Product Description
Act Like an Owner is an action guide to building a culture of employee ownership within an organization. Authors Blonchek and O'Neill present their business model, "Act Like an Owner," which grew out of their experience building information technology service businesses. This model is a roadmap for applying today's most important management practices in a competitive, rapidly changing environment. The authors use this approach as part of their consulting practice, and are the first to detail how to implement such a program company-wide.
Act Like an Owner introduces the internal franchise framework that can be used for unlocking the entrepreneurial spirit in your organization. From this book, you'll learn how to define your company's operating model—the way you choose to do business—and then extend the model to your employees. The authors then explain how to link employee behaviors to each element of business performance. They demonstrate how to focus your entire organization on a business goal while addressing employees' individual needs for opportunity and growth. You'll learn how to attract and hire people with a positive, entrepreneurial attitude who can create an environment that establishes the values and behaviors you need.
At the heart of the internal franchise is the ownership culture, a corporate culture built on principles and values that compel everyone in your organization to think and act like an owner of the business. The authors describe the impact of an ownership culture on an organization, illustrating how you can build equity in that culture and make it part of your company's brand identity. They explore the power of such a culture to create an environment of shared values and goals. You'll learn the formula for creating an ownership culture and putting it to work in your organization, and you'll hear the perspectives of senior executives at companies currently adopting the "Act Like an Owner" program, including those at Aspen Systems, CACI, STAC, PSINet, and ConSonics. In addition, the authors apply the ownership culture model to one of the most pressing problems facing business today: attracting and retaining skilled workers.
Filled with examples, anecdotes, and techniques, Act Like an Owner will motivate anyone trying to build a successful business that starts with people. "What a wonderful book. The only way organizations will be able to compete in the future is if their people act like owners and they create an ownership culture. A must read for the 21st century." —Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager.
"A terrific addition to any library. Marty O'Neill and Robert Blonchek have crafted an elegantly simple and uniquely powerful approach to enhancing the performance of any organization—large or small. I wholeheartedly recommend it." —Douglas R. Conant, President, U.S. Foods Group, Nabisco.
"The new workplace demands that businesses find effective ways to release the power of people. Blonchek and O'Neill's 'Internal Franchise' idea turns the franchise concept inside out and provides a roadmap for ownership and empowerment in any organization." —Alan Randolph, coauthor, Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute.
"Act Like an Owner gives you a treasure map to unlocking the fortunes that lie throughout an organization." —Bill Toler, President, Campbell Sales Company.
"An insightful look at the elements of an ownership culture and how to put them to work in your company in order to attract, retain and motivate talented people." —J. Robert Beyster, Founder, Chairman and CEO, SAIC.
"Act Like an Owner gives you the tools you need to develop and empower your employees to think and act like entrepreneurs." —Andrew C. Taylor, President and CEO, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and 1997 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner.
From the Author
Prior to writing this book and before co-founding my current company (Bottom Line Technical Solutions), I was a founder and executive of a $40 million systems integration firm.
As one of the leaders in this organization, I dedicated myself to ensuring that the company's culture was an Ownership Culture---an entrepreneurial corporate culture that motivates everyone to think and act like business owners and entrepreneurs. I fervently believe this culture based in TRUST, was an important competitive distinction and was a key strategy that propelled our business to success. And it is through this real-life experience building an IT services business that the Act Like an Owner model was born.
During the year or so that Marty and I spent writing this book, we did a lot of speaking and consulting on the Act Like an Owner model. We talked with executives in idustries from consumer products to internet start-ups. Through this process I became even more committed to the Act Like an Owner model and to my belief that companies must develop strategies to fully engange their people. Until more companies develop such strategies, the turn-over rates will continue to climb and the mass movement towards free agency will grow.
Some recent surveys indicate that up to half of the American workforce may become freelancers (or E-lancers) in the new millenium. This shift in the workforce is just one sign that most workers now know and accept that they are in control of their own careers. More importantly, the people embracing free agency aren't turned off by the notion, they're energized by it. Entrepreneurial spirit is alive in America!
Those companies that can adapt to the changing attitudes and expecations of today's worker will excel the rest will fail, it's that simple.
Our goal in writing this book was to crstalize one method of bulding an Ownership Culture. Whether you are a manager within an organization searching for a competitive advantage, or an employee looking for the right employer this book provides a framework for understanding the benefits of thinking and acting like a business owner. We hope you can put many of the ideas to work in your own organization or career. And remember, Act Like an Owner is not academic theory. It is a proven formula for building a successful, modern organization in the information era.
Best wishes for continued success.
Bob Blonchek, CEO Bottom Line Technical Solutions, April 1999
