Before bringing this brief tale of success to a close, it is important to note yet one additional way in which collaboration with a community beyond that of the organization can be of great benefit. This segment of the story begins with a major source of frustration for the Waxmans. This frustration concerned the lack of formal institutional support for their organization during the Covid-19 crisis. Their company could contribute much to their local community and there would be costs associated with the demise of their company. Yet, no formal financial investment was forthcoming from outside.
It was only the informal help offered by members of their local community that kept American Roots afloat. A harmony of interests prevailed in this community. As has been the case with many small American business owners, Ben and Whitney Waxman found little governmental support during the Covid crisis. But they did something about this state of isolation (Slade, 2020, p. 96):
“Frustrated by the lack of coordination at the federal level, the Waxmans submitted an op-ed to the Washington Post. The piece ran in mid-April and was widely shared on social media. It described their pivot from manufacturing garments to PPE, and it both rallied small businesses to rise to pandemic-era challenges and made dear that those businesses could benefit from national leadership more focused on getting PPE produced and delivered where it’s needed. From the moment the op-ed hit, Ben says, ‘the phone rang nonstop, all day, seven days a week, from 6:30 in the morning to 11 at night.’ American Roots filled orders from unions. public works departments, Reporters Without Borders, schools, and more. By July, more than 100 people were working in the factory. And the protocols—distancing, mask-wearing, and hand-sanitizing—seemed to be working.”
Finding True North
What does this brief case study teach us? We know that a community of secular coherence and, more specifically, an organization of coherence can still be successful in America. This harmony of interests requires that founders and leaders be fully committed to the welfare of their organization’s employees. Its employees are included to and privileged at the table where problem-solving and decision-making processes of the organization are engaged. Investment and benefits are more broadly conceived as boundaries are broken between the organization and the caring community in which it is located.
All of this means that there might yet be a day when American Roots can return to its founding business (Slade, 2020, p. 110):
“Along one wall of the factory. with windows overlooking the Presumpscot, piles and piles of precut hoodies await stitching. They’ve sat untouched since March. A few weeks back. a silkscreen artist came in to customize a few of them with a mermaid motif for 2 special orders. To anyone exhausted with mask wearing and elbow bumping and fear, the army-green sweatshirts are a reminder that there was a time before COVID and there will be a time after. Those brand-new, American-made, union-made, hand -screened hoodies seem like a promise that, someday, American Roots will get back to doing what it was built to do.”
An important lesson is embedded in this final part of the story about American Roots. When there is a clear founding mission and a clear articulation of shared interests, then an organization can retain its “true north” even when it must shift directions for a short period of time. Change can be interwoven with continuity.
