Own the Whole

My business coach one time told me that the most significant piece of advice that his business coach gave him was to ‘own the whole‘.  As he said this to me, and I didn’t quite understand.

I was responsible for the Design Department and I did that very well.  When I found out that my business was in complete implosion crisis situation – (I’m talking nuclear meltdown level) – I was shocked and could not believe it.  I blamed everyone for failing to do their jobs.  I blamed the GM. I blamed the other department heads.  I blamed the accountant. blamed the majority shareholders for not caring.  I blamed the previous owners whom I bought the company from for selling me a house of cards.  I blamed my partners.  I blamed everyone but myself.

What I failed to do – was ‘Own the whole‘.  And after a few weeks of contemplating what my business coach told me, I finally understood.

Owning the whole was a state of mind: Everything is your responsibility.

Even though I was not directly responsible for the sales department, I needed a base understanding of how things work in order for me to question practises in my own business.

Even though I was not directly responsible for finance, I still needed a basic understanding of how cashflow, expenses and receivables work so I could catch anomalies in monthly reports or statements.

Not being directly responsible in Operations, still meant that I needed to step in and ask questions and challenge purchasing plans.

I was so focused on my department alone – that I spent no time understanding other departments.  And by doing this, I was an awful shareholder, and partner.  I not only let my partners down, but I let down my whole staff.  I was a garbage leader.  My staff trusted me to run my business because their livelihoods depended upon it.  Because of my negligence, good people got laid off and all of us nearly lost our jobs.

No-one is going to care about your business the way you do.  If everything collapses, team members will find other jobs.  On the other hand, you’ll likely lose your house.

Ask questions.  Understand how the department works.  Trust but verify.  Hold people accountable.

It nearly cost me everything.

Eddie