Unfolding Stakeholder Thinking by Andriof Jörg;Waddock Sandra;Husted Bryan;Rahman Sandra Sutherland;

Author:Andriof, Jörg;Waddock, Sandra;Husted, Bryan;Rahman, Sandra Sutherland;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

8.4.2 Influences on Bill Carris

Having the good fortune never to want for anything of consequence, Bill Carris came to believe that the all-American credo of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness also meant ‘a right to share wealth, to manage our daily work and to ultimately be in control of our lives’ (Carris 1994: 7). Well aware of the fact that many companies promoted emotional ownership, he decided to transfer actual ownership of his company to the employees.

In addition to those influences provided by his family and his life and work experience, Bill Carris prepared extensively to lead the corporate transition. Over a span of several years he examined other companies’ best practices, attended Harvard Business School’s Program for Executives and participated with other Carris corporate managers in workshops on employee ownership, corporate change and group process. He was moved by the long-term financial success of the Basque (Pyrenees) Mondragon Co-operatives, the broad stakeholder relationships formed and provisions for the common good. The co-operatives’ emphasis on collaboration, friendship, principles, consensus and profit as means of serving the common good (Mollner 1991) tangibly demonstrated the positive dynamism that could be created simultaneously in business and people’s lives when purpose and practice were joined.

Robert K. Greenleaf’s (1977) writings provided a perspective from which to think through the role of personal leadership as service to facilitate the change from private ownership to employees’ shared ownership. Bill Carris had personal experience working with those within Alcoholics Anonymous3 and had the opportunity to learn Quaker (Society of Friends) practices. These enhanced his skills and provided practical, experiential bases for working with change within groups. There were extended discussions with Carris management, consultants and others from whom Bill Carris requested feedback, all of which helped to frame the discussion and to develop implementation processes.

The LTP’s (Carris 1994) publication and the subsequent movement towards its implementation followed a consensus4 built within corporate management around its main principles: traditional corporate concerns for production, pragmatism and profitability within the context of stakeholder relationships, ethics and values. These emphases placed the Carris Companies in good company. In Built to Last, Collins and Porras noted that visionary companies ‘pursue a cluster of objectives, of which making money is only one—and not necessarily the primary one’ (Collins and Porras 1994: 8).

The first two paragraphs within the cover memorandum to the LTP established its context, invited participation as stakeholder citizens and made note of the unknowns ahead:

This document is my idea for the future of Carris Reels, Inc. and its affiliates. In it I attempt to describe the model for an employee-owned and governed company. The corporate community I have described does not exist today nor has it ever existed. The change from a privately held company to an employee-owned and governed organisation is a break with tradition, but it is also a departure from a system, which rewards but a few, to one in which the rewards are enjoyed by many … I a m searching for the

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