About

I spent most of my work career (31 years) at Foldcraft Co., a rural Minnesota furniture and decor company with four subsidiary operations, and one of the best little companies you never heard of! The last 15 of those years I spent as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, following an unusual path from Human Resources to the CEO role. During that time, Foldcraft became known for its innovative programs formed around its employee ownership; Foldcraft is 100% employee owned and in 1998 was recognized by The ESOP Association as the Outstanding Employee Owned Company in the U.S.

I took an early retirement from Foldcraft in 2005, but have retained a desire to teach and counsel organizations in the ways of holistic well-being.  I refer to such thinking as organizational wellness, modeled after my own passion for personal wellness. It’s an initiative that I’ve been able to apply not only with companies here in the U.S. but also in my role as CEO of Winds of Peace Foundation, working in Nicaragua.  I like to share my experiences and perspectives through writing and speaking, and my blog sites allow me the breadth of space to do just that, sometimes simply making observations on life as a means of better understanding it.  If you find any of the entries here of interest, I’d love to hear about it and even have you subscribe to receive future essays.  It’s quite a ride, isn’t it?

-Steve Sheppard