- Our Story
- Business Model
- Our History
- Employee-owned Cooperative
- Our Name
- Co-Ownership
- FOH Communication
We are a dedicated community of individuals who are passionate about what we do and how we do it.
For us, work is a wonderful place to be. We enjoy each other’s company. We share aligned values and appreciate working in a respectful, positive, and rewarding environment. We have a tremendous amount of loyalty and long-term commitment to the Namasté Solar family. We take our work seriously.
We continuously strive to create strong, harmonious teams while promoting individual autonomy and responsibility. Namasté Solar promotes leadership at every level, from the way we make decisions to how we contribute to our communities. This means that an installer on the roof and our CEO share in both leadership and accountability.
We enjoy working toward the betterment of our world. We build strong relationships with our customers, suppliers, and community partners – from the first phone call through to installation and beyond. Because we love what we do, we provide a level of customer service, personal attention, and quality that is unique in today’s world.
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Namasté Solar has taken an uncommon approach to business.
We choose co-ownership over hierarchy, democratic decision-making over centralized leadership, sustainable growth over aggressive expansion, and collaboration over competition. The path we have traveled has been an extraordinary experiment, drawing on intellectual, philosophical, and political models that inspire us, while crafting something uniquely our own.
We value openness, equality, and total honesty in the workplace. We share our values with our community in the way we relate to our customers and partners. We support like-minded organizations through solar grants and sponsorships. Our customers become our friends, which opens up a new level of communication and commitment. Our unique business model has brought innovative results. We are recognized for going above and beyond what’s expected.
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Our story began in the summer of 2004...
...as Blake Jones returned home after working in solar for three years in Nepal, planning to start his own solar company. Seeking partners in this venture, Blake met with Wes Kennedy and Ray Tuomey and found they shared a common vision for an innovative business model. After many deep discussions – toward the end of 2004, as Colorado’s historic Amendment 37 passed – Blake, Ray, and Wes finalized their vision for company ownership structure, governance, growth objectives, and core values. After choosing a company name that was meaningful to them, Namasté Solar was officially incorporated on February 2, 2005.
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On January 1, 2011, Namasté Solar became an Employee-owned Cooperative. We undertook the transition to this new capital structure for many reasons, mainly to better align our capital structure with our governance structure. Prior to the transition, our company operated on a one person, one vote basis for most operational decisions, but when it came to shareholder votes, we voted on a one share, one vote basis. The cooperative model more closely matches our democratic ideals and more equitably distributes the risk/reward equation of our employee-owners. In addition, this enables us to accept external investors without sacrificing internal control.
Contrasted with a retail cooperative (like REI), an agricultural/producer cooperative (like Land O’Lakes or Organic Valley), or a purchasing cooperative (like ACE Hardware), an Employee-owned Cooperative (or Worker Cooperative) is comprised solely of company employees. Co-owners each own one share of common stock, have equal voting rights, and have the potential to earn “patronage dividends” for time served at the company.
There is a rich history to the cooperative movement in the U.S. and around the world. The core of the movement can be summarized in the seven cooperative principles, which coincide with many of Namasté Solar’s values as well:
1. Voluntary and Open Membership
2. Democratic Member Control
3. Member Economic Participation
4. Autonomy and Independence
5. Education, Training and Information
6. Co-operation among Co-operatives
7. Concern for Community
For more on these principles, see http://www.ica.coop/coop/principles.html or http://www.ncba.coop/ncba/home.
Namasté Solar is proud to be a part of an ever-expanding network of companies that embrace similar values. We look forward to learning more about the culture of the cooperative community and helping spread these principles throughout our sphere of influence.
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Namasté Solar...
Chosen by our three founders, Blake Jones, Ray Tuomey, and Wes Kennedy, the Sanskrit word Namasté has important meaning. Used as a traditional Sanskrit greeting of respect for millennia, the word recognizes the interdependence of all living things. Our founders chose this word to represent our company values and for its unique ability to differentiate us from other companies.
It’s more important than ever to be aware of the interconnectedness between people and the environment. The health of the planet depends on this global awareness and in finding affordable solutions to the current energy crisis. Namasté Solar knows that bringing renewable resources into homes and businesses now will make a direct, positive impact for future generations.
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Pillars of Co-Ownership
We created the following Pillars of Co-Ownership to guide us in our endeavors and serve as a reminder of what co-ownership means to us. The word, “Pillar,” denotes both a principle and a structural feature. A building requires pillars in order to remain stable and prevent collapse, especially when stressed by external and internal loading. Similarly, our Pillars of Co-Ownership uphold our greatest values which comprise the structure upon which our company relies. Our Pillars provide our basic, fundamental framework for how we uphold Co-Ownership.
DISTRIBUTED LEADERSHIP We value the unique gifts and perspectives that each individual contributes to our company; no one of us is as smart as all of us.
RESILIENCE We renew our commitment and resolve in the face of challenges.
FOH™ We practice and encourage frank, open, and honest (FOH™) communication.
BALANCE We strive for a healthy balance of work and play.
SAFETY We take ownership of our own and other stakeholders’ safety.
HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE We measure profit and success holistically.
ENTREPRENEURIALISM We foster learning and innovation while being open to taking risks and making mistakes.
CO-OWNERSHIP MENTALITY We think and act like business owners and proactively engage in co-creating our company’s success.
LONG-TERM THINKING We prioritize long-term over short-term thinking in all that we do.
DEPENDABILITY We take our responsibilities seriously and hold ourselves and each other accountable.
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FOH™ Frank, Open,
and Honest Communications
We strive to interact with our colleagues, our vendors, and all others, in a way that upholds being Frank, Open, & Honest (FOH™). FOH™ is a commitment to confront potentially uncomfortable topics in a healthy manner and be receptive to constructive criticism from others. FOH™ represents a concept (verb, noun, adjective, etc.) that we all believe is critical to maintaining a healthy, collegial, and productive workplace.
While we believe that FOH™ is the healthiest way to communicate with others, it requires certain key elements in order to work:
- We must trust one another that our intentions are good and are not meant to cause harm.
- We must be committed to making things work, to sticking through the tough and uncomfortable times, to helping ourselves and one another grow, and to resolving any potential conflicts – even if it takes 10 days instead of 10 minutes.
- We must be responsible and timely. You have the responsibility to be FOH and resolve issues as they arise. The purpose of FOH is to address issues before they intensify.
- We must be tactful, respectful, and considerate when communicating with each other. Being frank and candid does not mean being inconsiderate of the feelings, sensitivities, emotional states of others. A balance between tactfulness and timeliness must be found.
- FOH communication implies both active and passive roles. In the active role, one needs to have the courage to be frank and honest when “sending” a communication. In the passive role, one needs to be truly open to “receiving” a communication that may be new and different idea, an unexpected request to address an uncomfortable issue, or some constructive criticism that may be painful or difficult to hear.
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