Creating a “Sen=
se of
Ownership” is Essential!
By Laura Maver Ward
Whethe= r you are the owner of a company, a business leader, or an employee, the sense of ownership is extremely important to the success of your business. Your “breakthrough business strategy&= #8221; is about creating ownership.
Recently= , I ran into a friend of mine at the post office. He was a doctor for about 40 years and sold his practice recently. He had a great exit plan in place and he su= ccessfully transitioned, or so I thought!
When I a= sked how retirement was going, I could immediately tell something was wrong. Things = were different. Normally, he was f= ull of confidence and pride. He alwa= ys told me how great things were. I didn’t see the same “Doc”= ; that day. In fact, he seemed somewhat guarded – almost embarrassed. I thou= ght to myself…”What’s going on here? Is this the same person = I’ve known for the past ten years?” I had to find out more, so I continued= to probe so I could learn more about what was going on.
We talke= d about the importance of proper exit planning. Interestingly, he said the “e= xit planning was really easy.” Several years ago he had found a graduate student who agreed to buy the practice after graduating. Doc trained this individual and was able to retire, as he had planned. He had a great team to help figure out the financial and legal issues related to selling. He felt = he was in the driver’s seat because he had it all figured out. He didn’= ;t need any other help, or so he thought.
I rememb= er how excited he was about retiring! He couldn’t wait! Every time we saw hi= m he shared how many months, weeks or days until he was “free.” There was a huge retirement celebration. He had plans to travel the world, play g= olf and spend more time with his wife and grandchildren.
Today, t= hings were different - very different. Though he had taken many trips, played a l= ot of golf and spent quality time with his wife and grandchildren, he said thi= ngs to me like “I don’t feel important anymore.” “People don’t call me because they don’t need my help anymore.” &= #8220;The phone isn’t ringing anymore.” Doc had not done any post-retirem= ent planning.
So what = is the lesson behind this story? The Doc was suffering from something that affects many other people besides the exiting business owner. This is a story about= the importance of ownership. Remember his words, “I no longer feel import= ant or needed.” This doctor lost his sense of ownership and that made him feel unimportant.
Everyone wants to be an =
owner!
This cha=
nce
encounter with my friend turned my attention to the importance of ownership=
. Whether
a business owner, a business leader or an employee, everyone wants to feel
important. It’s a great feeling when you own something. Let’s f=
ace
it – it’s the American way! Look at the self-storage industry
– it‘s a huge! According to the “Self Storage Demand Study
– 2005 Edition”, nearly 10% of households currently rent a self
storage unit. That means 10.5 million households in
Of cours= e the ownership I’m talking about here isn’t about owning “stuf= f.” I’m talking about having pride, having the feeling of being needed in= the workplace, having a vested interest in the success of the business. These a= re the things that help create a sense of ownership. Yet, in a business environment, it is rare for employees to have a sense of being needed or ha= ving ownership.
Are you a business owner or a leader within your company? If so, let me ask you a tou= gh question. I’m looking for an honest answer. Are the employees in your company walking in your front door every morning and out the door every evening, without any sense of ownership? If so, that’s a HUGE MISTAKE= !
Are you = ready for your “breakthrough business s= trategy” this month? Then, read on…
Make Strategy Everyone&#=
8217;s
Job!
How can = you create a culture where everyone in your company has a sense of ownership? Y= ou must begin with your Strategic Plan. Do you have one? Is it a living, breat= hing plan? If the answer is yes, then congratulations. I applaud you! It’s= a rarity, especially in small businesses. If you don’t have a plan, or it’s on the shelf collecting dust, then I highly recommend you begin = your planning today or get out your feather duster and dust off that plan.
If you d=
o have a
plan, who was involved in developing it? Are those the same people who are
committed to invest their time, energy and talents to achieve the goals
outlined in the plan? What about all the other people in your organization?=
Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton,
authors of The Strategy-Focused Organization, emphasize the importan=
ce
of making strategy “everyone’s everyday job.” Stra=
tegy
must be a concern of everyone in=
the
organization – from the CEO to the person sweeping the floors. By buy=
ing
into the company strategy, employees better understand how they contribute =
to
the company’s success.
Many business owners have no idea how =
to
begin developing a strategic plan and that’s why so many business own=
ers
don’t plan. The words “strategic planning’ alone can sound
overwhelming. But planning is extremely important. Think of it in terms of a
road trip. Suppose you want to drive to
Your strategic plan is your map for wh= ere you want your business to go. When you begin developing or revising your pl= an, include in the process those people who will be going along on the trip = 211; your employees at all levels. When you involve your employees in the planni= ng process, they become motivated to make it “their” plan for succ= ess. That is called ownership and that, my friends, is your “breakthrough business strategy.”
Laura Maver Ward is President and Founder of Dovetail Busin=
ess
Advisors, Inc. (www.dovetailad=
visors.com),
a mergers and acquisitions and business coaching and consulting firm. Dovet=
ail
helps business owners run their business, so they can live today…and
retire tomorrow…in the style they want and deserve. She can be reache=
d at
816-448-3777 or breakthroughstrategies@dovetailadvisors.com.
Re-Print Permission
This article may be reprinted if the following conditions are =
met:
·
The article is reprinted in its entirety.
·
The complete tag with the author's name and contact informatio=
n is
included immediately after the article.
·
A copy of the printed article is mailed to the Laura Maver War=
d at
Dovetail Business Advisors, Inc.,
·
The article is presented in a positive light as part of an
appropriate business related publication.
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