The Busy Leader's Handbook

24Create a Culture of Ownership Inside Your Company

One of the questions CEOs, business owners, and leaders ask is “How can I get employees to act like owners?” To put it in somewhat simplistic terms, the answer is to treat them like owners. No question about it: the experience of being an owner is different from the experience of being an employee. But a well-run company creates an ownership culture, which can come pretty close to closing the gap between the two types of experiences.

Most of us have probably done business with companies that instill that sense of ownership as well as with those that don’t. Here are two personal examples:

• Example 1: I was hungry and really wanted something from a take-out place that was located about 10 minutes from where I lived at the time. It was 8:35 p.m. and the restaurant was open until 9 p.m. I pulled into the parking lot at about 8:45 p.m. When I got to the door I noticed it was locked and the two employees had the chairs on the tables and were cleaning up. Checking my watch and noting the hours on the door I knew I was there in time. I knocked softly. Then I knocked louder. I felt the workers could hear me, but they kept cleaning. So I drove home.
• Because many of these stores are independently owned franchises, I know this experience may be an exception rather than the norm. However, I have never been back to that restaurant. My thinking: if the owner had been there, the door would have been open and I would have received my meal. ...