Think like an owner?

“Think like an owner” is recurring advice often shared with individual contributors or first-line managers by senior leaders who want then to think strategically.

But when you’re the one receiving that advice, it doesn’t feel very helpful – especially when you’re not an owner and you’re not treated like one. How are you supposed to know how they think?

So do you just toss that advice aside? Or is there something useful there?

Thinking like an owner isn’t about imagining what you’d do with the resources or power that comes from ownership. It’s about asking the kinds of strategic questions that owners might ask, and considering the how the answers extend beyond personal impact.

Non-owner questions might look like:

• What does the documentation say?
• What would make my manager happy?
• If I do this, what will people say or think about me?
• How can I get other people to understand my perspective?

Owner-level questions might include things like:

• What are the goals of this project?
• How do those goals align with the mission and purpose of the company?
• How will this effort create value for employees, customers, and shareholders?
• What other options might create equal or greater value with less risk or cost?

Whether you’re directly asking these questions to other people or you’re simply reflecting on them yourself, giving them serious consideration can help train your brain to think like an owner.