From Founder to Future
Publication Date June 3, 2025
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About this bookLearn how to transition leadership, implement shared ownership, and preserve your organization's core values—setting the stage for your business to thrive for generations to come.
This visionary but practical handbook offers mission-driven business owners a roadmap for ensuring their company's lasting impact.
Through inspiring real-world stories of B-Corps, worker co-ops, ESOPs, and employee ownership trusts, this book demonstrates how to create resilient organizations that benefit workers and communities.
Abrams provides actionable strategies for navigating leadership succession, implementing shared ownership models, fostering participatory management, and codifying company purpose.
Drawing on his 50-year journey with South Mountain Company and extensive research, Abrams outlines five critical transitions for mission-driven businesses:
From founder to next-generation leadership
From sole ownership to widely shared
From hierarchical control to democratic management
From unprotected mission to preserved purpose
From business-as-usual to B Corp force for good
From Founder to Future is an essential guide for mission-driven leaders seeking to reshape their businesses for inclusivity, longevity, and positive impact. Whether you're a retiring owner planning your exit, a young entrepreneur building for the future, or an employee working in a purpose-driven business, this book offers a blueprint for creating enduring, values-driven enterprises in the emerging regenerative economy.
As $10 trillion in assets prepare to change hands over the next two decades, this timely guide shows how to preserve your company's mission and legacy while empowering the next generation.
“There’s no reason to wait until you are ready to retire to begin these transitions. The earlier the better.
Most younger business owners think of succession preparation as something way down the road or entirely irrelevant, but it has tremendous immediate benefits—building leadership capacity and an inclusive workplace culture boosts business efficacy every day and prepares the business for a successful future.”