Own it. Don’t rent it.

Years before Uber and Grab came into the picture, the only convenient form of rented transportation were taxis. Traffic was still flowing in EDSA and life was a lot simpler.

You instinctively knew whether the cab driver owns the car he is driving or whether he was just a hired driver handling another person’s cab. The owner would be meticulous and slow on negotiating the humps. Not so with the other drivers, they do not care about the maintenance and the care of the car. They run over humps and bumps with careless abandon, they carelessly handle the shift stick, and I wrench every time I hear that ugly transmission sound that comes as a result of it. There is a world of difference between one who owns the cab and one who is “employed” to drive it.

Listen to the complaints of home and condo unit owners. They say: “Our tenants do not take care of my property. I would never have hammered a nail over that wall, and they just did, even though the contract agreement stipulated that no nails should touch the walls, etc.” “Look at how dirty they left the place, so now I have to clean it up...” And the complaints never cease. There is always a vast difference between the owners and the renters in terms of attitude and action. Owners would be more conscientious in handling their properties, while renters would in fairness do the same, but never with the same depth and quality of the owners. And why is this so? Because they don’t own it. Duuh!

This brings me back to memories of my “right-out-of-college” work with a garments company fixing show windows, doing displays called “visual merchandising.” I valued my job for two reasons:

1. A steady paying job was hard to find during those days.

2. I knew it offered me an opportunity to go to the next level and climb the corporate ladder.

I worked with a crew: an assistant manager, a couple of interior designers, carpenters and painters. From day one, I treated my job as if I owned the company. I saved on resources because I know the materials cost money. I would nag (there were no leadership skills training and courses offered during those days), I would push the staff to save on materials: nails, paint, nylon cords, staplers, etc. saving the stuff that can save the company money, so we can as well use it for our next projects.

The carpenter got upset with all of my nagging, “Why do you act as if you own the company? It’s not your money we are spending anyway.” And with expletives and a variety of offensive terms, the carpenter and the painter accused me of sucking up to the owners of the business. I kept my peace. To get back at them, I continued nagging all the more. That was my version of people skills and leadership.

Over the years I got promoted. I persisted in learning by reading books, magazines, and stuff; and showed initiatives for company improvements. That was how I transitioned from a visual merchandiser to general manager of the same company, and then with a few partners ventured into the founding of a local brand of garments. By that time, I owned the business.

I left the garments industry many years ago, but today still run a couple of companies and realize that the habits and actions I had when I was doing visual merchandising are the same qualities I carry with me as I run my businesses. By the grace of God, things are doing very well and the companies are growing. I have always wondered what happened to the carpenters and painters who persisted in thinking, behaving, and living like “renters” rather than “owners” of their jobs and responsibilities.

There is a vast difference between owning a home or a cab and renting a unit or driving the car. Owners do not just take better care of their own properties, they want to make things better. So what if we treat our work as if we own it and not just a job we are paid to do it? Realistically speaking, it does not mean that you are committed to only one job or one position for the rest of your life, but what I mean is that as long as you are there you take full responsibility, offer initiative, think and behave like you own it and not just rent it. You are going to give it everything you’ve got, and you are going to get better at what you do whether you work for the company one year or for many years to come.

In fairness, employers and leaders should also think, act and behave like they “own” the people and are not just “renting” them for specific jobs. They should accept the reality that their people are not mere cogs or numbers in the organizational charts and that once they fail to deliver they can be quickly dispensed and disposed of as if they are renting an apartment or driving somebody else’s car.

It is fantastic to see that many companies in the world are now looking deeper into the element of care and empathy. With all the technological advancements that are being churned out today involving artificial intelligence, robotics and algorithms, many companies with their large training budgets now realize that there is a gap in their organization that has not been addressed which leads to costly attrition. That gap is connection and engagement.

While the majority of the business world takes the view that millennials today have no loyalty and are liable to move from one company to another for higher pay; I would subscribe that this is a very myopic view of the situation. Most millennials in my leadership training seminars and my consultancy work with various industries have expressed that they would be willing to accept their current pay as long as they work for the following:

1. Inspiring leaders who genuinely care for their personal growth and would challenge them to be better.

2. A clear career path that offers them a better future.

3. A clean, fun and enjoyable working environment where they are unafraid to speak out and that their voices are honestly heard.

Sum up all of the wish list and what would be your conclusion? That good people do not want to leave companies with leaders that genuinely care for them and are not just “renting” them to do their jobs.

At the end of the day, caring does matter, doesn’t it? The job may not be easy and extraordinarily challenging, but when we accept our responsibility and behave as if we own the business, and when leaders do not see their people as rented objects, then things will turn out to be better, don’t you think so? Perhaps the words ownership and care should be the right combination.

(Attend the two exciting and inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong in his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership seminar-workshop on May 21 and 22 at Seda Vertis North, Quezon City. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)