John Abrams

Course Syllabus

RE-INVNTING SMALL BUSINESS -- FOR PEOPLE, COMMUNITY, AND PLACE

Course Description:

It's often the case that small businesspeople concentrate on what the business does - what

it produces - and fail to devote attention to what the business is - its purpose and its

meaning to stakeholders and community. In addition, many business owners - who have

poured heart and soul, and the better part of a life, into creating a business entity - have

no idea what to do with it as they begin to age and wish to slow down. When we build a

business we build a community that has a life of its own. Just like children, we must

prepare it to stand on its own two feet (and provide for us in our retirement!)

This course is for businesspeople young and old, experienced or not, who want to think

together about how to create living, thriving, prosperous businesses that are positive

contributors to community life and that honor the employees who create the wealth that is

essential to doing good business. It is based in part on John's book The Company We

Keep: Reinventing Small Business for People, Community, and Place, the eight business

cornerstones around which the book is structured, and his thirty years running a

design/build business. This is about designing and building a business.

The 2 day class will be a radical business primer full of stories, activities, and

information about making everyday business a thrilling adventure. It will mix

philosophy and practice, and will tackle employee ownership, growth issues, personnel

issues, benefits, community service, multiple bottom line thinking, and long term

business planning and succession. There will be plenty of time for participants to bring

their own business issues to the class and engage in a creative problem-solving setting

with participants and instructor.

Suggested Reading :

• THE COMPANY WE KEEP, Reinventing Small Business for People,

Community, and Place , by John Abrams

• Small Giants, by Bo Burlingham

• The Small-Mart Revolution, by Michael Shuman

If registered for the class, please submit, before January 15, the following:

• Specific case study problems, issues in your business, aspirations you have for

your business, or new business ideas that you would like to dig into in

participatory group discussions;

• The name, type, and size of your current business (if you have one or work in

one).

Students Will Learn About:

• The company as community;

• Basics of democratic decision-making and teamwork;

• Preparing for and leading utterly productive meetings;

• Fundamentals of employee ownership;

• Legacy issues: planning for long-term continuity and succession;

• Compensation strategies and benefits;

• Pensions and reserve Funds;

• Marketing without advertising;

• Affordable housing and community preservation;

• Using profits to create strong social and environmental bottom lines;

• Building strong local economies; and finally, perhaps most importantly;

• Conducting business in a richer, more meaningful way (hopefully!).

Format :

The course will be tailored to the specific needs of the class. There is a wealth of

material to cover, and some basics (above) will be explored in lectures. But a large part

of the workshop will be based on the submissions received prior to the class, so that we

can all work together to solve real-world issues and problems, and find ways to make

new opportunity for the participants.

Depending on numbers, we may break up into café-style small groups for in-depth

teamwork for parts of the workshop. If a large percentage of the class is involved in

design and/or building, course discussions will reflect that. The course will be conducted

using facilitation and teamwork methods developed at South Mountain Company over

the past 30 years.

There will be a freewheeling, learn-as-we-go element to the class. Most of all, we’ll learn

together and have fun doing it.

YESTERMORROW RE-INVENTING SMALL BUSINESS CLASS AGENDA

Schedule: 9-5, Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday:

Morning: Introductions;

Group prioritization of course content and emphasis;

Fundamentals, part 1: Meetings and Decision-making

• Basics of democratic decision-making and teamwork;

• Preparing for and leading utterly productive meetings;

Break

Fundamentals, part 2: Workplace Democracy and Ownership

• Fundamentals of employee ownership;

• The policy/management difference.

Lunch

Afternoon: Fundamentals, part 3: Legacy and Succession

• Reserve funds;

• Transitioning to EO

• Generation One to Generation Two

Group discussions or break-outs: specific participant issues identified in the morning.

Sunday:

Morning: Fundamentals, part 4: Compensation, evaluations, benefits, pensions, reserves;

Fundamentals, part 5: Differentiation and positioning,

• marketing without advertising;

Group discussions or break-outs: specific participant issues.

Afternoon:

Group discussions or break-outs: specific participant issues;

Fundamentals part 6 Planning – Business Plans and Strategic Planning

Reading List

Wrap-up and where to go from here.

Other potential topics:

• The company as community;

• Affordable housing and community preservation;

• Using profits to create strong social and environmental bottom lines;

• Building strong local economies;

• Conducting business in a richer, more meaningful way (hopefully!).