These companies with no CEO are thriving

Get to know the different kinds of co-ops, how they work, and how they differ from traditional companies.
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Co-ops are a big part of the global economy: they employ 10% of the world’s workforce and over two trillion dollars flow through their doors every year. At a co-op, there’s no single person with overarching, top-down power over everyone else, like a CEO at a traditional company. So what exactly is a co-op and how does it work? Explore the different types of cooperatives and how they operate.
Directed by Elizabeth Galian, AIM Creative Studios.
This video made possible in collaboration with World Economic Forum
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[@3-E]

I as worker-owner at a co-op for the past 7 years it is nice to see them getting some more attention. Many of the benefits were mentioned however not many of the negatives were brought up. Slow decision making can be a pro but also a con and sometimes opportunities are missed. Holding people accountable is tricky. Firing is involved/complicated and often not everyone is willing to be involved unless it is something extremely egregious. There is also a tendency for things to "slip through the cracks" especially if it isn't a specific persons job. There is also a tendency for people to take advantage of loopholes but the loopholes cannot be patched up without it looking like an attack on the individual.

[@moontiger6393]

+

[@shitlordflytrap1078]

Valuable input, I heard a detailed story of abuse in a co-op that couldn't be resolved by firing the abuser because it was simply too complicated to get it moving.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

Interestingly, most of those problems exist with capitalist run businesses *also,* and there are more than enough benefits to a co-op that simply do not exist in a capitalist run business to more than make up for those few issues that are not intrinsic to both forms.

[@iloveshrek3591]

@@aylbdrmadison1051 If co-ops are just better, why aren’t there more?

[@Watch-0w1]

Seem like a democratic government running a store.

[@dfwdfw9544]

This doesn't surprise me at all, but I'm a historian. There are countless examples of alternatives to the dominant way that we organize businesses in the modern world. Managers aren't as essential as we like to think. Leadership seems to be important across cultures and time, but there are other ways of organizing leadership. I would argue that innovation and productivity are even more critical.

[@Ruby_Key]

I would like to know more, what other ways are there?

[@natesamadhi33]

Is there a history book you recommend that best teaches this history?

[@ninglight4433]

It depends, what you need for success in a society and regarding a certain challenge. If stability, committement is essential, than co-ops are a good way to achieve it. If fast decisions and taking risks is essential a hierarchy with someone at the top is more effective. Not only in economy, also in politics (where more examples exist). my favorite example: The Roman republic had (at least for free men) a democracy which had all the elements we know today and which existed for around 500 years. They had nothing resembling a king or a president. At the same time they had the possibility to vote for a dictator for 6 months. They voted for such a literally "tell us" guy close to 10% of the time the republic existed, due to a need. In more then 90% the general assembly, the magistrates and the senat was fine.

[@PilgrimsPass]

well said. Best comment I've seen so far

[@LammySammy]

Could you explain to me some of the alternatives? I'm very interested in trying to organize alternate forms of business.

[@purav3585]

In India biggest dairy company is a co operative, till date all major global dairy firms have failed very badly to setup their markets in India

[@GustavoGomes-nn5np]

Who runs the company, cows?

[@vinaychekuri5043]

@@GustavoGomes-nn5np farmers of course Facepalm

[@llamabwoi6363]

which company is that

[@blipblop5757]

@@llamabwoi6363 AMUL, Anand Milk Union Limited.

[@vinaychekuri5043]

@@llamabwoi6363 the company's name is "AMUL"

[@energypotato1073]

It's so crazy how a company needs it's workers but not really it's CEOs, what a wild concept

[@stevenlannister184]

If an alien dropped in, he'd see this and ask "So workers are paid more right?."

[@ronnlina]

@@stevenlannister184 cringe

[@spliter88]

(Edited) Even if coops don't pay better overall the value of having work that allows you to live a better life outweights the value of work that just pays you more but requires you to sacrifice. There may also be people that are normally underpaid that in coops would earn more on par with everyone else, while those in positions that are overpaid earn less than they do in the standard dictatorial model, so the average pay might go down, even though people have a better life and are paid more fairly.

[@amellirizarry9503]

i came to that exact realization a few years ago and now i’m a libertarian communist, there some readings i could recommend if you also want to follow this rabbit hole🤷🏾‍♂️

[@cariyaputta]

Yet CEO net 100x to 100000x the workers' salary.

[@qoolreality7036]

Cooperatives is what the world needs. It will balance out the wealth gap and reignite the meaning of being productive and push all humans towards working towards making the world a truly better place because we're all in it together and everyone's work isn't just meaningless at the end of the day because of 1 person reaping all the rewards.

[@johnharrison7585]

Shut up commie

[@ChiliM4n]

"1 person reaping all the rewards". Lol ok, sounds like you've been scammed by your boss. I worked for multiple companies in non-management positions and I always got paid fair because I was willing to strive for better and to learn.

[@blorgenwurst508]

@@ChiliM4n even if you got paid fair, the guy at the top was making at least 10 times more

[@ChiliM4n]

@@blorgenwurst508 Because he took 1000 times the risk that I took when he invested all his money and effort into quitting his job to create a company from abaolutely 0, which could have easily bankrupted him hundreds of times. You can't compare that with me or you just applying for a job for an already running company. It's a joke that people think that people at the top don't deserve a significantly better income than them.

[@blorgenwurst508]

@@ChiliM4n and its a joke that you think that huge monopolies actually take any risk at all, when they literally bribe the government to forgive them. Remember the 2009 recession? yeah, that was an example of a company taking way too big of a risk, and it not turning out well for them. But what happened? the GOVERNMENT bailed them out! sounds like handouts to me!!

[@groundsymphony]

I can’t believe co-ops is rarely spoken of irl

[@bazinga-tt9pj]

They tend to have problems expanding (one of the main cons due to the democratization) whilst others like credit unions or small to medium sized farmers co-ops (who make up the majority) are usually called that on paper, because the actual co-op is used as a bargaining tool to get better deals for selling your produce or getting better financial deals at lower intrests

[@genericjoe4082]

@@bazinga-tt9pj Con? That's more of a pro imo, prevents monopolies.

[@jaxkal9596]

@@genericjoe4082 you have to join in with people you trust Wich is hard

[@annekekramer3835]

The most famous one from the Netherlands is the Gouda cheese (the original one, not those US ripoffs). Co-opted by the farmers, they own all the factories too. Those factories have only one purpose: process the milk and sell the products, so that the farmers can continue to exist. But I would certainly not call that a "small to medium sized farmers co-op"...

[@user-yn6kw5dl8k]

@@genericjoe4082 your consumer goods are relatively cheap because of the effects of scale. Without large businesses prices would be larger.

[@SkyeAten]

Oh gosh.. I'll never forget working for a small/medium sized company earning the smallest possible salary they could pay me (despite being the cornerstone of an entire department), I was at the brink of burnout... just fighting not to go under financially and mentally... no luxury spending, no nice clothes, no coffee from cafes, or going away on holidays. Nothing... when I saw the CEO pull into the parking one day with their brand new luxury sports car (I don't even know the brands I'm so far removed). I quit soon after and they couldn't even fill my spot because my skills aren't common. What exactly were they thinking treating their employees like that? Blinded by greed?

[@youtubesucks1499]

You skills are common and it won't take much to replace you. The boss who started the business from scratch and took all the financial risk is reaping the benefits.

[@Wh40kk]

@@youtubesucks1499 I would bet an arm and a leg that the ghouls they worked for still can see the slouch in quarterly profits when they left. The boss did nothing but have money and be a psychopath. While their workers carried all the risk of ensuring the daily operations were profitable so they get the pittance of the profit they generated.

[@HarperBizzare]

Basically, the Office US got it right. Andy was missing for three months but the Scranton branch had the best quarter year they had.

[@sheikhmohsin57]

That's only because Andy was a terrible manager

[@bhushanshetye196]

​@@sheikhmohsin57 not terrible, but missing a terrible boss might interfere and make it worse

[@TojiFushigoroWasTaken]

This is exactly what i thought

[@aguyontheinternet8436]

@@bhushanshetye196 the more invisible you are, the better

[@mikitz]

If you are a useless middle manager, never miss a day at work, because your absence will reveal your true value.

[@Sid-mj1qf]

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent." -- John Donne.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

At the absolute minimum, we all stand on the shoulders of all of society.

[@Gamerad360]

What about that guy who build his house from scratch, and lives completely off grid, or the Amish?

[@purav3585]

Co ops are best to be used in agriculture industry, as it will save farmers from Corporate exploitation.

[@jlui21]

- Co-ops are conceptually better (to me). It puts the ownership in the workers' hand rather than one person. In one stat for America, since 1978 the avg CEO's salary has grown by 1322% compared to average worker of 18%. In the end, to each his own. Power is in the will of the people. If we actually paid a little more from smaller businesses, we wouldn't need exorbitant CEO salaries. Then again we have free shipping and now 1-2 hr shipping from Amazon CEO now worth.... $148 ,000,000,000 (Sept 202) That's $148 BILLION.

[@catdogmousecheese]

But didn't the Soviet Union try that try that with "collective farming" and it was a historic failure?

[@Hosenanzugtasche]

How does that not translate to other "industries"?

[@purav3585]

@@catdogmousecheese corruption was a problem there and targets were forced upon farms

[@purav3585]

@@catdogmousecheese Targets being on farm make a difference

[@Sumanitu]

I worked for an employee owned grocery chain for 5 and a half years as my first job. It definitely had far better pay and benefits than any other retail chain around. CostCo was probably the closest to matching it.

[@joeydiaz5927]

If the business failed would you have had to pay money to keep it up ? Or accumulated the debt ? You people are dense and narrow minded

[@thatsdaniellelol]

Wow I didn’t realize companies could not have a CEO. Maybe that’s sad but at least I know now

[@Ninjaananas]

Yes, they do not want you to know this. The American system works on keeping people uneducated.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

Capitalist propaganda is the most pervasive. Good on ya for freeing your mind. 😊

[@SpartanJoe193]

@@aylbdrmadison1051 Same here.

[@SpartanJoe193]

@Quinzerrak Indeed.

[@tntsummers926]

It's more like not all companies require a CEO, but some definitely do, co-ops can fulfill a very important role in a free-market capitalist economy, but they are slow, and can become stagnate, not to mention how hard it is to fire those employees who are truly parasitic or abuse the system, traditionally owned businesses are more innovative on general.

[@lordsmorgasbord2646]

man who would have figured that not having a single person with full business authority and control would be beneficial

[@user-yn6kw5dl8k]

It not beneficial if it was coops would win in market competition everywhere.

[@ilertargenthorne4639]

In many cases yeah, but sometimes someone with the vision and uncontested ability is just what you need. Think Jobs, Musk and Branson

[@__maxyz]

​@@ilertargenthorne4639 What exactly do you "need" them for?

[@emersonarriety]

@@ilertargenthorne4639 Musk is a prime example of why someone absolutely *doesn't* need uncontested authority and control over a business. I have no clue who Branson is and considering how overpriced everything is at Apple I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Jobs didn't need that type of power either.

[@aminulhussain2277]

@@ilertargenthorne4639 Scam artists, all.

[@cordey46]

Mondragon is an interesting case, because it is more like a collection of coops, each with their own agreed upon max wage ratio (avg being 6), but that doesn't account for the fact each coop can also have different wage standards depending on sector i.e. The 6:1 ratio does not hold over the entire mondragon enterprise

[@Ibloomhealthtech]

AMUL Dairy is largest co operative in India, turn over about 30,000 cror InR

[@Waldohasaskit210]

The biggest impediment to more co-ops is capital. Co-ops usually only occur in less capital intensive industries that are well established enough to not need expensive research or other things that require high startup costs. That's the biggest advantage of selling ownership for shares is that you basically have free startup money that only has to be paid back if the business does well and you decide to sell. I'm all for co-ops but I'm not optimistic that we'll see more given how difficult they are to start and grow in most industries.

[@youtubesucks1499]

Thank you. At least you get the economic part.

[@youtubesucks1499]

At least you are honest.

[@briana14333]

Thanks for your insight.

[@jer103]

I'm apart of a food co-op that's a mile from my home. It was a one time purchase of $100 USD, then you get 5% off one purchase a month. You also get to go to member events.

[@knightshade6232]

Our water cooperative here in the province is much better, cause the bills we had are not high unlike water management companies in the capital.

[@rakeshmallick8040]

You didn't mention the name of a successful co-operative like Amul. I guess it has the largest number of member owners. It changed India from a milk deficient nation to a milk surplus nation.

[@ankur1610]

you can't cover everything in just 5 minutes

[@definitlynotbenlente7671]

​@@ankur1610mabey the video should be longer

[@ilertargenthorne4639]

5:03 I'm going to take up that UK study on Co-ops closing. A traditional CEO business is far more likely to be run by only one person and the capital they bring. If they burn out or lose interest it's far more likely to close than say, a co-op with multiple members.

[@proloycodes]

you got it backwards. they say "co-op start-ups are almost HALF AS LIKELY to CLOSE within five years as traditional businesses." not "DOUBLE" or "REMAIN OPEN".

[@SuperBlessedKing]

The beautiful art from this channel is always unique and well designed. Great work. 🎨🖌️🖼️❤️

[@TheRoger2244]

I love that they source many different art studios for this

[@goji5887]

More people should do it like this. This makes such good use of the amazing talents in the art world

[@iadtag1853]

Im so used to traditional company that co-op sounds both interesting and pretty intimidating just like being used to Windows and switching to Linux.

[@aylbdrmadison1051]

Yea, big changes can definitely be intimidating. But your courage and desire for a better world, and perhaps your compassion for your fellow Earthlings, will carry you past that in triumph. 😊

[@joeydiaz5927]

You’re right to be worried. There’s a reason co ops don’t grow big and aren’t competitive. Food is more expensive, expansion is almost nonexistent and everything is made complicated for every employee

[@nrsrymj]

Labor is entitled to its product.

[@amellirizarry9503]

“this Earth by right belongs to Toilers, and not to Spoilers if Liberty”

[@SoloRenegade]

yeah, they fail too. We had a huge grocery store chain in my area go out of business because too many new young people got involved in decision making and had no idea what they were doing. the entire chain went out of business within 2yrs, leaving many places without a proper grocery store

[@SoloRenegade]

@@greenleafyman1028 and not handing the keys of the business over to the grandkids the moment they graduate college with no clue what they are doing.

[@briana14333]

I was just thinking this, that some industries should require owners to be of a certain age and/or have training or require on the job experience over time before allowing them shares and a say.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@briana14333 wrong. everyone has the right to try and fail or succeed on their merits. we simply need to reward more people who understand basic business and leadership principles taht don't sacrifice business for short term profit.

[@felipemoitta]

Would you mind sharing the name of the company? I would love to study/read more about it!

[@lias934]

When Ted-Ed said: _"At Co-Op, there is no single person with overarching, top-down power, over anyone else, like a CEO would have in traditional companies"_ My mind:- «Damn! There we synchronised »

[@BAMBAH101]

huh, almost as if the ceo isnt needed and the workers are the ones actually doing the work

[@estebanortega8744]

the ceo is the one who started the company in the first place, he is the one who invested money in the company and probably lost some doing so at the start

[@eromango9081]

@@estebanortega8744 that's like saying "Oh but the lord of my land was the one that started this farm in the first place, he's the one who invested gold on it and probably lost some doing so in the start" this isn't about a witch hunt, is giving work its due part of the deal. If the ceo works too then great, but the workplace shouldn't be the feudal domain of someone. If we all work, then we all get a say in how we do it to benefit ourselves, not some guy at the top who feels entitled to our labor

[@jasoncrownover8947]

@@estebanortega8744 You will be hard pressed to find a large corporation that is managed by someone who actually started the company. This claim to initial investment also ignores all claims of work effort in favor of prior inherited wealth.

[@stansman5461]

@@eromango9081 I mean, the feudal system can work like that. I started a farm. Studied and worked harder on my land than others who did the bare minimum. Bought surrounding farm land. Now I hire others to work the farm while I manage the business side of things. Ofcourse I'm going to make more and going to be the final owner and decision maker of the farm and its produce, because at the end of the day, it's all built on the back of my labour. Every other worker is promised compensation before they start, only I wasn't guaranteed profit. So it makes sense, the more risk you took, the more reward you make.

[@estebanortega8744]

@@jasoncrownover8947 Very big firms are a small % of all firms in the world. Also, if you look at the origin of very big firms they either were: risky, innovative, lucky or smart. It is also obvious for new CEOs to be descendants of the original CEO

[@callmehk8971]

This art style is so satisfying!

[@terryv1243]

Ikr

[@ykrum5158]

I am familiar with this co-op business. My mother is working in co-op back in my hometown. She has been working in co-op half of her lifetime. There are so many co-ops in Indonesia. Lot of them are helping people but some of them also charge in criminal activities, like fraud.

[@jascrandom9855]

Corruption is embedded in Human nature.

[@nathancarver7179]

...And *absolutely no one* is surprised. Seriously, collective ownership and management is the way to go. Tighter-knit groups lead to better social lives, the lesser push for individual benefits (eg, a raise or promotion in rank) encourages trust and productivity for the group as a whole, and it properly devalues a position which manages company control flow with no active input.

[@jdperdomo]

You forgot to mention pirates! (the ones with ships, not the ones with Torrents) Most of the ships or fleets were a Co-op (even when they might've been stolen), a "corporation" of people who shares almost the same ammount of risk and loot, with the clear exceptions of the Captain, Quartermaster, Medic/Surgeon and a few critical roles. However, usually this roles never made more than double of the profit of the rest of the crew. The captain is not the CEO, it was an elected-by-the-crew position. As a captain, either you help bring profits and success to the crew, or they could ask you to dismiss (sometines, just throw you to the sharks) and elect a new one. Of course this was not the case in every pirate ship ever, but it was an efficient method for this kind of "professions" in the Caribbean. I still find pretty interesting that this people (who we think as a brutal ogre-like men) could use this kind of participative method of business.

[@lucideandre]

So when the workers own the means of production, conditions and results all improve? Whod’ve thunk it? Oh…right…

[@firstname405]

✊️

[@johnharrison7585]

Means of production? You communists want all the profits but none of the risk.

[@billcipherproductions1789]

Co-ops also come with their downsides, as they could slow economic growth or stagnate if every business was a co-op. And that if an employee was terrible, it would be much harder to get them fired. And these are just some of the downsides.

[@lucideandre]

@@billcipherproductions1789 it’s not perfect, but It’s preferable to the current model, which stagnates development due to exclusive concern with profit motive, which encourages standardization, and which makes it easy to fire someone just because with no significant consequences to the capitalist

[@billcipherproductions1789]

@@lucideandre Well, if someone doesn't;t give any benefit to the corporations running and growth as a whole, why keep them? If you don't grow or innovate in a competitive market, you are doomed to collapse.

[@jeremipartanen8924]

We need more of these in the world! Hopefully this info will spread like a wild fire 🌞

[@youtubesucks1499]

So go start a co-op. You decides on a service/product, you secure the funding, prove concept, secure more funding and build a co-op.. you make 6 times your lowest paid employee, who just shows up after you built infrastructure. Tell me how it works out for you.

[@brunorossibonin788]

That's basically workers owning the means of production.

[@iceblock4382]

And here I am, a ceo without a company.

[@Katrinah443]

Very Helpful

[@OsirisMalkovich]

I'm glad people are finally realizing that there are ways to have _commerce_ without having _capitalism._ We aren't obligated to exploit people to make our society function. Anyone who says otherwise is profiting from your exploitation.

[@johnharrison7585]

What exploitation? You're freely trading your labor. Stop with the communism

[@billcipherproductions1789]

Capitalism is still needed if you want your economy to go up. Since foreign investors are out of the equation in co-ops, growing the company is practically impossible without losing more money. It's doomed to stagnate. So capitalism is needed.

[@OsirisMalkovich]

@@billcipherproductions1789 Why do you want the economy to "go up?" if everyone's needs are being met, what purpose would that serve?

[@billcipherproductions1789]

@@OsirisMalkovich Growing economy means growing innovation that's why. Go figure.

[@OsirisMalkovich]

@@billcipherproductions1789 Even if that were true (which it is not) innovation predates capitalism by millennia. You don't need to exploit people to invent new things. Go figure.

[@SocialNomad]

I truly think the world would be a better place if every company was a co-op

You truly know little about business and economics. :)

[@SocialNomad]

@ Nah, you're wrong

[@djdeto7382]

Not everything is perfect

@@SocialNomad There's always a need for someone who can take the risk and make critical decisons. Normal people do not have the knowledge for that

[@redbuck1385]

​@ Economics is a fake science. Get a STEM degree and do something useful.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

There are still many things to be discussed about the ins and outs of a cooperative. I only worked in one for less than a year.

[@claudiagreen9277]

a quasi-co-op that isn't mentioned here is Wikipedia - the project, as well as every related Wikimedia project, is governed by its editors. Decisions on the English Wikipedia are made and implemented by the editors who create it. Legally, though, Wikipedia isn't a co-op; in terms of the actual business side of things, Wikipedia is owned by the Wikimedia Foundation. The foundation has basically no control over the content of articles, including the various main pages of the projects; however, it does have a board of trustees that secures grants and performs outreach. Of the 16 members of the board, 8 are chosen by the Wikimedia community; 7 more are chosen by those 8 members of the board; and 1 is reserved for Jimmy Wales, who co-founded the project.

[@joker_g7337]

Nobody's work is worth 140 time more than his co-worker. That's sick and a waste of money. I want to work there!

[@TheRealE.B.]

Every large organization needs a decision-maker at the top to call the shots based on imperfect knowledge and an unpredictable world. This role can generally be filled by a Magic 8 Ball.

[@firstname405]

"CEOs are overpaid Magic 8 Balls" is the hot take I needed to see today

[@proloycodes]

@@firstname405 same!

[@valentinmitterbauer4196]

Reminds me on how Michael Reeves used a goldfish to trade stocks and it earned 1000 dollars in three months. The video is on youtube.

[@unlockwithjsr]

Even successful traditional companies are successful because of teams, not single persons. So co-ops aren't any different, only that in companies it is role based on skills.

[@Oatmeal_Queen]

I DEMAND MORE CO-OPS!!

[@wealthiness]

Great job at zooming around the cons

[@cancerino666]

I think both types of companies (owned vs co-op) have their positives and place in the world. But we definitively have too much of the former and not enough of the latter.

[@fqras]

Friesland Campina is also a cooperation and formally doesn’t have a CEO but obviously there is someone leading the company for a ridiculously yearly wage.

[@antonioarrendol2655]

Gorgeous + informative video 👍

[@jaipreetsingh4779]

Amul is a very famous co op in India ...

[@cameraamnhac]

Quá hay

[@darkkothor]

What is that study he talked about that non-coops are more likely to close than coops within five years ?

[@jakegoss5843]

I run and setup co-ops. Many in the tech space. Takes maybe 15 minutes for me to setup.

[@YarrBr0]

Hey!! I am member of the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn! Woo!

[@md.johnpaul467]

It's such a good educational video, thanks a lot Ted ed The information is valuable

[@Masternuckable]

It's funny to me that we have long since realized how flawed monarchy is, yet we continue to employ it on a more localized level in our workplace.

[@xyeB]

I would love this:) it’s so fair and fun

[@cyhg]

Nice video, like how I saw the video 27 seconds after it is uploaded

[@vitocorleone3764]

So basically workers owning the means of production....doesnt that have a name?? I wonder why the World Economic Forum won't say it

[@mainakmandal2003]

✊

[@paulisaperson0516]

Solidarity forever

[@wesmorton1247]

Super interesting. As a CEO of a boutique consulting firm, wondering how I can incorporate some of these practices to make it a more engaging place to work.

[@zoravursingh5617]

Resign

[@ironicdivinemandatestan4262]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqObqaipa92clZo

[@jascrandom9855]

Codetermination is like a hybrid of Coop and Traditional business.

[@MARS041]

How do we find CO-OP's near me?

[@LammySammy]

A problem that I see with a cooperative is a monetary inefficiency. If too much money is lost in the organization it could cease to have the funds to continue to exist. I imagine in large part this is mitigated by a flat pay structure but as some cooperatives would do better with more roles a solution would have to be found.

[@codedface]

Agree. What I think would be great is that coops educate the workers on the business side which helps with better informed voting. If workers own the business they are now business people and should be educated on business decisions.

[@LammySammy]

I think that in our modern society the transition to cooperatives and alternate business is essential. A goal of modern business is to isolate work to a large number of unskilled and easily replaceable workers. By consequence these jobs are low paid and increase wealth disparity. As wealth consolidates the amount of people who can afford goods decreases and productivity which shows that business cannot extract endless value from society. After some point there is little value to be had and a business will collapse from lack of a consumer. While this may be in the cards for the US it could be avoided if organizations follow an alternate structure or a different goal then extracting value to shareholders. It's all very complicated but as I assemble the pieces I am coming closer to an answer that I will one day be confident to present to others in an effective manner like this video. I like this video for the information that it has provided in such a pleasant manner.

[@DerekSpeareDSD]

Every kid in American schools must watch this video!

[@larrynguyen85]

Loved this video. However, I also saw that REI has a CEO + President named Eric Artz. Can someone explain to me how REI is a Co-op, but also has a CEO?

[@jascrandom9855]

Consider that the CEO is just the highest-level employee of the organization. Consider that while it has a CEO in name, it doesn't mean they have the same powers.

[@weebshrimp7617]

Nice

[@MahkyVmedia1]

No CEO?! Well who'll gets paid a ridiculous amount of money for doing nothing?

[@Dimitri88888888]

@Rich Perezummm no, lmao 🤣. You can only have one CEO position per company, and there can't be 7.8 billion companies. Even if it was truly as hard as you imply, there is still a major flaw in your logic. Because it would imply that companies can exist without workers if everyone could be a CEO. Everyone can be worker but not everyone can be CEO simply cause there are less available job openings, NOT because CEO position is in itself inherently harder.

[@simpmaster7995]

An egdelord kid sitting in his parents home think CEOs of big companies need to do nothing and they still earn millions. Being a worker means you have a 9-5 job 6 day/week. Meanwhile being a CEO means you have a 24 hour job 24/7/365.Get in touch with reality.

[@simpmaster7995]

@Rich Perez Don't try to have a debate with clueless person who doesn't have any understanding of reality.

[@genericjoe4082]

@@simpmaster7995 yeah that's why so many billionaires are CEOs of multiple companies and still only claim to work a couple hours more than the average worker (which is also not true, the average worker still works a lot more), right? Being a CEO is a part time job at best.

[@jasoncrownover8947]

@Rich Perez Being a CEO means convincing a small group of wealthy board members to keep you as the CEO. Nothing more, nothing less. You need to run in their social circles, which generally means inherited wealth. And often times there are incestuous overlaps of CEOs being board members of other companies and vice versa. So as for why isn't "everyone doing it"? Because you need to already be in the club. It's that simple.

[@wingspantt]

Can anyone explain to me how a firing decision is made in a co-op? Does it have to come to a vote? Can someone get terminated by their manager, even though they have an equal vote as their manager in the organization?

[@jasoncrownover8947]

When workers have meaningful ownership of the results of their labor, they also each have a vested interest in making sure someone isn't just taking advantage of the collective. The specific requirements/process for how someone is removed will depend on the bylaws that have been democratically agreed to by that particular group of workers.

[@wingspantt]

@@jasoncrownover8947 yes, I understand all that. What I'm asking for is an example of what that process might look like at a cooperative. And while it is true employees will be vested in their work, not every employee is in the same situation in life. A single parent is going to be invested in their work in a different way than another worker who has a spouse who makes half a million dollars a year.

[@jasoncrownover8947]

@@wingspantt And the extent to which differences on output would be considered acceptable would depend on that particular group of workers that owns that particular business. When maximizing profits isn't the only goal allowed, it's a lot easier to treat people as people instead of just numbers. So maybe you won't get fired just because you got in a car accident or had cancer. That seems like an improvement to me. It's hard to give an example process because it could literally be anything that everyone agreed to. There might be a vote each time, or they might have already voted for representative leadership positions with certain defined authority. The amount of the vote required to remove someone could also vary.

[@AnotherAvaibleName]

@@wingspantt Like the other poster said, it will depend on the coop's bylaws on how this process will be done. Be for sure that it won't be as simple like a corp since the worker actually has an stake in the company although similar like a corp, outside employee's factors like the spouse making half a million are irrelevant.

[@matheusGMN]

well, each co-op will have their means of taking a decision, but unlike in traditional companies, which decide to fire half the staff because profits were only 10% instead of 15%, the conditions to fire probably have to meet some criterias and each member to be fired is probably evaluated to determinate if it's just a temporary situation, for example someone who has recently given birth to a child, or if it's a result of their own character/disinterest with what is being done, however if it's disinterest, they'd probably leave on their own instead of being fired

[@dutchvanl]

Pretty much kills the propaganda about execs deserving to make exorbitant salaries because their work is somehow exponentially more valuable than anyone else's/job more impactful/decisions more stressful/etc, etc...

[@PilgrimsPass]

I don't think so. People are still paid differently in co-ops and the leader has the highest wage as far as I can tell. I still have to look into this more, but from what I see they didn't remove the hiearchy they made it more fluid. This is not egaliatarianism.

[@dutchvanl]

@@PilgrimsPass My thought is less about the difference in wages and more about how huge the difference is. Yes, you should be better compensated for taking in more responsibility, but the idea that you should be paid orders of magnitude more for a job that can be largely done away with is absurd to me.

[@PilgrimsPass]

@@dutchvanl You know, I kind of agree with you even though I don't think the difference in wage doesn't matter. The gap between me and Bezos is larger than me and a homeless person, but I live well. the problem is the misery the homeless person is suffering. However, that being said. I agree that a lot of CEOs seem to be way over paid which indicates an inifficient reward system there.

[@ashleyguthrie572]

Idk how it is in other places, but the membership fees at the grocery co-op in my area is so expensive. The savings shopping there do not make up for it. Wish I could afford to be a member

[@chaostellar]

good

[@tomix7866]

yes

[@socialistsolidarity]

There should be more worker co-ops.

[@therogue1542]

Not the WEF sponsoring this 🤭🤭

[@reedyy_4114]

It’s so obvious what’s happening it’s almost funny

[@firstname405]

@@reedyy_4114 > hehe boot tastes good hehe

[@TheTerranInformed]

Interesting!

[@cannonhanson6050]

Wouldn’t it be better for the economy if more companies faxed out after 5-10 yes to allow growth for new businesses

[@BestMoviesInLessTime]

well it is true and crazy workers is the most important because without them the business won't work great content it opens our eyes by the way love your videos.

[@Live_Persian_Musics]

Good 👍

[@kedarmeow]

Isn't Amul a co-op also? Why isn't it named in this video?

[@rtsa4633]

Rochdale being mentioned was so unexpected to me as I live nearby

[@starpawsy]

If only. A company for which I worked hired a new CEO when the share price was $127. Through superb management, he got the share price down to $17. That's the point at which I acceded to my wife's urging and quit.

[@MeMoeMustafaAlnour]

I always had a question that boggles me even if I understand it's answer to some extent: - Why board members aren't simply councilors instead of having authority over the ownership of the company? the idea of public ownership is ridiculous, creating a government out of a business puts too much importance on brands and companies that are supposed to be simply products or services replaceable and controllable by government authority instead or a separate entity with some vague level of autonomy and an even trickier chain of responsibility and command. I personally do not believe innovation requires that much freedom nor does the global market need that much power. in the old days if you want to change a nation you simply change the government of identify certain bad apples and take them out of the equation, but now a single security company with enough money and enough lobbying and influence can have its own army and become a worldwide power and can literally control the fates of the whole world, how is that right? how is that even a thing? you can't vote them out nor overthrow them, you can't prosecute its individuals because the corporation itself is recognized as an individual person... it's terrifying.

[@youtubeuser1052]

Board members don't have authority over ownership, it's the other way around. The shareholders are the owners and they vote for candidates who run for election to the board. However, some companies do issue non-voting shares, or carefully control the number of shares issued so that a small group (or single person) retains at least 50% of the voting shares. It's up to share BUYERS to decide if they're ok with buying non-voting shares in a company. Some buyers are fine with that, but smart investors will at least consider voting rights when deciding how much they're willing to pay for shares.

[@smartandumb]

@@youtubeuser1052 the issue is that shareholders, execs, and board members got too much overlap between a smaller and smaller group at the top, and now the concentration of wealth and power means the checks and balances the three-way system was supposed to have largely do not exist at most publicly traded companies.

[@redkittrool]

BING CHILLING

[@-jl.]

you are not funny

[@connorlarson8348]

Remember to stay happy healthy and hydrated! 😁💗

[@bazinga-tt9pj]

They really just oversimplified the entire concept and still made it sound like it was run like a company with a director board.

[@luisandrade2254]

There must always be a leadership right

[@bazinga-tt9pj]

@@luisandrade2254 CEO as an idea is rather new, cause before the 2000's tech boom the most common way of leading a company of frankly any size, was by a board of investors or directors who answered to each other and maybe an owner if there was one (if the company's stocks werent traded publicly).

[@spliter88]

@@luisandrade2254 That's right, there must always be leadership, but you don't need a boss.

[@spliter88]

@@chemicalfrankie1030 ... the people that work there, like who do you think? Do you have a boss in your friend group that decides on everything or do your friends just kinda work out where they're going and what they're going to do and coordinate between themselves?

[@atomicchimichangas7666]

Cool we should give the ownership and control of all the companies to who worke there

[@johnharrison7585]

Why? They didn't invest in the company. They were hired to do a job. Does my roofer own my house?

[@theodore23sanchez]

But If these companies don't have CEO's, then how is one be able to buy their fourth mega yacht?

[@johnharrison7585]

What? Do you have a habit of wasting your money? So why would company owners do so as well? CEOs bring them value.

[@lthemeganerd3719]

wow

[@johndawson6057]

Damn, i have never been this early to a ted ed video

[@alotan2acs]

so where does the funding come from? They all put in equal money? A few guys agree to foot the initial bill even tho everyone has the same salary?

[@jascrandom9855]

Kinda

[@holidayeveryday3121]

Here we call it ✨Koperasi✨

[@terryv1243]

I of course watched the whole video to say that it’s nice

[@hndrwn]

In co-ops, the workers/members are the stakeholders. You want to vote in your company's policy? You can. Be a (majority) shareholder (the stakeholder in usual company). The no-CEO is a click bait. The briliance of co-ops is how membership can be a path to be a stakeholder, by passing the notion of shareholder.

[@Thatechoissoannoying]

Any karen: No milk in the vege section? Get me your manager!

[@koharumi1]

In South Korea this would be seen as a threat to all the chaebols.

[@abziani]

You need to feel and you need to be part of your company and not an employee who works for another person

[@dannyarcher6370]

“This lesson was made in partnership with the World Economic Forum.” Comments section: “This is fine.”

[@ironicdivinemandatestan4262]

Ironic that one of the most neoliberal organizations in history accidentally created an effective argument for its destruction and the creation of a socialist economy.

[@agateslate7939]

Wow Amazing

[@sketchyskies8531]

Hmm

[@UAPJedi]

You can tell yourself no one person is making a decision but there is always just one person making one decision in some way or another. Even co ops.

[@obvv7714]

Wow, who would’ve thought there are better ways to run an organization than a mini dictatorship

[@johnharrison7585]

CEOs are hired by those who actually own the company. Take a ride in my helicopter commie.