Why We Need More Co-ops, Credit Unions, and Worker-owned Companies

I guess it’s because I’ve always rooted for the underdog, but right or wrong, I have always been drawn to the quality of life side of the community ledger rather that the economic side.

Regardless, I’ve accepted the reality that the majority of people believe money and jobs are more important than community building so I’m always trying to expand my knowledge and understanding of economic development.

So, to make a long story short, I’ve somehow ended up being part of a crowdsourcing team that is helping to develop a new course at Graceland University in Iowa called Leadership for a New Economy.

One of the resources shared as part of that curriculum is a YouTube video by Gar Alperovitz.

To be honest, I’ve never heard of Alperovitz but a quick google search reveals he is a Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland and founder of the Democracy Collaborative (http://www.community-wealth.org/).

In the video he shared startling research indicating that in the United States, 400 individuals have more wealth than the bottom 160 million or 60 percent of the population. 

And, while I’ve never thought of it that way, he also explained that democracy is at risk if we don’t transform this concentrated wealth by challenging assumptions and finding other ways to organize the production, distribution, and ownership of wealth.

By way of example, he suggested that we need to question why tax dollars were used to bail out GM, Ford, and the big banks but the resulting benefits stayed with big business as opposed to the public.

Occupy Wall Street and Idle No More are movements that have responded to this recognition that the old system or model is dying and new solutions are needed.

Alperovitz suggests that these solutions need to be about taking back our power and promoting community wealth as opposed to corporate wealth.

However, what was most affirming for me was that Alperovitz’s examples of democratic forms of sharing capital aligned with what my colleagues and I are seeing and supporting in a number of communities.

For example, he discussed the importance of coops and credit unions that stress one person, one vote, and therefore ownership of the wealth.

He cites the key role of non-profits that are citizen-led and the growth of social enterprise.

He also points out that the number of worker-owned companies is growing. In the US, 10,000 companies now employ 10 million workers.

While I don’t profess to have expertise as an economist, its seems to me that Alperovitz is suggesting that economic activity needs to reflect the social aspirations of the community—not just help improve the bottom line of a corporation.

The idea of a cooperative, community based, grassroots up economy makes a lot of sense because ultimately it means that to succeed, business needs to be as much about how it serves its community as it is about profit and loss statements.

Enterprising Ripples

I can’t remember how we were first introduced, but I can tell you that when we sat down over coffee, I learned Yvonne Fizer is an intelligent, energetic woman who is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs.

At our first meeting she handed me a strangely titled book called Ripples from the Zambezi and suggested I read it if I wanted to know more about the work she was doing with others to support business enterprise.

She went on to explain it was a book written by an Italian named Ernesto Sirolli, who first learned about business development in Africa, honed it in a remote area of Australia, and then moved to the United States to spread his learnings before Yvonne introduced he and his work to Canada.

So to be honest, I’m thinking, “Really?”

As a community builder, I work with many people who want to strengthen their local economy and see the growing importance of entrepreneurs. But, the reality is that starting up and sustaining a business is hard work.

And, even though many government programs, economic developers and other community organizations have been established to provide assistance, they aren’t always effective in motivating and supporting people.

Instead of trying to motivate, Sirolli, as well as the many facilitators he has trained, become coaches and advocates for anyone who is serious about starting or expanding a business enterprise.

By understanding that economic development is about people and their personal growth and self-actualization, Sirolli ignored accepted thinking and top down methodologies. In doing so, he created effective coaching and an enviable track record of success.

The strategy Sirolli teaches to communities often involves a committed volunteer local board, who hires an “enterprise facilitator” who is then trained by Sirolli.

Unlike most business developers, the facilitator doesn’t initiate projects or even promote good ideas. Instead, he or she responds to the interests and passions of self-motivated people, for free and in confidence.

A critical part of their coaching is helping the potential entrepreneur understand that a successful business needs to pay attention to three distinct areas (1) the actual product, (2) marketing and (3) financial management. But perhaps even more important, is promoting an understanding that no one is ever going to be good at all three.

Because no one has an equal passion for product, marketing, and financial management — all of which are essential — the secret of success and survival for a business of any size is not to get better at what you hate, but instead to find people who love to do what you hate.

As a result, the facilitator and the local board also promote networking that helps people form teams to advance the entrepreneur and their business. It definitely suggests an “it takes a village” kind of approach.

The ultimate result is a civic economy where people understand that when we help one another to succeed, we all win because our community gets stronger, healthier and more vibrant.

The message is that grassroots-up, person-centered, responsive economic development works. And, if it is well understood and community-driven and led, it works better than anything else. When a community can help motivated people succeed, the motivation and success travels.

Perhaps Sirolli puts it best, “The future of every community lies in capturing the energy, imagination, intelligence and passion of its people.”