The "Micro-Owner" System

Tired of employees who just clock-in and clock-out?

I'll show you how to build a team of self-starters who think and act like owners…without having to implement complex and ineffective profit and equity-sharing plans.

We call it "The Micro-Owner System" because it gives employees direct ownership over specific business metrics that drive profit.

Here's how it works:

Step 1: Identify 3-5 Key Metrics

The first step is to identify 3-5 key metrics that directly impact profit.

And here's the catch: these metrics need to be controllable by the team.

For example, "customer satisfaction" is vague and hard to influence directly, but "reduction in refund rates" is clear, measurable, and directly tied to profit.

Step 2: Let Teams 'Bid' on Metrics

Here's where the magic starts. Instead of assigning metrics, let teams "bid" on which ones they want to own.

The “bid” should include:

• the target they believe they can achieve

• a simple bullet-point plan for how they’ll achieve it (including the resources they’ll need to pull it off), and…

• a timeline for when the project will be completed and the gains will be realized.

This bidding process adds an element of competition while also creating built-in commitment, because when a team chooses an optimization project (as opposed to having a project dictated to them), they’re more likely to go “all-in.”

Step 3: Set Improvement Targets

Next, set clear, specific improvement targets, and add this metric to the Company Scorecard so it’s tracked and discussed on a weekly basis.

This makes it easy to see if a team is winning or needs help.

Step 4: Give Full Authority to Improve

Once a team owns a metric, give them the autonomy to make process changes and test new ideas. You can set guardrails on budget and resources, but let them run with the plan they presented in their bid.

Step 5: Share the Financial Impact

Now is NOT the time to be cheap. We aim to give teams 25% of the profit gains they generate during the first 60 - 90 days that the impact is experienced, and this is over-and-above any other bonuses or profit sharing.

Why This Works: When people directly see how their efforts translate into dollars (and get a slice of that improvement) they stay motivated.

And since the bonus is paid out of new profits gained, you can afford to be generous, which will motivate teams to take on more and bigger projects in the future.

This is how you transform “clock-in-and-clock-out” cultures into a team of “micro-owners” who work together to improve the company’s bottom line.

Best of all, it frees you up from micro-managing which means you, too, can focus on the work that you do best.

⚡ Action Step: Take five minutes today to list 3 metrics that impact profits but could be improved. Find a team to take on a “test project,” and when it works, roll the “Micro-Owner” system out company-wide and repeat every quarter.

Quick Hits

Here’s some other content from the Scalable network you might have missed:

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• 🤑 6 minutes on how to buy a business…without paying for it upfront.

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