{"id":48566,"date":"2023-04-26T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T06:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/?p=48566"},"modified":"2023-08-21T18:42:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T18:42:49","slug":"act-like-an-owner-revisited","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-service-strategies\/act-like-an-owner-revisited\/","title":{"rendered":"Act Like an Owner \u2013 Revisited!"},"content":{"rendered":"\"ActOne of my favorite concepts to cover in my customer service keynote speeches<\/a> is to <\/span>act like an owner<\/span><\/i>. I originally wrote about this in 2011 and shared the story of an 18-year-old server at a pizza restaurant who took so much pride in his work that the guests thought he owned the restaurant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn preparing for an upcoming speech, I worked with Anthony Demangone, CMO of the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions. We discussed the <\/span>ownership <\/span><\/i>concept and how everyone can act like an owner or leader. Anyone can be \u201cthat person\u201d everyone admires and wants to emulate. He shared the remarkable story of Richard Monta\u00f1ez, a janitor at a Frito-Lay plant in California. Here\u2019s the short version:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

Act like an owner<\/h3>\r\nOne day Monta\u00f1ez heard Roger Enrico, the CEO of Frito-Lay, share an inspiring message: to \u201cact like an owner.\u201d Monta\u00f1ez took this message to heart, and for almost 10 years, while still working at the plant, tried to learn everything he could about Frito-Lay. One day he asked a Frito-Lay salesperson if he could spend a day and learn about the sales process.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe salesperson took Monta\u00f1ez to a Latino neighborhood where he noticed something that would eventually change his life. As he helped restock the shelves, he noticed that the Lay\u2019s, Fritos and Ruffles were all plain \u2013 in other words, no spicy products. And right next to their display was a shelf of Mexican spices. Monta\u00f1ez wondered what Cheetos would taste like if dipped into chili powder and other spices, so he went home and made his own version of spicy Cheetos. He liked what he tasted and reached out to the Frito-Lay CEO to set up a meeting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSomehow Monta\u00f1ez landed an appointment to meet with the CEO and other company executives. During the meeting, an executive asked, \u201cHow much market share do you think you can get?\u201d Monta\u00f1ez nervously opened his arms wide and said, \u201cThis much!\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

The Corporate Fairytale <\/span><\/h3>\r\nThe CEO smiled at Monta\u00f1ez and said, \u201cPut the mop away. You\u2019re coming with us.\u201d The rest is a corporate fairytale come true. Montanez became an executive and worked his way up to VP of multicultural sales for PepsiCo America, the holding company for Frito-Lay.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nI love this story for two reasons. First, it\u2019s about an employee who took initiative and thought beyond the role he was hired to do, which was to be a janitor. He took such pride in his work and loved his job so much that he was willing to step out of his comfort zone and reach out to the CEO of a major company with his idea. And second, just as impressive is that Roger Enrico, then-CEO of Frito-Lay, imparted the inspiring \u201cact like an owner\u201d message and was willing to meet with Monta\u00f1ez!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSo, are you an employee who\u2019s willing to share your ideas with leadership? Or are you an executive who\u2019s willing to listen? Not every idea will have a Richard Monta\u00f1ez fairy-tale ending, but every idea has potential. So, I encourage you to adopt and embrace the \u201cact like an owner\u201d mindset inside your organization.\u202f\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n