Imagining an Inland Empire (Paperback)

“Imagining an Inland Empire” takes its reader on an 80-year life journey from the Upper Midwest’s wind-swept northern prairie to the very heart of America’s burgeoning capital city, Washington, DC. The author’s search for adventure carries the reader to the west coast for studies in agriculture, genetics, and plant-breeding, graduation with distinction from California Polytechnic State and Oregon State Universities, and a succession of instructive, deeply fulfilling entrepreneurial ventures in agricultural commodities and business consulting. Captivating vignettes describe the profound cultural changes the author experiences from his coming of age in the rural, whistle-stop market town of Hallock, Minnesota to the founding of a singularly creative business study group, the Superior Business Firm Roundtable. Tom Veblen experienced a full range of life’s ups and downs on his way to recognition as a Marquis Who’s Who “Lifetime Achiever.” His four decades of corporate, think-tank, and consulting endeavors climaxed with the imagining and development of Food System Associates, Inc. a nationally prominent business strategy consulting firm. In this memoir, Veblen tells the story of serving as a Presidential White House Fellow, the creation of the Wolf Trap National Park, corporate leadership stints with Cargill, Incorporated and Stanford Research Institute, the discovery and use of U.S. Food System concepts to shape business strategy, and, finally, imagining a world free of hunger. Contrasting American "myths of endeavor" with his own---from the Inland Empire created by James J. Hill and his Scandinavian immigrant collaborators to today's global business behemoths---Veblen describes the cultural values that undergird America’s entrepreneurial superiority. The book distills the meaning of “endeavor” and acculturation, showing how this knowledge is used to create better life outcomes--here, now, and moving on.

Tom Veblen is convener of The Superior Business Firm Roundtable, a national business study group founded in 1993. Veblen's business career included extended stints with Cargill, Incorporated, as an elected officer; Stanford Research Institute, as director of the Institute's Food and Agricultural Industries Department; founder and managing director of Food System Associates, Inc. and Enterprise Consulting, Inc.; co-founder and chair of ECDI, Inc. a real estate development firm located in Minneapolis, MN. Veblen graduated from California State Polytechnic University with a Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture and Oregon State University with a Master's Degree in Agronomy and Plant Breeding. Elected to membership in Beta Beta Beta and Phi Sigma honorary societies, he is a Cal Poly "Distinguished Alumnus" and profiled in Marquis' Who's Who in America...in Finance and Industry...in the World. Veblen has served as board chair for the Freedom from Hunger Foundation, and on the Boards of the White House Fellows Association, the University of Kentucky Patterson School, ANERA (the American Near East Refugee Aid), and Pax World Foundation. He is a member of the Cosmos Club, the Hillsdale College President's Club, The National Cathedral Association, and the White House Fellows Alumni Association. His business and civic interests have taken him throughout Asia, South America, Europe, and the Middle East. He and his wife, Linda reside in Washington, DC; their five grown children live and work in Minnesota, Ontario, and England. His recent book, "Business: The Heart of the Matter--An Inquiry into Purpose and Principle" (2017) and "The Way of Business--An Inquiry into Meaning and Superiority" (2015), aim to improve understanding of business and the critical importance of its role in the creation and management of wealth-locally, nationally, and globally. In a recent monograph Veblen posits: "Conceptually business is simple, but not on that account easy, for it is paradoxical and more of an art than a science. Because times change-and undoubtedly always will-business is best viewed as a work-in-progress. Endeavoring we advance or retreat...improve or decline...get better or get worse. The idea is, of course, to get better, following a 'way of business' that leads to right thinking and right acting on the things that really matter."