THINK AND ACT LIKE AN OWNER. Make decisions by asking yourself, “What would I do if this were my company? Could I be making or saving the company more by doing it differently?” Spend the company’s money like it was yours. Our job is to take care of the customer and make money doing it.
As with many of the Fieldamentals, thinking like an owner, starts with a personal commitment to do this. This distills a large part of our culture into a simple statement, behavior and challenge; think and act like an owner.
This is a two way street. First, we need to treat all Field team members like owners if we expect you to act like owners. That is why we share information freely. You see the Profit & Loss statements quarterly, we review the strategic & financial plans, and we share critical performance metrics daily. All of this information is provided to assist you in thinking and acting like an owner. We are open to your ideas, suggestions, or anything that can make Field better.
You need to utilize this information to make good decisions. These decisions apply to every aspect of the business and all team members, not selected leaders or the most experienced team members. You make decisions and take actions every day that effect how you do your job and ultimately the overall performance of the company.
Thinking and acting like owners means a focus on the long term success of Field. As you consider options, think about what is best for our customers and Field over the long haul. We can’t make decisions that create short term gain and result in long term pain. This is true for making money and generating profit. Some decisions we make have a negative short term impact on profits. That is OK if the long term effect of the decision is a happy customer and healthy bottom line. We regularly “bear the cost” for services & support for our customers to improve the long term health of the customer relationship.
This Fieldamental is not a suggestion; it is a condition of being a part of the team. It is a critical aspect of our culture and you are empowered to think and act like an owner! We can’t sustain our growth rate unless the team members closest to the decisions are able to make them. I’m not suggesting that our leaders don’t have a role & responsibility for making decisions, they clearly do. Know that you are empowered to make decisions and our leaders will support you when your decision process is made by thinking like an owner. I would rather have team members “ask for forgiveness occasionally” for over stepping the decision boundaries than “ask for permission regularly” because they are unwilling to make a decision.
When the entire organization thinks and acts like owners, it minimizes the need to lots of rules, regulations, policies, etc. Just take care of our customers and make a fair profit in the long run. This applies when spending “the companies” money. Would you spend “your money” on something Field needs, if yes, then do it. This is our expense philosophy; spend money like it’s yours.
Please approach everything you do and all of the decisions you make as if you were an owner. You are empowered to think and act like an owner!