Mid-Course Correction Revisited

The original Mid-Course Correction, published over 20 years ago, became a classic in the sustainability field. It put forth a new vision for what its author, Ray C. Anderson, called the "prototypical company of the 21st century"-a restorative company that does no harm to society or the environment.



In Mid-Course Correction, Anderson recounts his eureka moment as founder and leader of Interface, Inc., one of the world's largest carpet and flooring companies, and one that was doing business in all the usual ways. Bit by bit, he began learning how much environmental destruction companies like his had caused, prompting him to make a radical change. Mid-Course Correction not only outlined what eco-centered leadership looks like, it also mapped out a specific set of goals for Anderson's company to eliminate its environmental footprint.

Those goals remain visionary even today, and this second edition delves into how Interface worked toward making them a reality, birthing one of the most innovative and successful corporate sustainability efforts in the world. The new edition also explores why we need to create not only prototypical companies, but also the prototypical economy of the twenty-first century. As our global economy shifts toward sustainability, challenges like building the circular economy and reversing global warming present tremendous opportunities for business and industry. Mid-Course Correction Revisted contains a new foreword by Paul Hawken, several new chapters by Ray C. Anderson Foundation executive director John A. Lanier, and interviews with Janine Benyus, Joel Makower, Andrew Winston, Ellen MacArthur and other leaders in green enterprise, the circular economy, and biomimicry.

A wide range of business readers-from sustainability professionals to green entrepreneurs to CEOs-will find both wise advice and concrete examples in this new look at a master in corporate and environmental leadership, and the legacy he left. "Unlike most business leaders for whom 'the business case for sustainability' is all that really matters, Ray Anderson unapologetically advanced a moral case as well, constantly focused on our duty to future generations. This is more important today than ever before, as we come to recognize that an incremental, softly-softly approach to corporate sustainability is pretty much a busted flush―we've simply run out of time. The Interface story is as inspirational today as ever, but it needs to be read for its deeper, radical reckoning: If not now, when? If not you, who?"―Jonathon Porritt, founder and director, Forum for the Future; author of The World We Made

"I'm so glad Ray Anderson's story is getting another telling―few sagas are more inspiring or more timely. We desperately need more and more people following in his footsteps with the same blend of humility and determination!"―Bill McKibben, author of Falter

"Twenty years after its first edition, there is still so much for us to harvest and learn from Mid-Course Correction. When it came to the precariousness of our shared future, Ray Anderson was both impatient and relentless in fighting for a world of beauty, abundance, justice, and fairness. When Ray asked me to join the Interface board, his exact words were, 'Come help me change the world!' Those words stayed with me throughout my seventeen years working with him. This twenty-year update provides the perfect guide for others to join in climbing Mt. Sustainability, the most critical mission of our time."―Dianne Dillon-Ridgley, CEO, Women's Network for a Sustainable Future

"So far, Ray C. Anderson is the twenty-first century's undisputed master of making business a potent force for saving people and the planet. As his winning carpet and textile firm, Interface, now wrings out the last few percent of its fossil-fuel use, his bold strategy―take nothing, waste nothing, do no harm, do very well by doing good―inspires visionary leader