Book review: Able! How One Company’s Disabled Workforce Became the Key to Extraordinary Success

By David Faucheux

Nancy Henderson Wurst has written Able: How One Company’s Disabled Workforce Became the Key to Extraordinary Success! (RC 60457). Quoting a summary of the book, it "tells the inspiring story of Habitat International Inc., a global indoor-outdoor rug manufacturer where three of every four workers have a physical or mental disability, or both."

At Habitat, people with schizophrenia drive forklifts next to those with Down syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. Hearing-impaired employees cut floor mats alongside co-workers who have endured strokes, severe head injuries, or loss of an arm. For the past two decades, the company’s owner has been hiring people with disabilities, urging other entrepreneurs to do the same thing, and defying the naysayers who said it couldn’t be done. The result: A multi-million-dollar corporation whose special-needs workers outproduce the nearest competitor 2-1.

I found the stories in Wurst's book to be encouraging and the philosophy of the company enlightening. The working environment sounded fun; not the normal way one would describe a job that sounds as physically demanding as rug packing and carpet cutting. We learn of the employees who play records for the company radio station during breaks while coworkers shoot a little pool and the picnics and camaraderie of the owners and their workers. We hear of the uniquely colored and bold artwork that is everywhere in the facility. I was concerned, however, that the only mention of a visually impaired or blind person was of an employee who did not work out because she was too dependent. People may think that the company takes advantage of government subsidies and supports to hire the disabled; Wurst says that the company does no such thing!

Kudos to Ms. Wurst for writing the story and to Habitat International for making it all happen and hiring the people no one else wants!

IMAGINE That!

/////////////////

A response from the author:

Hi David,

Thanks so much for writing and for including my book in your blog. I’m glad you’re enjoying Able!

Even though the visually impaired employee didn’t work out, there are many, many people with disabilities who have. In fact, Habitat has grown quite a bit since the book was published and owner David Morris now spends much of his time working to improve employment opportunities on a national level.

Yes, I’m hoping to write another disability-related book soon. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing magazine articles on the topic as often as I can.

Thanks again and take care,

Nancy Henderson
(formerly Nancy Henderson Wurst)