Create Amazing: Turning Your Employees into Owners for Explosive Growth

by Greg Graves

There are more than 10,000,000 employee owners in America today. The results of employees owning a piece of the pie has been proven throughout American history, even before ESOPs became IRS law in 1974. Employees with even a small capital interest in their firms' successes are more likely to stay, have greater loyalty and pride, are willing to work hard, and make more suggestions for improvement.

Economic injustice caused by wealth disparity is quickly becoming the hottest debated topic in America. Employee ownership is not the only answer for economic justice, but it can be a critical puzzle piece for tens of millions of Americans where the current inherent disadvantage of circumstance stands in their way.

Create Amazing demonstrates how ownership can provide the ultimate competitive advantage to a growing company - and the nation. Greg Graves, who operated one of the most successful ESOPs in American history, the history of employee ownership in America and the principles of its purpose; why employee ownership is a viable solution fiscally and futuristically; what an ESOP is, what it does, and what's happening in Washington, DC, to promote this model; how ESOPs work, and how they're structured legally, fiduciarily, and financially; and the impact of ESOPs on America and on employee owners personally.

Genres: Business, Leadership

Audible Audio

Published May 11, 2021

Reviews

[Michelle Sauvageau]

This book is written with the goal of persuading you into converting your company into a 100% employee owned ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and what considerations you should make when doing so.

Since I work for a company that already falls under this category (and where the author is my former CEO), I do not need convincing. My favorite parts of the book were hearing from Graves on his leadership philosophies and background on Burns & McDonnell.

[Morgan Isern]

As an employee of a 100% employee-owned company, this book further emphasized how proud I am to work for an ESOP. Learning more about the history of ESOPs as a whole, as well as at Burns & McDonnell, was informative; learning about the financial impacts to ESOPs in their entirety was inspiring; and learning about the financial and cultural opportunities for ESOPs was invigorating. I couldn't imagine working for anything other than an ESOP even before reading this, but even more-so now.

[Matt Peterson]

Greg writes a fantastic book showcasing the power behind employee-owned companies. He makes a great argument for business owners to allow employees contributing to company success to become owners who share in (accelerating) company growth. The benefits to employees, the company, industry, retirement outcomes and communities alike are abundantly clear.

This book is a great read for owners looking to reward employees by allowing them to build ownership throughout their career.

[Joe]

Absolutely the playbook for anyone thinking about starting an ESOP for their company. Not just that though, a lot of great business advice in this book as well. Very tactical guide to running a business and more specifically and ESOP. If you work for an ESOP or are thinking about running one, this book is a must read.

[Rebecca Smith]

While I am probably not the direct audience, I know the author and so was interested in the book. The idea is good and interesting in today's economy. An easy read with good fact checking.

[Lori Mcdonald]

I find the concept of employee ownership very interesting. I valued the stories lessons from Greg Graves journey. If you are interested in employee ownership, I recommend it.