“This is an immensely readable account of C-Mac’s transition to employee ownership, and the trials and tribulations along the way. One quality that imbues the book throughout is Rob McMaster’s honesty in discussing the challenges, successes, and some failures as the company tried one form of employee ownership before eventually moving to another. There is a lot to learn here about the challenges of business succession, and what employee ownership has to offer. As a newcomer to employee ownership in Australia, I got enormous value from this book.”
“Hopefully, this book will save a lot of wasted time and money for the next company that transfers ownership to their tradesmen. It helped me get an understanding of the big picture vision for employee ownership. Not only did I learn a lot about the McMaster family and their side of the transfer, I learned a lot about the beginnings of C-Mac and its philosophy of giving their workers a sense of community, which has permeated throughout our workshop to this day.”
Big picture vision for employee ownership
“In Australia, it is an unfortunate reality that governments, regulators, investors and many in the business community do not understand, and are less supportive of, co-operatives and mutuals than they are of “normal” companies. “Swapping Desks,” tells the story of one man’s journey in the opposite direction. Rob McMaster’s passion to improve and preserve a small business founded by his parents and honour their legacy, to care for his employees and their families, to ease the burden on his customers and suppliers and to be an agent for positive change by helping those around him to grow their skills and abilities is a stimulating read.
Journey in the opposite direction
``The power of co-operation runs through this book. Co-operatives have great stories of economic empowerment and solidarity to tell, and the tale of the beginning of this co-operative is inspiring and a significant contribution to the co-operative movement in NSW and Australia. Business succession can often be the most challenging part of the business cycle. Robert is a pioneer and here is the example many others can follow.``
I have known Rob for many years and I have worked with him on several projects, most recently the co-operatisation of his family company C-Mac. This project involved working with him, the team at C-Mac and Dr Anthony Jensen over a period of years. During this time Rob demonstrated a real commitment to the business model of the Cooperative.
I like Rob was inspired to the opportunities of Cooperatives by Dr Jensen and we worked together to make this a reality.
If you are a business owner struggling with secession, business consultant or have a genuine interest in an alternative business model, his book ``Swapping Desks`` is recommended as a very interesting and informative read.
Well done Robert.
Co-operatisation of his family business
