The main problem of a business owner is his (or her) total solitude. This means that he literally has to think about everything himself. Like a school troop leader on a camping trip, the entrepreneur has the ultimate responsibility for everyone. Few people are able not only to offer him something sensible, but no one is even able to understand the scale and severity of his problems.
But at the same time it gives you a unique opportunity no matter what level in the company you are at now. Of course, you can continue to complain about how unreasonably everything in the company is organized and what keeps you from doing your job. You can blame it all on the business owner, expecting him to have a miraculous epiphany and instantly solve all the current problems.
Alternatively, I suggest that you look at things from a different vantage point. Imagine that you are the owner of this business and you sincerely want it to grow steadily and quickly. With your mind on the top of the mountain, take a broad look at all the current problems of the business and all the resources available to it - yourself, top managers, CEO, all departments, physical assets, brands, processes, etc. And then ask yourself the question, "What should my action be so that the whole business will do well as a result?"
Of course, at first this perspective will feel strange. It's too tempting to slip into the familiar position of being owed something by those at the top. Perhaps at times this will create conflicts with colleagues pursuing their own local interest.
But then you will notice that there is a new point of reference in your thinking, and a strong pivot in your arguments. Even if someone disagrees with you and your proposal is pushed aside, you know for a fact that you are right. After all, now when you propose something, you are not thinking about yourself or your department, but about the improvement of the company as a whole. You will be surprised to find that almost no one around you thinks this way.
It's only a matter of time before the founder or CEO turns his attention to you. He very rarely meets someone like you in the marketplace, and certainly within the company, he would not even hope to find one. After that your career will switch into turbo mode and the only limitation will be the speed at which you as a manager can grow.
Of course, you may end up in a bad company where the top management is corrupt and the shareholders don't care about anything. But if you practice the mindset of the owner, you're still in the driver's seat. If you constantly analyze the situation, make decisions, and act like a true business owner, you're just doomed to eventually become one. Sooner or later you will be spotted by the firm's competitors and offered compensation with options. Or, you will decide to start your own business after noticing the unsatisfied problems of your clients.
An owner is not so much a legal right to stock as it is a life choice, a way of thinking, and a willingness to subordinate your whole self to the business. Make a clerk a partner - tomorrow he will lose everything. Take away an entrepreneur's business and soon he will create two more. Function always determines form, not the other way around. The owner, it's only later on paper, but first it's in your head.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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