THOUSANDS OF COMPANIES ARE PARTLY OR WHOLLY owned by their employees, from technology giant SAIC and coffee power house Starbucks to local retailers and manufacturers. How do these firms compare to traditionally run competitors? Can employee ownership really improve performance? If so, is it right for your company? 

Corey Rosen, John Case, and Martin Staubus reveal how innovative companies are taking employee ownership far beyond just stock plans or 401 (k) contributions-- they're using it as the foundation for a distinctly different and more effective way of running their business. Many have achieved astonishing results: faster growth, higher profitability, stronger resilience in economic downturns, and a competitive advantage that conventional rivals can't touch.

PART ONE: A DIFFERENT KIND OF COMPANY

 1. Ownership: The Performance Additive

 2. The Equity Model

PART TWO: ORIGINS

 3. Louis Kelso and the Invention of Employee Ownership

 4. The Quest for Cooperation

PART THREE: BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL EQUITY-BASED COMPANY

 5. Taking Ownership Seriously

 6. A Different Kind of Workplace

 7. Running the Business

 8. Changing a Company

 Appendix:

 Plans for Broad-Based Employee Ownership

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

About the Authors