90 - Social Architecture - (Our) Values - Ownership
Value 2/5 at Mayday
I’m writing about social architecture: the why, the components and the actions. I’ve covered Mission, Vision and Values at the top level as components. I’m running through our Values at Mayday. The first was Delight. Next is Ownership.
Henry Ford once said: “Why is it that every time I ask for a pair of hands, they come with a brain attached?”. Our value of Ownership is the antithesis of that sentiment. It is to take responsibility for the success of the company and one’s personal contribution, in the form of outputs, towards it. It is to act like an owner. The quid pro quo of that is that we as Founders provide the scope for influence, as well as the legal ownership in the form of every team member having share options.
There are six sub points we use in explaining Ownership as a value:
Mayday -> Maydays -> Me - is thinking first, what is in the best interests of the company, then what is in the best interests of one’s own particularly team, and then finally what is in one’s personal best interests. The vast majority of the time all will align. But sometimes they won’t. And this is when this value is so critical
Personal Discipline -> Accountability - to own responsibility for managing oneself and one’s stuff. To act adult-adult. To do what you say you will do. To be capable of being held accountable, and consequently be in a position to hold others to account;
Money (& Time) as Own - this is not about not taking risks. You can’t steal second base with your foot on first. But in taking those risks, it is looking at the time and/or money to be committed as one’s own as to whether it is a worthwhile endeavour. It is also about avoiding wasteful use of time and/or money;
Opportunistic Not Just Reactive - Yes, ownership includes taking ownership of the tasks and projects you have been delegated. But it is not limited to that. It is also proactive. It links to leaving things better than we found them, which was part of Delight. Seeking out currently unaddressed opportunities to take ownership of things that can increase our chances of success;
Personal Development & Growth -> Raise The Tide - We are big on personal development and growth. Each team member has an equivalent of an hour a day’s budget for personal learning, unlimited book budget and a £500 personal learning budget. But it is their responsibility to project own that growth and learning. In doing so, there is a virtuous circle where they raise the tide of what we can achieve as a team, thereby creating more opportunities for their own growth;
Mistakes -> Learning Opportunities - Mistakes are inevitable and instrumental to our progress. They are the raw material for learning and growth. But they can only be that if they are positively owned versus negatively abdicated from.