In this episode of Next Economy Now, Shawn Berry, partner and worker-owner at LIFT Economy, interviews Blake Jones, co-founder and president of Namaste Solar, a 100 percent employee-owned solar electric company based in Colorado. He began his career working as a civil engineer in the oil and gas industry. He then spent time in Nepal implementing solar, wind, hydro, and electric vehicle technologies. In late 2004, Jones returned to the U.S. to co-found Namaste Solar which has installed more solar systems throughout Colorado than any other company. Due to its unique business model, Namaste Solar has earned widespread recognition.
In this interview, Berry and Jones discuss a number of topics, including:
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A company culture based on extreme transparency
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Transitioning away from Jones's former role as CEO
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Slow decisions and fast execution
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Enhanced work-life satisfaction from working with a strong team
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The solar buying cooperative Namaste Solar helped start
- The pending launch of the Clean Energy Credit Union
If you only have two minutes, click here for a highlight from the interview.
This is part of a series of Next Economy Now podcasts we are publishing on Shareable. You can also listen/subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Overcast, Stitcher, or your favorite podcasting platform.
Next Economy Now highlights the leaders who are taking a regenerative, bio-regional, democratic, transparent, and whole-systems approach to solving social and environmental challenges. The goal of this podcast is to identify the trends, tips, and best practices that will help listeners better harness the power of business as a force for good.
Header image by Alison Lingane
