What if you could get your employees to come to work every day thinking, feeling and acting as if they own the business? How much more competitive would your organization be?
“Ownership Thinking” offers a different approach to running an organisation, based on this simple proposition: The most effective, most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is to give everybody in the company the opportunity every day to improve the value of the business and benefit by the results they produce!
Ownership Thinking wasn’t born in a business school or dreamt up by consultants, it has been forged, tested and proven in every industry around the world for over 40 years. It has grown from a mere idea to a significant and profitable business practice.
In its simplest form, Ownership Thinking is a way of running a company that gets everyone focused on helping the business be successful. Employee goals and accountabilities are tied directly to the success of the company. It teaches all employees, from the top down, how your business model works and how the company makes money. Everyone is taught to understand what “winning’ looks like; the goals of the company and how they can make a difference – both individually and as part of a team. Employees learn how they each contribute to the financial performance of the company.
But it’s more than a promise to share information and to be open with employees; it’s a system. It’s a way to run your company that unleashes the entrepreneur in every employee – a technique to get everyone as informed, involved and engaged as you are in making your company successful.
No matter where it is practiced, Ownership Thinking has two critical elements: sharing business information and implementing a business “operating system” that enables everyone to use that information to improve the company. You can’t simply share information and expect increased engagement and improved results – you have to actively and persistently manage the system.
Ownership Thinking transforms organisations and gives them a major advantage over organisations that still keep employees in the dark. It’s not just about generating profits, cash and wealth but also about distributing it for the good of everyone. Ownership Thinking works because employees get a chance to think, feel and act as business owners – to take responsibility for the business rather than just “doing their job”. Each employee knows enough about the company to understand how their actions will affect business results – and understand that they have a stake in the results that are collectively produced.
OT Principles
- It starts with a sincere belief in people and fostering openness, trust and mutual respect.
- Every employee should be given the measures of business success and taught how to understand them.
- Every employee should be expected to use their knowledge to improve performance.
- Every employee should have a direct stake in the company’s success – and in the risk of failure.
OT Benefits
- Improved financial and business performance
- Intelligent and responsive decision-making throughout the organisation
- Increased accountability, alignment, focus and sense of urgency at all levels within the organisation
- Employee growth and development
- Greater employee satisfaction and significantly higher levels of engagement
- Ability to engage and retain the best people
- Improved creativity and innovation among all employees
- Greater customer satisfaction
What changes with Ownership Thinking?
Quite simply, accountability, performance and engagement! Managers no longer have to decide how things must be done by everyone else. No finance department specialists are needed to watch the performance of every operator and operation to ensure profitability. People hold themselves accountable for their commitments and for the performance of their part of the business! Those who do the work and who have been taught to make sound business decisions, take the decisions!
Ownership Thinking – Ninety-Day Business Workout
Ninety Days Ltd has created a programme that enables you and your company Implementation Team to come together with other business leaders to share your collective knowledge and experience. The Ownership Thinking Workout is the only peer-to-peer learning network available for UK business leaders committed to operating their organizations in this way.
