The Future of . . . From Founder to Future
April 1, 2026 – John Abrams
During my career at South Mountain Company, I was responsible for hundreds of houses, renovations, affordable housing developments, greenhouses, barns, and institutional buildings. The words “responsible for” evolved from actually designing and building these projects, to designing only, to schematic design and oversight, to oversight only. But no matter my level of involvement (or lack of it), I always took a slow observational tour of each finished project. Not one, upon completion, felt flawless to me—and some felt close to failure. But we were lucky. We got many opportunities to try things again, to make them better.
Writing a book is like building a house. When my first book, The Company We Keep, was published in 2005, I wandered through it like I’ve wandered through so many complete houses. I liked the book but felt that there was room for plenty of improvement. I was thrilled to be granted the opportunity to do a second edition, renamed Companies We Keep, published in 2008.
Having launched From Founder to Future in June of 2025, and shepherded it through its early life, I now feel the same as I did with my prior book: I’m “done with the practice run” and “ready for the real deal.” The response to the first edition has been positive, and I have learned from many of your comments—and at times been appropriately humbled.
Ready to get back in the saddle, I recently signed a contract with Berrett-Koehler Publishers to do a vastly different second edition. Same book, but with compelling new stories, an entirely new design, several new chapters, and content I left out (and shouldn’t have). A better book, I hope. I’m thrilled to have been granted a second chance.
Given the convergence of four systemic circumstances—the silver tsunami, the ascending affordability crisis for working people, heretofore unimaginable wealth inequality, and our struggle to preserve and enhance democracy—transitions to employee ownership are more important than ever. Author Marjorie Kelly of The Democracy Collaborative, writing recently in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, said that “It’s clear that a new cultural moment is opening—a moment when worker ownership may take on a new sheen of possibility and promise.”
And in one of his always-inspiring weekly newsletters, Ari Weinzweig of Zingerman’s quotes theologian Richard Rohr, “The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better.”
That’s what this book is about: the practice of the better in our businesses and in our lives.
From Founder to Future may have a long tail, but that’s not enough. I hope to move it into a larger orbit for greater influence—to take advantage of this “new cultural moment.” As I rewrite and redesign, I’ll be wrestling with that.
Maybe you can help with the content. If you know of anything important I missed—great stories, people to interview, employee ownership innovations—or if you have any suggestions for improvements, I’d be grateful to hear from you. And, I’ll be checking in with many of you this year to update stories and information you’ve generously shared.