John Abrams continues his legacy of extraordinary commentary about purpose in business, and particularly on the evolution, emerging models, and sustainability of broadly-shared business ownership. He has achieved a rare and difficult balance here: anchoring wise commentary grounded in clearly articulated values about the underlying purpose of business, with clear and careful discussion about the mechanics, strengths, and challenges of key alternative models and the challenges of ensuring long-term continuity.

To those who might say, "that's not what business is for," Abrams says, yes it is, or at least what it can and should be if we choose to make it so. To those who might ask, "that sounds lovely, but can it really work?" Abrams says, in fact it does...and then he shows us, and challenges us to step into this territory. He has written elsewhere about the history of one inspiring example, his own firm, South Mountain Company. Here, he extends that thinking to explore whether and how organizations conceived and grown in this manner -- what he terms CommonWealth Companies -- can compete not only in conventional business terms but also in delivering on their underlying purposes into the extended future.

From Founder to Future is a must-read for students of shared business ownership, of values-driven value creation, and in fact for anyone who believes in the power of business and yet wonders, "how can we do better?"