Think like an owner (TLAO) is a mantra and concept that focuses on shifting an individual’s mindset to complete ownership of everything they do in their life, with a particular emphasis on how they manage their professional career. With roots in the Entrepreneurial Mindset concept, this topic will introduce participants to the key components of what it means to think like an owner, explore the key characteristics of thinking like an owner, and introduce practical strategies on how to develop and practice the ownership mindset personally and professionally.
At its core, the idea of defining the future is contingent on having an ownership mindset. Those who take ownership (in any context) set themselves apart and are the individuals who drive progress as innovative changemakers. They are the ones who are not bound by constraints, but individuals who take ownership and commit passionately to driving progress and impact.
The Think Like an Owner! (TLAO) concept is something I developed and have practiced for my entire adult life, both personally and professionally. Working with students, I connect the We Define the Future concept to TLAO because in order to define the future, you must have a tangible approach and tools to do so – it doesn’t just happen. I have successfully used this approach at California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB). Joining the University in 2002, I took over a nascent Entrepreneurship Center and academic program, and using the TLAO approach, have built it into a large and globally recognized program. My ownership mindset, and that I of my team of faculty and staff, was integral to achieving this as well as resulting in the creation of the first and only School of Entrepreneurship in the State of California and one of less than 15 worldwide. As I tell my students often, while I do not physically “own” CSUSB and the Entrepreneurship program as my own business/organization, I own it mentally and emotionally, and that ownership results in progress and impact on a daily basis.