Think Like an Owner

Think Like an Owner

Brent Engel
Contributing Writer
Direct Energy

“We want you to think like an owner.”  Those were the words I heard throughout my career.  It was a mantra when I was an operations manager.  And it meant absolutely nothing because I was a salaried manager who was just happy to increase sales and control costs.  I wonder how many times we use those same words today and how often they mean absolutely nothing to those who hear them.

So what does an owner think like?  Well, according to some, they have common thoughts like, “How can I get the business to make more money?” Or, “How can I get the business to have more customers?” Or, “How can we grow faster?”  What are your employees thinking?

If your employees are like mine were, they thought, “Can I go home early?” Or, “How can I not get yelled at?” Or, “What am I going to eat for lunch?”  What are your employees thinking?

If these are the thoughts of employees, and we need employees to run our businesses, are there any advantages to getting employees to think like owners?  The HR world will tell you that thinking like an owner increases engagement and engagement brings benefits such as:

·       A positive work environment;

·       Reduced turnover;

·       Higher productivity;

·       Better customer care making for happier customers;

·       Cost savings;

·       And many more.

So how do we start?

If you comb the internet, you will find no shortage of advice.  Many suggest the way to start is to have everyone understand company goals.  Others recommend to help employees understand how everyone works together to help the company make money.  Still others suggest empowering your employees by giving them the knowledge they need to do their jobs.  And others discuss removing policies that prevent thinking like an owner and educating employees on policies that help to this end.

To me, this all seems to come down to training.  If you want your employees to think like owners, they need to be taught to think like owners.  Think of the typical employee.  Maybe you do electrical repair.  Your employee is probably a good electrician.  What ownership training did she receive?  Like most electricians the answer is probably none.

Think about what probably goes on when an employee visits a house to do a job.  There is a knock, an introduction, the long walk to the problem, a flurry of activity to repair the problem, the presentation of the invoice, payment and a good-bye.  Maybe the customer will call you again and maybe not.

Think about what you would like to go on when an employee visits a house to do a job.  How would you run the call?  Would you take time to upsell?  Would you ask for referrals?  What would you do to build customer loyalty?

If you’ve read this far, you may be saying, “Yes Brent, I told my people all this.  I told them what to do on a service call and to upsell.  They still don’t do it.”  Well, as Dr. Stolovitch sayas, “Telling ain’t training.”  You need a system to make the information stick—to build habit.

Teaching an employee how to run a visit like you would is the first step and it does at least two things.  First, it gives the employee a model of the acceptable behaviors that they can reference when facing other situations.  Second, studies show that behavior shapes thoughts (for example, in 1988 Dr. Strack found people who held a pencil in their teeth to force them to smile thought comics were funnier than those who didn’t), so getting employees to act like owners can help them think like owners.

So, if you want your employees to think like owners, get them to act like owners.  Get your employees to act like owners by teaching them how to act like owners.  Once you’ve taught them, have a system to make it stick.  For me, I am still thinking about the burrito I am going to have for lunch.