A good owner is the one who orders

Over the years I have met dozens or hundreds of different owners, entrepreneurs and investors. I have also seen dozens of ways to own, to develop holdings and to run a business. Of all the ideas, I think the best is when the owner sees themselves as the client who places the order. A good owner is the one who orders.

Imagine you own a football team. Only you decide whether you take the kick-off, play on the pitch, sit in the stands, in the box or somewhere else entirely. You decide how you ”play” your ownership.

Owners with an entrepreneurial background often think that they are the ones who must hold the central decision-making role in the company. You hear all kinds of tales about ownership skills being passed on in the blood. At the start of every company the entrepreneur is of course in the central role. It is up to the owner alone how the roles develop over time.

Back to the pitch. If you decide to take the kick-off yourself, you have only yourself to blame for a lost opening. If you stand next to the one who kicks off, the two of you can think about how to develop the play. And if there are ten others on the pitch, you can order championships from them and change contracts towards better results.

To spell it out: the more ”helpers” an owner has, the more opportunities and options they have for different matters, situations and reactions. An owner with a whole army at their fingertips also has the most protection and security against surprises.

A good owner builds (orders) a winning team, thinks about positions, plays the squad actively and tries to get the most out of the equation. That is why the days should not go to everyday chores but to building the team. The owner’s own territory is the future, the growth of owner value and the team’s key players. So it pays to educate yourself in the most important subjects and not to spend scarce time on, say, day-to-day management.

The skill and development of ownership is still at the very beginning in small Finland, where holdings have existed for only a short time and expertise is narrow. Still, every owner can use the journey to improve their skills and try to share what they learn with others. Trial and error is an eternal journey towards a skilled owner and skilled ownership.

By Ville Tolvanen. Originally published in Finnish: Hyvä omistaja on tilaaja. More in English: Aura Boards — start here.