Many years ago, I completed the grueling process of proving my senior thesis. I researched big restaurant chains that had both company-owned stores and franchised stores. My thesis – which I was able to prove – was that the franchise stores outperformed those owned by the company.
Why? For one simple reason: because franchisees have more on the line… and therefore more reason to think and act like the business is theirs.
Knowledge is power
Think about this as it applies to large organizations. Many of the world’s most admired companies have decentralized their business operations. Top executives worldwide are pushing decision-making down into the organization.
Yet while these companies celebrate innovation and intrapreneurship (the corporate version of entrepreneurship), the vast majority find that their leaders still fail to think and act like business owners. They know their jobs, they know the organization, they know how to build relationships, manage employees and serve customers. But they don’t really understand the business. They don’t know the financial metrics that lead to success. And that, research shows, hinders the organization’s ability to achieve its strategic priorities.
So why don’t leaders at these high-performing organizations act like business owners? After dedicating the past 25 years to training and developing the workforces of some of the world’s highest-valued companies, I’ve come to a startlingly modest conclusion: they simply don’t know how.
At Blueline Simulations, we have many years of experience addressing this knowledge gap. The solution is more than simply teaching business finance and strategy, and it goes beyond incentives. The most impactful answer is for leaders to experience what it’s like to be a business owner. They need to see, understand and experience first hand how their role impacts the top and bottom lines – and how making decisions based on financial indicators drives strategy execution across the board.
There’s never been a more critical time to maximize business results. And there’s never been a better time to help all of your leaders succeed by thinking and acting like business owners.
Take the first step by downloading this simple matrix that provides a side-by-side comparison of Blueline’s business finance & strategy programs today. Then call us at 813.269.7467 to discuss the best way to equip your leaders to act like key stakeholders in your organization.
