Ownership is the Single Most Important Factor
This article is about how lack of ownership impacts your business, why ownership is necessary, and how to instill ownership in your business.
What does ownership mean to you?
To “own” something is a curious topic to go down the rabbit hole on. Who can truly “own” something? Can we truly ‘own’ something if someone else can take it away? How do we own something when others are involved? What does it mean to own a piece in a chain of work?
I set up this premise to iterate that, sometimes, this kind of ‘philosophical’ deflection is exactly what happens in your business.
Lack of Ownership
A customer calls in, irate about an issue, and tells you a very long, very detailed story. You, the person ultimately responsible for the issue, listen. The customer says it all started with Sales. The salesperson said the solution would solve all their problems. The project manager said they talked with sales about all their needs. The integration manager said they had all the details. The technical designer said they understood everything and that the customer would be happy. The installation expert said the configuration they set up would work.
But the solution didn’t solve all their problems, the project manager didn’t know about a key business requirement, the integration manager didn’t know about a key partnership, the technical designer never got approval, and the installation expert didn’t understand the customer’s unique business.
You take notes and vow to investigate.
You turn inward towards your coworkers and run the gamut of testimonies. Everyone is very clear about their very tiny slice of the pie. By their account, they did everything correctly. Everyone was eager to tell you how they went above and beyond to complete their slice of the pie.
Everyone also seems sorry that the customer is unhappy and promises to do better next time. You believe them, update the customer, and promise it won’t happen again.
But if you’re honest about their testimonies, you realize no one owned their full slice of pie. They trimmed it down to exclude the parts of the pie they don’t like. Some don’t like the crust. Some don’t like the topping. One doesn’t even like the filling!
Of course, this trimming of the pie slices is what the customer felt. Yes, everyone did everything they wanted, but they forgot to include the things they didn’t want to do. They didn’t complete the little details that assured a smooth handoff. They didn’t own up to the fact that they didn’t hand off complete work.
And then—because of course it does—the same problem arises with another customer. Then another.
What was the actual issue?
Ownership.
No one took ownership to make sure the issue didn’t recur.
Why Ownership Matters
What happened with the example in our story above? Two things:
No one owned their full piece of the pie
No one owned the whole process
Let’s start with sales. One of two things likely happened. The stereotypical option is that the salesperson didn’t understand the product and/or customer’s needs. The second is that they did understand everything and the solution could solve the customer’s problems, but there were some unique setup items required—but they didn’t communicate that to the delivery team. Either way, the ball—that is to say, the customer—was dropped. For argument’s sake, let’s say it was option two. Suppose the salesperson even told the project manager—once in a hallway conversation. They never made notes about these things. Uh oh! Looks like there’s a piece of the pie they didn’t like: taking notes.
The project manager indeed talked with sales. They were told all the details in that one hallway conversation. But, because they were overwhelmed with too many projects, didn’t make the notes, either. Uh oh! Now we have a second instance and the formation of a pattern. And, because of the double-whammy of overwhelm and conversation only, they forgot about that key business requirement. On top of things, they never checked back in with the customer to make sure everything still looked good!
Because of this, the integration manager never knew about the unique setup for the key partner.
The technical designer skipped their last step.
But, everyone did their best. What more can you ask for?
In business, when you’re exchanging money for goods and services, you can and should ask for the full value you expect to receive.
So, when your defense of the team is, “They did their best,” you’re putting a bad taste in the customer’s mouth.
At the root of this, everyone thought they were doing their best, but they weren’t performing to the level they needed. They didn’t have any checklist, system, or accountability partner that made sure: did you really do, complete, and own every piece of the pie?
Beyond this, there was no one person empowered to make sure the whole pie was being owned. It should have been the project manager, but the power of silos and departments is a veil that blinds even the most “transparent” of companies.
When you allow departments to take shortcuts, you sacrifice complete handoffs.
When you abdicate ownership, you ensure complete handoffs and satisfied customers are left up to chance, not intentionality.
There are times when someone must make a decision. There are times when people are left out. There are times when future pitfalls are known, if only one would listen.
So how do you fix it?
Instill Ownership
If something is vital to the success of your business, it requires an owner.
I’ll say it again, a little louder this time.
If something is vital to the success of your business, it requires an owner.
I find when I say this many people, especially higher ups, say things like, “Yes, customer success is everyone’s responsibility!” And they’ve missed the point. I have to work with them help them understand:
Specific aspects of your business require
Specific owners
So your business is successful
It’s fine to say, “Everyone helps sell!” and “Everyone is responsible for making sure the customer is taken care of!” But:
If something is everyone’s job, it’s no one person’s job.
Can you see how this starts to happen?
“Well, I told the project manager about the requirements, so now it’s their job to make sure the customer is happy,” said the salesperson. “I had the conversation with the salesperson, and if I miss anything, the integration manager will double check things,” the project manager reassures themselves. “The project manager never misses anything, I can skip my verification step this time,” the integration manager says aloud as they rush to the next job. “I know the list is complete, so I don’t need to run anything by the customer,” the technical designer says with confidence.
Before you start thinking that this way of running things will result in oversight committees for the oversight committee or get overwhelmed and aren’t sure where to start:
Relax.
Start with one area. What’s giving you the most heartburn in your business right now?
Make a list of the key business elements that must happen to complete this area of your work. Your usual monthly or quarterly reports can be a good place to start, but they are often the sum of what happens. So, what key elements must take place so that those reports look good?
It’s not enough to say, “We need to make sure sales hits their quota.” Start at the beginning. Is your market defined? Who owns that? Who is responsible for finding future customers and turning them into customers? How do salespeople quote your products? Who owns your price list? If what you sell requires services, who owns those services? How do those services get communicated to sales?
It’s not enough to say, “We’re getting better in customer support.” If you go from a grade of 54 to 56, you’re headed in the right direction, but it’s still a failing grade. What’s the acceptable level? How will you know when you reach it? Who owns customers issues until they’re resolved?
I repeat: make a list of the key business elements that must happen for the area you’re working to fix. Then, assign an owner. An owner does not have to be a single person. Ownership can be synonymous with a person, but it could be a team or committee. You will have to evaluate who and how many should own which aspects of your business. (Although, generally, a single person will work best!)
As a warning, when things are owned by committee, you must have crystal clear segments of ownership. You don’t want people shirking their piece of the pie! Not everyone wants to own what they’re given. It’s not a slight against anyone, just an acknowledgement of human nature. If things are owned by committee, you must clearly define who owns which aspects.
You must also make sure each member of the committee holds each other accountable. Do not allow one person to become the committee. Do not forgive those who routinely shirk their responsibilities. I’m not talking about daily grace, I’m talking about chronic offenders. They are trying to get away with not doing something they don’t like. The moment you allow this, the moment you teach others it’s OK to not do what you’ve asked them to do.
As a final point, this section is called, “Instill Ownership.”
Every person at a company must respect that those who own something are the face of a vital piece of the business. This begins with the top-most employees demonstrating said respect.
Where I see a lot of business miss in this area is giving ownership to someone—and allowing everyone else to believe their contribution to said ownership is optional. Someone may be put in charge of something, but if a senior or more tenured person can simply choose to ignore them without consequence, you’re teaching your company that anyone can choose to ignore any aspect of the business, even when you’ve deemed it necessary to the success of your business.
This is why I say ownership is the single most important factor to success. Because if you ignore it, you don’t just end up with upset customers and misses and drops. You end up with people who care, championing vital aspects of the success of your business, burned out and disillusioned and feeling abandoned.
If something is vital to the success of your business, it needs an owner.
Without this, you are leaving the success of your business up to chance.
If you feel like you and your company could do a better job of this, Company Connections is here. It’s designed to help you fix this.
“Paid!” feels good—but do you have real ownership when it comes to key processes in your business?