Having some skin in the game

In my last posting I talked about being more business like in that we need to operate with a greater sense of business discipline. In part this is about cutting our coat(s) to suit our cloth, and not keeping on doing things that are interesting but which few people really want. But what has occupied my mind in the last week is how do we operate so that everyone in our organisation has a bit of "skin in the game"?  In other words, thinks in terms of running their own business, rather than someone else's. One thing I have observed, people seem to be more open to innovation and action if it is their business on the line than if it is not. There tends to be fewer sacred cows, and those which are sacred really matter.  I have this feeling that if we  all did think and act in a way that says " what I do determines whether or not this business is successful" we would be much more efficient, waste less ( including precious time) and pursue more vigorously the new business opportunities which are the difference between success or failure.

So, how might we encourage more "ownership"?  Leigh's link last week (The Take ) to worker cooperatives has one answer, but here we are seeing the successs of an ownership model born out of desperation. It is certainly easier to get involvement and commitment to new ways of working if the starting position is having nothing. So, what if we are starting from a position where staff are already well paid, and used to getting regular pay rises regardless of whether or not the "business" in which they work is financially successful. Would a share in any institutional annual surplus work - assuming we could get agreement on how to calculate surpluses? Certainly, full transparency of finances would be a pre requisite.

What about if staff had a base pay (starting with what they currently earn) and received increases based on their personal earnings, ie if their efforts put more money on the bottom line then their pay goes up - regardless of what others or the whole institution achieves!

I accept that to get more ownership staff also need to have more say in decisions. I am relaxed about this, provided that the accountabilities can be worked out. It is easy for someone to have a say but if they do not share in the consequences of a decision then it is too easy for  personal barrows to be pushed. But for sure, more involvement generates more commitment, as a rule.

Anyway, I am interested in some discussion around this - focused on the education context, where we have strong cultures that do not like to engage with such 'grubby' concepts as productivity and profits!

Cheers

Phil