{"id":1637,"date":"2012-12-09T16:52:38","date_gmt":"2012-12-10T00:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/?p=1637"},"modified":"2015-01-28T12:58:42","modified_gmt":"2015-01-28T20:58:42","slug":"employee-ownership-holy-grail-for-business-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/masonmyers.com\/employee-ownership-holy-grail-for-business-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"Quest for the Holy Grail of Employees Who Think Like Owners — Employee Ownership (a series)"},"content":{"rendered":"

When a company owner says an employee “thinks like an owner”, the phrase is conveying an extremely high sense of appreciation and gratitude. \u00a0Employees like that are the Holy Grail for owners. \u00a0 Not that all thinking by owners is holy, far from it :), it is just a way of the owner saying that they feel aligned with the employee. \u00a0They feel the employee is making judgments and decisions that balance all the things an owner must balance (long-term vs short-term, certain stakeholders vs other stakeholders, investment vs harvesting, etc.). \u00a0It is a relief to owners when they feel that someone is aligned with them. \u00a0It is one of Warren Buffett’s favorite sayings that he invests in business managers who “think like owners” — to him, there is no higher appreciation.<\/p>\n

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Alignment between employees and owners is the Holy Grail for business owners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

If employees who think like owners are the holy grail, how does a business owner find and develop more of them? \u00a0It seems obvious that enabling employees to become owners would do that. \u00a0Stock options spring to mind because Silicon Valley legends have spread around the world with tales of stock option millionaires. \u00a0The Google massage therapist and chef who both made millions. \u00a0The artist who painted a mural at Facebook and made a hundred million.<\/p>\n

Stock options are only one tool that is available to business owners. \u00a0Like most tools, it is great in certain circumstances and counter productive in other situations. \u00a0Restricted stock [post on January 17, 2013].<\/a> \u00a0Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP, not the Employee Stock Option Plan variety). \u00a0Phantom or Virtual Stock. \u00a0Profit-sharing.<\/p>\n

Stock Options and Employee Ownership<\/h2>\n

Each type of “incentive plan” (or maybe we should call them “alignment plans”) has different characteristics that make them better used in certain situations than in others. \u00a0Below is a review of how stock options influence behavior if they are implemented in a company. \u00a0Do stock options . . . . .<\/p>\n