting of three vital research strands: The EO Performance Project, The Good EO Project, and the EO Integrated Impact Project.

Check out the photo of the "light switch moment" mentioned in this episode, as well as additional resources, on our webpage for this episode at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/281-ownership-at-work-s-campbell-mcdonald-part-1

From July 2022: Bret Keisling is joined by Anne-Claire Broughton of Broughton Consulting [www.broughton-consulting.com] and founder of the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center (NCEOC), who discusses small business transitions to employee ownership, open book management, and The Great Game of Business, B-corporations, and how employee ownership improves urban and rural areas and members of the BIPOC communities.

Further show notes are available on our website at https://www.theesoppodcast.com/post/280-icymi-anne-claire-broughton-of-broughton-consulting