The purpose of this chapter is to delineate some of the key practices that the two authors
have learned based on over 60 years of experience with freedom-based employee ownership
(fbeo). The former was a manager who developed a version of fbeo inside a
large hierarchical organization and the later has consulted, studied, and taught about
fbeo. Both continue to study and write on these enterprises. From our joint study of
fbeo which includes multiple forms of research, we have learned that there is no single
practice, but a set of practices that lead to sustainable success. We have also learned that
creating and maintaining these practices is no easy endeavor. They are unusual. The
tendency is for fbeo enterprises to regress to traditional practices. We have observed well
known fbeo enterprises, such as Hewlett-Packard in the United States, the Co-operative
Group in the uk, and Fagor Co-op of Mondragon Corporation in Spain, have reversals
when they failed to maintain one or more of the practices that brought them to prominence.
Furthermore, we have seen start-up fbeo enterprises struggle because they failed
to adopt practices that tend to lead to success. Thus, learning the practices that experience
and research identify as leading fbeo enterprises to success is crucial. Both mature
and start-up employee-owned organizations would benefit from knowing what these
practices are, engage in them, and monitor them.