The Story and Legacy of a Radical Industrialist and his Quest for Authentic Change

Ray C. Anderson’s Mid-Course Correction, originally published 20 years ago, became the definitive case study for sustainable business. Now fully updated and expanded for the twenty-first century, Mid-Course Correction Revisited includes new chapters penned by Anderson’s grandson, John A. Lanier.

The following is an excerpt from Mid-Course Correction Revisited by Ray Anderson & John Lanier. It has been adapted for the web.

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Listen to the following excerpt from the audiobook of Mid-Course Correction Revisited.

I have this mental picture of a mountain that is higher than Everest. It rises steeply out of a jungle that surrounds it. Most of us, people and companies, are lost and wandering around in that jungle, and don’t know the mountain exists at all.

Rather, we are preoccupied with the threatening, competitive “animals” all around us. A few have sensed the upward slope of the mountain’s foothills under their feet. Still fewer have decided to follow the upward slope to see where it leads. And a very few are far enough along to have had a glimpse of the mountain through the leaves of the trees, to realize what looms ahead and above.

Very few indeed have set their eyes and wills on the summit.

What will the view from there, from the vantage point of sustainability, be like? I believe it will be wonderful beyond description, and I hope to see it before I die. I also hope others, still lost in the jungle or just becoming conscious of the upward slope, even beginning to explore it, will hear our cries of joy through the foliage and rush ahead to follow our path, someday soon to join us at the summit (or better yet beat us there). There’s room there for everyone, and certainly anyone headed in that direction welcomes the companionship, as we seek to create the prototypical company of the twenty-first century, of the next industrial revolution.

About the authors

Ray C. Anderson was founder and chairman of Interface, Inc., one of the world’s leading carpet and flooring producers. His story is now legend: Anderson had a “spear in the chest” epiphany when he first read Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce, inspiring him to revolutionize his business in pursuit of environmental sustainability. In doing so, he proved that business can indeed “do well by doing good.” The Georgia-based Interface has been ranked number one in a GlobeScan survey of sustainability experts, and the company has continued to be an environmental leader even after Anderson’s death in 2011.

John A. Lanier joined the Ray C. Anderson Foundation as executive director in May 2013 to advance the legacy of Ray, his grandfather. He is chair of the board of directors for Southface, the southeast’s nonprofit leader in the promotion of sustainable homes, workplaces, and communities through education, research, advocacy, and technical assistance.

Recommended Reads

Doing Well By Doing Good

The Evolution of Earth, Humans, and Our Natural Resources