Ownership mindset or empathy mindset? Why not both!?
đ Welcome Back
This will be the last post of my guest editorship before handing it over to Mark Hand, who will take the helm next week. It has been a blast and an honor to engage with you all over the last few weeks. While Iâm gone for now, thereâs a good chance I will be back sooner than later! - Mike
Happy Saturday, everyone! I spend a lot of time thinking about how to build ownership cultures that foster an âownership mindsetâ. I often start with Joseph Blasi and Doug Kruseâs conclusion:
âEmployee ownership does not magically and automatically improve employee attitudes and behavior when it is implementedâ
As Melissa Hoover reminded us at the 2026 EO Ideas Forum, it must be paired with scalable workplace processes and structures. Frameworks explaining what else is required exist, and new research finds that management practices can yield substantial productivity gains in EO companies.
I had this in mind while reading a recent interview with Ethan Rouen, co-chair of Harvardâs The Ownership Project, about research he co-authored with Leigh Wiess of KKR on three management practices that âpay offâ.
Financial literacy and transparency made the short list, as did taking worker well-being metrics as seriously as financial metrics. The surprise for me was the third: build an empathy mindset. They found that organizations with more empathetic CEOs achieved 2.4 times higher retention and 1.9 times higher engagement. And a growing body of research finds that workplace empathy is linked to improved business performance.
When we talk about building an ownership culture and mindset, non-managerial workers are often the focus. But Rouen and Wiessâs research reminds us that culture building is a two-way street, and leadership has a mindset to develop, too.
đĽ Top Shelf News
NPR Affiliate WKSU hosts Ohio EO advocates and local employee-owner on its hour-long âSound of Ideasâ program
Forbes lays out the 250-year history of employee ownership in the US
The Ohio Employee Ownership Center is highlighted in a long-form multimedia article produced by Kent State Media
Canadian budget bill becomes law, enshrining capital gains exemption for business owners selling to EOTs and worker co-ops
đ In This Issue
Events + Reflections & Opportunities
Employee Ownership, ESOPs, EOTs, & Worker Co-ops
The Ownership Economy, Community-owned real estate, & Member-owned finance
Academic News
đ
Events + Reflections & Opportunities
To see a comprehensive list of events, go to our main Events page.
This Week
June 28-30: the Rutgers Instituteâs Future of Equity Symposium in Palo Alto, CA (see RSVP, proposal submission form, and 2025 program)
ESOP Associationâs CFO Summit in Sonoma, CA
June 29-July 1: Cooperatives Europeâs Youth Voices, Cooperative Choices conference in Budapest
Reflections
Minnesota Center for Employee Ownership recaps its Built to Last: Business Legacy & Ownership Summit
NCEO looks back on its New Manager Workshop in Denver, CO
EOX reflects on the Greater Washington Employee Ownership Summit, presented in partnership with Project Equity
NCEO reviews last weekâs âIs an ESOP right for you?â event in Columbus
Opportunities
Project Equity is looking to hire an In-House Graphic Designer
And a Part-time Capital Deployment Manager
The Democracy at Work Institute is looking for a Cooperative Development Field Director
The 2026 New York Cooperative Summit, taking place in October, has a call for workshop proposals
Employee Ownership
ICYMI: Mark Cuban voices his opinion that every worker should get company stock
đď¸ Wisconsin Center for Employee Ownership launched the first episode of its podcast, featuring Steve Storkan
Employee Ownership Expansion Network published the June edition of their newsletter
The CBO scored the Senate Bill S.1728, which would create a federal Advisory Council on Employee Ownership to advise the DOL
đ Employee Stock Ownership Plans
SWCA Environmental Consultantsâ sustainability report credits its employee-owner staff for driving the firmâs long-term environmental commitments
Primary Care Centers of Eastern Kentucky moves to an ESOP ownership model
Washington-based Fogle Pump and Supply becomes 49% employee-owned via an ESOP
Michael Sinacore is chosen to help lead Expanding ESOPsâ efforts to pass legislation
The CA/NV Chapter of The ESOP Association is now accepting nominations for its awards; deadline set for July 31st
Employee Ownership Trusts
Software consultancy firm thoughtbot transitioned to an EOT structure
The BBC explains why more owners are selling to their employees and highlights Softstar Shoes, an employee-owned trust in Oregon
UK-based organic food retailer Grape Tree issued a ÂŁ100,000 staff bonus to workers
Common Trust writes about P. Terryâs transition to an EOT and what it helped preserve
đ¤ Worker Cooperatives
Elias Crim introduced Elevate Cooperative, the ICA Groupâs new network uniting 13 home care worker co-ops, startups, and co-op developers across 11 states
Doug OâBrien writes about the role of co-ops in the US over the last 250 years
United Steelworkers highlights how unionized co-ops build workplace democracy
In CounterPunch, Laura Flanders covers the challenges of the NYC economy and reflects on worker cooperatives as a solution
The Ownership Economy
đď¸ The Center for Community Wealth released the first episode of its podcast, The Wealth We Build
Arla Foods and DMK Group merged to form Europeâs largest dairy cooperative, with over 11,000 farmers 28,000 colleagues and 20 billion euros in revenue
Courtney Rozen writes on how Trump is exploring mecahisms for the US government and public to gain a stake in major AI firms (paywalled)
đď¸ Community-owned Real Estate
Ground Works Consulting writes on how to ensure community ownership policies endure
Roseland Community Land Trust applied to build 17 affordable homes in Cornwall
El Pasoâs City Council will consider a Community Benefits Agreement tied to Metaâs new data center
Consumer Ownership
East End Food Co-opâs board rejected a member-proposed boycott of Israeli-sourced products
Monadnock Food Co-op announced plans for a second store, opening in 2028
đ Academic News
Steven Klein highlighted labor unions as distinct vehicles for economic democracy in a leading political science journal
William Foleyâs MA thesis explored job quality in worker cooperatives and the effects of ownership, participation, and control
Building on the work of Isabelle Ferreras, Alexandre Chardavoine proposed âDirect Economic Bicameralismâ for formalizing workplace democracy inside firms
Sara Jex of MIT examined how community wealth-building strategies can guide the redevelopment of brownfield sites in industrial legacy cities
David Ellerman compared the EOT model to other EO models, highlighting some of its limitations
