chuckle I failed to understand a task that was given to me I take ownership
that I didn't ask the right questions but extreme ownership applies to my boss
too and she didn't make sure that I understood it correctly or is that a
poor excuse Oh so optimally in the world of extreme ownership everybody takes
ownership and there are and I talked about this with when Dave Burke was on
yes is that the its interlocking fields of fires so the various people that are
trying to find solutions they overlap and and problems get solved from two
different directions so the problems get flanked when this is happening but we
can't guarantee always that everybody takes ownership and we can't guarantee
that but that doesn't mean that we point our fingers at someone say you need to
take ownership because Oz as we know when you do that people get defensive
and then they start blaming you so we avoid that what we do is we take
ownership so what happens here in this situation here's the possible outcomes
right if if you go to your boss and you say to her you know you didn't make sure
I understood right you go cast that blame there's a there's a decent chance
that G's is where you actually did you actually need to pay attention that's
not on me and if you don't understand you need to ask questions so nothing she
doesn't change anything mm-hmm she hasn't changed anything and you by
the way you've created a little bit of an antagonistic relationship here
because you're pointing the finger so that doesn't really help
now here's another possible outcome you know you go and you say hey look I
failed to make sure that I understood this task
do you mind next time if I give you a quick read back of what I think the task
is to make sure that I understand it but so I'm taking full ownership like this
is on me I need to do this and now what you're more likely to get in this
situation is you know the boss you know of course absolutely you know
what next time let me make sure I give you more detailed explanation so that
you have a better understanding that's on me and all of a sudden we've got this
problem getting solved from two directions now there's also a chance
that when you say hey when you when you say something you know hey let me let me
um little nation let me do it read back with you you might say all that and she
goes yeah cool you should do that whatever pay more
attention in which case right so she's not taking any ownership she's like yeah
you should have which is the big theorem people always have in their head though
when when I say something's my fault people go yeah it is and now they go
wait a second it's not supposed to work like that yes it is because when you
take ownership of the problem and I go you know what I should have asked you
questions she goes yeah you should have and you exactly that's what I just said
and now you ask questions and now you make sure you fully understand the task
and now the problem solved hmm so yeah I think when you ask that question you had
the suspicion once what does he say is that a poor excuse so you have this
suspicion that was that you were maybe perhaps unfortunately making a little
bit of an excuse but you're correct it is a poor excuse take ownership pay in
an ideal world they'll P person above you in the chain
of command takes ownership as well but you can't you can't force them to take
ownership yeah so solve the problem take ownership and get it solved I mean kind
of when you think of it do you and maybe a follow-up question hmm maybe when you
think about it when you have the expectation reasonable or not the
expectation that other people have to take ownership to isn't that essentially
negating your whole extreme ownership yes whether it negates it or not I don't
know your hope is look the hope is when I tell you start taking ownership other
people start taking ownership as well but I can't necessarily control that
alright I can't force them to take ownership yeah you know I can I can say
hey that's your part of the project you should have done it they go okay well
whatever I don't think so right there's a me forcing ownership on you
doesn't really work what I should do is take ownership what I hope is when I
take ownership of your part of the project you go
hey jock oh you know what that's actually something that's actually my
department let me let me take that yeah that's something I should be running
I go okay cool great so you just took ownership yes but if you don't take
ownership Roger that I got it and I'm running really yeah and the genuineness
where this is this was a question like that kind of you guys we get asked a lot
like well you know when you know it it would a lot of times be about the other
person taking ownership oh oh where you all right which is crazy but yeah you
you kind of have that hope you actually do have that hope yes you're sure but
the actual like expectation that you know we're like an expectation is there
that can't be let down yeah and I can't be mad at you right when you don't take
ownership look oh I guess I can't be mad at you but it doesn't help right yeah
you know if if you were supposed to write a script for a for a freaking
advertisement that we were gonna do for whatever sure I'm trying to think of
something cool if we're gonna do an advertisement and you were supposed to
write a script and then we show up and you didn't do it and I'm like you know
what hey let me we'll come back tomorrow I'll go home and write a script yeah and
you're like you what I would like you to say is know hey you know what jockle
it's actually I'm supposed to write the script for this whatever I'll do it and
I go okay cool but if you don't do that you okay cool gonna at the script um I
have to say okay got it finally do some work now what do I learn I learned that
you're really not in the game and now I'm probably gonna start looking for
someone else write scripts yeah which isn't you which is but actually give me
some good ideas yeah that genuineness though right with yourself yes that's
like if I was just really if I'm just doing it cuz I'm if I'm just doing it to
get EKKO to do it and I really don't want to take ownership of it well no
it's not what we're talking about let's gonna jam you a big test gonna jam me a
big tough acting it's not just mad it's kind of a step backwards really
like as far as problem-solving within the team kind of thing but you're yeah
you're gonna be mad and resentful it's like man no one's like no one's doing
their work no one's taking responsibility no one's right and you're
essentially in the same boat but just one in one step behind
you're kind of like the problem is the opposite yeah I mean you can take this
out to the nth degree as well where I start taking ownership of so many tasks
that I can't handle them all right detector you can do that right and then
then you go well you know what we're not doing this over here why aren't we
getting that done cuz I don't have the capacity because here's what I'm doing
I'm doing these other 19 things so that 20th thing it's not happening now if you
want to take ownership of it and make it happen cool you got my support but if
not it's not happening yeah and that's okay yeah it's almost like when you kind
of visualize it mentally it's like there's like levels and the extreme
ownership is always on the top so certain developments can happen you can
take extreme ownership and then like make certain moves and it'll jam it up
even more just because of the moves you made not because you took extreme
ownership or took responsibility it's because the some moves that you made in
proud solving problems which is all natural but at the end of the day it is
on you like you have to take response you have to truly say I'm gonna take
ownership yeah and believe it so that again that genuineness to be like this
is my responsibility genuinely yes it's yes it's easy to be like the good
example is when someone says well you know one of my subordinates made a
mistake and of course I of course I get it yes no I get it but really it was
their fault yeah you know that's where it doesn't work