Take Charge Get Results - TAKING OWNERSHIP

Chapter 12

TAKING OWNERSHIP

“The very nature of ownership brings about a conscious mind-set focused on the best possible performance for the care and protection of an investment.”

I applaud you for making it this far! If you are still reading, there can be no doubt as to the extent of your determination to succeed.

The subject of this chapter, and the final ingredient necessary for your success, is learning how to take ownership so you can get the results you’re looking for. That is after all what you want, isn’t it? To get results?

Understanding Ownership

The concept of ownership – to have or hold as property – is easy to understand. However, as it relates to success, ownership is not the physical act of possessing a thing, but the mind-set that occurs as a result of being the owner. It’s important to understand how this mind-setimpacts the quality of results. For example:

Who takes better care of a business, the owner or the part-time employee? Who takes better care of a house, the owner or the renter? Who takes better care of a car, the owner or the friend who’s just borrowed it?

What do you say to your friend before you hand him your car keys? You say with all seriousness, “Don’t scratch the car!” What does your friend say when he returns the car? He says with a deliberate attempt at minimizing the extent of damage, “It’s only a tiny scratch. You can barely see it!” all the while, holding his nearly touching thumb and forefinger in front of his squinting eye, to show you just what he means by tiny.

Obviously, owners take better care of their possessions than non-owners do. People care more about things they own because they’ve spent their hard-earned money to get those things. Owners have a vested interest in the things they’ve purchased, and have a strong desire to protect their investment. The very nature of ownership brings about a conscious mind-set focused on the best possible performance for the care and protection of an investment. Simply stated, people who own something will do a better job caring for it than those who do not. When considering the way in which people care for their own property, it’s not difficult to understand how the mind-set of ownership influences decisions, and impacts feelings of responsibility. Do you take good care of the things you own? Do you feel it’s your responsibility to make decisions that result in the protection of your property? Of course you do. That’s easy.

What if you were to make a decision that resulted in damage to your property? Would you continue exercising the same bad judgment, or would you make a better decision? If you kept lending your car to a friend, and he kept returning it with scratches, would you continue lending your car to that friend? Of course you wouldn’t. Your sense of ownership wouldn’t allow you to.

On the Defensive

Understanding what it means to take ownership of property is easy, because it is something that all of us do. Understanding what it means to take ownership of results however is not so easy, because it is something that many of us don’t do. In fact many of us have, and continue to do just the opposite.

Have you ever heard someone, who just failed at something, make a statement like this? “I did everything perfect, and it still didn’t work out!” or this? “I tried everything I could think of. It’s just impossible!” or this? “Don’t look at me. I did everything just the way you told me to!” or this? “If it wasn’t for “so and so”, everything would have been fine!” Have you ever made any statements like these?

When things don’t turn out the way we want them to, it’s quite normal for us to find fault with something or someone else. We have a built-in defense mechanism designed to keep us from feeling bad about ourselves. When we experience results that are less than satisfying, our defense mechanism goes to work conjuring up all sorts of reasons why it’s not our fault, so we can get back to feeling good about ourselves as quickly as possible.

It’s like the student who gets a bad grade and blames the teacher for being boring, instead of blaming herself for not studying. Or like the coach who, after a tough loss, blames his players for not executing the game plan, instead of blaming himself for having a weak strategy. Or like the employer who blames his employees for poor performance, instead of blaming himself for failing to train them properly. Or like the employee who tries to justify her lack of effort by saying that if her boss wasn’t such a jerk, she would do a better job. Our defense mechanism is there to tell us what we want to hear, so we won’t feel guilty about our failures.

The problem with this defense is that it’s not entirely honest. It’s similar to a Washington “Spin-Doctor”. It twists and distorts the facts to support our need to be right, even when we are wrong. It clouds the view of our faults, and covers up our mistakes, which results in making those mistakes over and over again. Making repeated mistakes, and suffering repeated failures as a result of our inability to see and correct our faults, can be a real obstacle to achieving our goals. Learning to take ownership of our results is the key to overcoming this obstacle.

Honesty is the Best Policy

I bet you’ve heard this before! Well, it’s true. It’s just some of the best advice that was ever given. Honesty really is the best policy. Learning to take ownership of your results begins with learning to admit when you’re wrong. Don’t be defensive. Don’t listen to your “Spin-Doctor”. In fact, fire him! Send him packing! Get rid of him – he’s bad news! Always, always, always be honest with yourself!

To take ownership of results means to acknowledge the role you play, to confess, or own up to your part in the quality of an outcome (good or bad). That is to say, recognizing how your actions contributed to the success or failure of an outcome, and then accepting responsibility for those actions.

No-Fault Insurance

Any time an auto accident occurs there is always someone at fault. Maybe one person is more at fault than the other, or maybe the blame is fifty-fifty. Sometimes other factors contribute to the accident like bald tires, bad brakes or dangerous road conditions. Whatever the case, the great thing about no-fault insurance is that all of the parties involved take care of their own damage. They’re covered, no matter who’s at fault. Little time is wasted on determining who’s to blame. There’s no need to argue or go to court; they just exchange a little information and they’re done. Then the insurance companies spend some money, and whatever is broken gets fixed. In no time the drivers are back on the road, as if the accident never happened. Hopefully driving more careful than before, but they’re back on the road nonetheless. You see, the insurance companies realized a long time ago that by paying their own claims, instead of going to court and wasting their money fighting over who was at fault, they were able to realize much greater profits in the long run.

This same concept can be applied to protecting the quality of your results. As you work toward achieving your goals, accidents will happen that can bring about poor results. You might make a mistake. Someone you depend on might let you down. You might have to work with bad equipment or maybe you’ll be thrown into a situation you’re not ready for. Whatever the case, the great thing about taking ownership of your results is that you take care of your own damage (your own mistakes). You’re covered, no matter who’s at fault. Being the owner of your results allows you to focus on your performance, to own up to your part in the outcome. You don’t need to waste time arguing about who’s to blame; just gather the information you need to make an accurate assessment of how your actions contributed to the poor results, and you’re done. Then deal with the consequences caused by your mistake, correct whatever it is you did wrong, and in no time you’ll be back on the road to success, as if those poor results never happened.

You too, can achieve greater results in the long run, once you realize (as the insurance companies did) that you need to pay your own claims.

Enjoy the Profits

Ownership is not just about admitting when you’re wrong. It’s also about recognizing what you’ve done right. Most of us don’t have a problem taking credit for, or feeling good about something we’ve accomplished. However, sometimes we become frustrated when the achievement of a goal isn’t happening fast enough, or when something doesn’t go according to plan.

Sometimes we stay frustrated for so long that even when we finally achieve the goal, instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, all we can muster is a tired sense of relief. Instead of cheering and passing out High-Fives, we give a little twirl of the finger and mutter, “Whoop-dedo.” If you are going to take ownership of your results and hold yourself accountable for your mistakes, then it’s only fair to recognize your accomplishments, and allow yourself to feel good about them. In fact, it is necessary. Failing to see the good in what you’ve done, can be just as detrimental to your success, as failing to admit your mistakes. If you are not aware of what works, how can it be duplicated?

Recognizing what you’ve done right (what works) does two things. First, it allows you to duplicate good results by duplicating proper action. Second and most important, it allows you to move forward with increased confidence; the kind of confidence that fuels a belief in possibilities and helps sustain a positive, “can-do” attitude.

For this reason, the next time you experience frustration with the way things are going, I encourage you to stop what you’re doing and take stock of the situation. Of course you’ll want to honestly acknowledge your mistakes and work to correct them, but remember, look for what you’ve done right. Then allow yourself to feel good about what you’ve accomplished to that point. The best part about ownership is enjoying the profits.

Make an Investment

Now that you understand the impact taking ownership has on results, it’s time to become the owner of your results. It’s not enough to “think” like an owner or “pretend” to be an owner. The only way you can truly own your results, and have the capacity to consider the quality of those results in a way that only an owner can, is to make an investment. You must have a personal stake in the outcome. There must be something you stand to gain if you succeed, and something you stand to lose if you fail.

Consider the work you’ve done so far in this book. You’ve defined success on your own terms, taken charge of your situation, created a vision, established your intent, set goals, begun to believe in the possibility of your success, made a commitment, planned your work, and might have already begun to implement your plan. You are ready to solve problems and understand how to maintain your balance as you move forward. So I ask you, what do you stand to gain if you succeed? What do you stand to lose if you fail?

To own property requires an investment of money. If you invest wisely, and do a good job protecting your investment you will see a return on your investment. You stand to gain more money. If however, you do not invest wisely, or do a poor job of caring for your investment, not only would you lose any future gains, but you could lose your initial investment as well.

To own results requires an investment of yourself –everything that matters to you and why – the realization of your vision, and how the achievement of your goals impacts your future sense of accomplishment, happiness and self-respect. These comprise the currency with which results are purchased. Your time, energy, and desire to succeed are your investment. The realization of your vision, or the achievement of a goal is what you stand to gain. What you stand to lose is something only you can decide. For some, it may be their future sense of accomplishment, for others their future happiness. Still others may feel their self-respect is at stake.

Whatever the case, one thing holds true for us all. How much of ourselves we have invested in an outcome will ultimately determine the degree to which we stand to gain or lose. Regardless of what you hope to accomplish in your life, in your business, or in your career, the greater your vision the more rewarding the benefits of success will be. The down side of this is that the more you hope to achieve the greater your disappointment will be if you fail. The questions you need to ask yourself now are: Is the realization of my vision worth pursuing? Am I willing to make the necessary investment? Am I clear on what is at stake? Am I ready to take ownership of my results? Only you can answer these questions. I can only encourage you by saying that I have made the investment, and it has made all the difference in my life. Are there times when I feel disappointed in myself? Yes. Are there times when I’m not satisfied with my results? You bet. Are there times when I feel unhappy with myself? Absolutely. Would my life have been as rewarding and fulfilling as it is today had I not taken the risk? Not in a million years!

When it comes to getting results, the idea is to view those results as your property. Make an investment, and stay focused on the quality of the outcome. Approach your goals with the mind-set of an owner, and accept responsibility for your actions. As you move forward, ignore your “Spin Doctor”, acknowledge the role you play with regard to each outcome (good or bad), and remember to enjoy your profits. That’s what “taking ownership” is all about.

George J. Morse
Email: george@coachmorse.com
http://www.coachmorse.com