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Act Like an Owner: Building an Ownership Culture
Most workers are conditioned to view themselves as one-dimensionalin relation to their company--as a salesperson, or anengineer, or a manager. But imagine the possibilities if everyonein your organization started thinking and acting likeentrepreneurs--like owners of the business. Imagine if youremployees shared the same beliefs, both in their abilities and inthe purpose of your business, and focused all their energies onmaking that business successful--knowing that they, in turn, would become successful as well. That is the power of an ownershipculture, and this book will show you how to mobilize humanintellect and ingenuity for competitive advantage. Act Like an Owner is an action guide to building aculture of employee ownership within an organization. AuthorsBlonchek and O'Neill present their business model, "Act Like anOwner," which grew out of their experience building informationtechnology service businesses. This model is a roadmap for applyingtoday's most important management practices in a competitive, rapidly changing environment. The authors use this approach as partof their consulting practice, and are the first to detail how toimplement such a program company-wide.
Act Like an Owner introduces the internal franchiseframework that can be used for unlocking the entrepreneurial spiritin your organization. From this book, you'll learn how to defineyour company's operating model--the way you choose to dobusiness--and then extend the model to your employees. Theauthors then explain how to link employee behaviors to each elementof business performance. They demonstrate how to focus your entireorganization on a business goal while addressing employees'individual needs for opportunity and growth. You'll learn how toattract and hire people with a positive, entrepreneurial attitudewho can create an environment that establishes the values andbehaviors you need.
At the heart of the internal franchise is the ownership culture, a corporate culture built on principles and values that compeleveryone in your organization to think and act like an owner of thebusiness. The authors describe the impact of an ownership cultureon an organization, illustrating how you can build equity in thatculture and make it part of your company's brand identity. Theyexplore the power of such a culture to create an environment ofshared values and goals. You'll learn the formula for creating anownership culture and putting it to work in your organization, andyou'll hear the perspectives of senior executives at companiescurrently adopting the "Act Like an Owner" program, including thoseat Aspen Systems, CACI, STAC, PSINet, and ConSonics. In addition, the authors apply the ownership culture model to one of the mostpressing problems facing business today: attracting and retainingskilled workers.
Filled with examples, anecdotes, and techniques, Act Like anOwner will motivate anyone trying to build a successfulbusiness that starts with people. "What a wonderful book. The onlyway organizations will be able to compete in the future is if theirpeople act like owners and they create an ownership culture. A mustread for the 21st century." --Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The OneMinute Manager.
"A terrific addition to any library. Marty O'Neill and RobertBlonchek have crafted an elegantly simple and uniquely powerfulapproach to enhancing the performance of anyorganization--large or small. I wholeheartedly recommend it."--Douglas R. Conant, President, U.S. Foods Group, Nabisco.
"The new workplace demands that businesses find effective waysto release the power of people. Blonchek and O'Neill's 'InternalFranchise' idea turns the franchise concept inside out and providesa roadmap for ownership and empowerment in any organization."--Alan Randolph, coauthor, Empowerment Takes More Than aMinute.
"Act Like an Owner gives you a treasure map to unlockingthe fortunes that lie throughout an organization." --BillToler, President, Campbell Sales Company.
"An insightful look at the elements of an ownership culture andhow to put them to work in your company in order to attract, retainand motivate talented people." --J. Robert Beyster, Founder, Chairman and CEO, SAIC.
"Act Like an Owner gives you the tools you need todevelop and empower your employees to think and act likeentrepreneurs." --Andrew C. Taylor, President and CEO, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and 1997 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur ofthe Year Award Winner.
Act Like an Owner introduces the internal franchiseframework that can be used for unlocking the entrepreneurial spiritin your organization. From this book, you'll learn how to defineyour company's operating model--the way you choose to dobusiness--and then extend the model to your employees. Theauthors then explain how to link employee behaviors to each elementof business performance. They demonstrate how to focus your entireorganization on a business goal while addressing employees'individual needs for opportunity and growth. You'll learn how toattract and hire people with a positive, entrepreneurial attitudewho can create an environment that establishes the values andbehaviors you need.
At the heart of the internal franchise is the ownership culture, a corporate culture built on principles and values that compeleveryone in your organization to think and act like an owner of thebusiness. The authors describe the impact of an ownership cultureon an organization, illustrating how you can build equity in thatculture and make it part of your company's brand identity. Theyexplore the power of such a culture to create an environment ofshared values and goals. You'll learn the formula for creating anownership culture and putting it to work in your organization, andyou'll hear the perspectives of senior executives at companiescurrently adopting the "Act Like an Owner" program, including thoseat Aspen Systems, CACI, STAC, PSINet, and ConSonics. In addition, the authors apply the ownership culture model to one of the mostpressing problems facing business today: attracting and retainingskilled workers.
Filled with examples, anecdotes, and techniques, Act Like anOwner will motivate anyone trying to build a successfulbusiness that starts with people. "What a wonderful book. The onlyway organizations will be able to compete in the future is if theirpeople act like owners and they create an ownership culture. A mustread for the 21st century." --Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The OneMinute Manager.
"A terrific addition to any library. Marty O'Neill and RobertBlonchek have crafted an elegantly simple and uniquely powerfulapproach to enhancing the performance of anyorganization--large or small. I wholeheartedly recommend it."--Douglas R. Conant, President, U.S. Foods Group, Nabisco.
"The new workplace demands that businesses find effective waysto release the power of people. Blonchek and O'Neill's 'InternalFranchise' idea turns the franchise concept inside out and providesa roadmap for ownership and empowerment in any organization."--Alan Randolph, coauthor, Empowerment Takes More Than aMinute.
"Act Like an Owner gives you a treasure map to unlockingthe fortunes that lie throughout an organization." --BillToler, President, Campbell Sales Company.
"An insightful look at the elements of an ownership culture andhow to put them to work in your company in order to attract, retainand motivate talented people." --J. Robert Beyster, Founder, Chairman and CEO, SAIC.
"Act Like an Owner gives you the tools you need todevelop and empower your employees to think and act likeentrepreneurs." --Andrew C. Taylor, President and CEO, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and 1997 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur ofthe Year Award Winner.
- GenresLeadershipBusiness
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 1999
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October 1, 2009
Marty O'Neill has a corner on a very particular market: how to run mid-sized businesses well and maximize their value. He's the go-to guy on this subject, so if you find yourself in the position of running a company with anywhere from a couple mill to a couple hundred mill in sales, Marty has incredibly useful advice for you.
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