On Being an Owner

I started this blog in 2019 when I published a post about gifting feedback. One feedback I’ve probably given hundreds of times centers around the concept of being an owner.

An Owner is accountable for quality end products and speaks up - they will use their willpower as a tool to shape their environment instead of being a victim of circumstances.

Being an owner means not just doing exactly what someone tells you to do, but understanding their intentions and delivering what they truly need.

Many people find this challenging because they naturally want to protect themselves—doing precisely what they’re told has usually brought success, particularly reinforced by schooling systems that reward following clear instructions and repeating algorithms. But true ownership is different. It’s especially crucial in the age of AI because AI excels at following explicit instructions but struggles with interpreting intentions or context.

To be genuinely valuable, you need to think for yourself—to go beyond the small set of explicit instructions you’ve been given and consider the broader context. Ownership involves using everything you know and actively caring about the outcome.

I’ve always felt like an owner, even from a young age. Let me illustrate this with a simple example:

Imagine there are cushions on outdoor chairs, and it starts to rain. You’re busy, so you quickly ask your kid to bring the cushions inside so they don’t get wet, then you leave.

1. A malicious compliance response would be bringing the cushions in and leaving them in a messy pile inside, wet or dry.
2. An okay response is bringing them in as asked.
3. A good response would involve bringing them inside and arranging them separately so they dry.
4. A great owner-like response includes all that, plus noticing when the rain stops, bringing the dry cushions back outside, and arranging the wet ones in the sun.

Ownership is about going beyond the explicit instructions to achieve a better outcome.

A big part of what makes bld.ai unique is that we empower people to be owners—entrepreneurs in their own right. Service providers at bld.ai often stand out precisely because they’re self-selected for ownership. Typically, they run small independent firms with fewer than 150 employees, unlike massive bureaucracies like Accenture, where true ownership frequently gets lost (and often overlooked). In large companies, people who genuinely act like owners may even burn out due to systemic constraints. But in smaller, more agile companies, ownership thrives because people genuinely care about their colleagues and their outcomes.

Clients often tell us that the first proposal they receive from bld.ai providers is the best they’ve ever seen. This frequent reaction occurs precisely because most clients haven’t previously worked with people who demonstrate such strong ownership.

It’s a skill anyone can develop at any age. All it takes is deciding to care deeply about what you do, and this mindset will reward you throughout your entire career.