Last week the entire Seventh Generation staff headed to Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe Vermont for our annual two day retreat. (The Trapp family is the same one of Sound of Music fame.) The Lodge is a frequent destination for Seventh Gen meetings, it sits high upon a wonderful hill, giving you the impression that the world is at your door. Hundreds of acres of forest provide trails for hiking, snow shoeing or cross country skiing, winding through some of Stowe’s most amazing wilderness. The theme of our retreat was a question – “What does it mean to be an owner of our company?” “What it means to hold the whole of our company in all that we do, rather than the individual parts.” 14% of the company is now owned by our employees – the goal is to grow that to 50% over the next five years. How do we grow our capability to be owners in a world filled with employees?

We also explored our greatest hopes and aspirations for the company and what rituals and taboo’s both stand in the way as well as must be developed to ensure we create they type of organization that will manifest it’s potential. Here are some of the taboo’s we discussed wanting to create. It should be taboo:

  • not to care relentlessly about others and the whole company
  • to practice passive – non-comprehension
  • not to commit ourselves to our own development
  • not to consider our consumers in all that be do
  • to use “reply all” when answering your email messages

Over the next months we will take what we believe needs to be taboo and turn them into managing principles that guide our behavior.

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