November 7, 2007
Back To The Cottage
Just in case you missed our release of John Sipple's Back to the Cottage last week, here is an excerpt from Chapter 1:
The values and principles I learned in the Cottage are conspicuous by their absence in much of the corporate world's if they'd never been discovered — or were lost . . . or ignored. Yet, in some companies I have seen genuine efforts to be principles-based or values-based. Where those efforts have been faithfully and consistently played out (many have paid lip service), I have seen good business results: sustained profits, resilience and adaptability in the face of marketplace changes in the unfolding of the Information Age. Going forward, I am convinced we will need more of this values-based or principles-based approach in business — indeed in any realm where people gather to accomplish a common objective. This is especially true when we consider the growing tensions we face:
- Increasing pressure to create value quickly
- Industry consolidation — acquire or be acquired
- Short term pressure to improve the bottom line, yet long term need to position for the future
- Balancing financial results with ethical demands
- Maintaining product quality in the face of downward price pressure
- Attracting, developing, and retaining good people
- Developing a culture of collaboration in a fast-paced environment
Download Back to the Cottage PDFs
Preface to Back To The Cottage (PDF)
Chapter 1 of Back To The Cottage (PDF)
Here's little sneak peek of Chapter 2:
I was the first in my family to go to college. Although no one acknowledged it at the time, I suppose we all knew that when I left for school it would be the first time that an oldest son in my family would not return to carry on the family business.
I spent a few more summers taking care of the vegetable business, but in reality the seed of a more radical change was sown. I was not just leaving behind an economic model of production and distribution, I was leaving a way of seeing and being in the world. It would be some time before I understood the loss, and began my journey back to the Cottage.
