Summary of Making It in America

“If We Can Do It in Our Company, You Can Do It in Yours”

John Bassett III is CEO of Virginia-based Vaughan-Bassett Furniture. He runs it with his sons Doug and Wyatt, his family’s fourth generation of furniture men. Today, JB3 – his preferred nickname – is focused on the future of his company, the largest “wood bedroom furniture” manufacturer in the United States. Bassett’s company withstood pressure to close or to move its manufacturing operation abroad to benefit from less expensive labor. Management supported its local workforce, and those employees gave back to the company to help it survive. JB3’s 12-point “Leader’s Action Plan” outlines a practical, scalable way to save or create jobs, earn profits, broaden opportunities for the people in your workforce, and strengthen your community and local economy. The 12 points of the Leader’s Action Plan are:

1. Learn to Lead

After serving in the US Army from 1959 to 1962, John Bassett III (nicknamed JB3) returned to his family’s hometown, Bassett, Virginia. He began working at Bassett Furniture Industries, the company his grandfather founded in 1902. JB3 became a “utility trouble shooter” – ...