“Take TOTAL OWNERSHIP of your life!” — Ryan Tierney, Lean Made Simple
In this episode, Ryan Tierney discusses the principle of TOTAL OWNERSHIP and how it is the key to:
Addressing “the forgotten areas” in your business and life
Creating a blame-free culture
Transforming employees into leaders
Bringing total clarity to the role of every team member
Solving the chaos of project management
And unlocking your own health, success and happiness
Check it out!
Links:
Free Total Ownership Labels: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XaLI67DyOocHxNoqvdEPDNjQJIAVgoK3/view?usp=drive_link
Book a Lean Made Simple Tour: https://www.leanmadesimple.com/book-a-tour
Send a voice message/question to the show: https://www.speakpipe.com/LeanMadeSimple
Welcome to Lean Made Simple: a podcast for people who want to change their business and their lives one step at a time. I’m Ryan Tierney from Seating Matters, a manufacturing company from Limavady, Northern Ireland that employs 60+ people. Almost ten years ago, I came across this thing called “lean” and it transformed my life… now I want to share this message with as many people as possible.
This podcast unpacks our learnings, lessons and principles developed over the last decade in a fun, conversational way that will hopefully empower you on your own business journey — whether you’ve been doing lean for years or are just starting out!
Check it out on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or any other podcast platform by searching “lean made simple.”
Thanks and all the best.
— Ryan Tierney
Full Transcription of Episode
LMS - Total Ownership
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Introduction to Total Ownership
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Ryan: [00:00:00] "Total Ownership" is
one of them huge concepts that has transformed the way we think. I have this card in front of me here. I have taken total ownership of this equipment/area and it's signed with somebody's name. We have hundreds of these around our facility we have assigned one person, not two or three, one person. Dual ownership is no ownership. Welcome to Lean Made Simple, a podcast for people who want to transform their business and their lives one step at a time.
Matthew: So today we're talking all about this amazing principle known as Total Ownership.
Ryan, why is this so important to you?
Ryan: We've been doing this concept of total ownership for, I think it's like five years. And the transformation in our business from then to now is just, it's just night and day.
Origin of Total Ownership Concept
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Ryan: And the whole concept came back, uh, a few years ago when myself and my two brothers went to meet Sean Quinn.
The richest man in Ireland at that time. I think he had a net worth of 6 point something billion. 5 or 6 thousand employees.
And we [00:01:00] were fortunate enough to get a chance to sit down with Sean Quinn. And he said something during that meeting.
Which we still talk about to this day. He said, dual ownership is no ownership. And he said, if you have two people looking after something, really nobody's looking after it. He gave an example of his lorries. He had hundreds of lorries on the road at that time. And he said, if I have two or three people looking after a lorry, there's really nobody looking after it.
You know, so the way he operated his business and the way that we've taken that learning into our business. Is that one person has ownership of one thing. So, total ownership.
Matthew: So, is that in any way, like, connected or different to Extreme Ownership?
That Jocko Willink book that everyone seems to be reading?
Ryan: Yeah, well, actually, I read that book about five years ago. And it was Sean Quinn's wisdom. In conjunction with the book, Extreme Ownership, that really got me thinking, right, how [00:02:00] can I implement this into our business? And it's a really big, thick book.
You've, I think you've read it as well, Matt. And as soon as I finished that book, I was like, how can I translate that message into something really simple that everybody can get? So we come up with something really, really simple. And I've actually got an example right here.
Implementing Total Ownership
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Ryan: I took this from the factory this morning before I came up to the studio. So this card says, I have taken total ownership of this equipment/area and it's signed with somebody's name.
One person has total ownership of
the forklift. One person has total ownership of making sure the front entrance at the reception is clean.
One person has total ownership of making sure the yard is clean. One person has total ownership of the compressor. One person has total ownership of the canteen.
It's not three or four or five or six. One person. Dual ownership is no ownership.
Matthew: Crazy.
So you've taken the wisdom of Sean Quinn, the massive thick book of Jocko, and you've combined it into one little label. [00:03:00] That's what you do best. You make things so simple.
Ryan: That's why it works. And
that's why people get it.
So when somebody starts at our company on their induction, they're assigned a total ownership area.
So we recognized very early on in our Lean journey,
Our factory, our facility, our office was starting to get into better shape.
It was very, very disorganized before. But through all the small continuous improvements and loads of 3Sing, we noticed the workstations getting to a really good level.
But what we also noticed was that there was a lot of forgotten areas. Like the compressor room. Like the stationery store.
All these forgotten areas
they were forgotten about because there was no ownership.
So what we done was we went around and assigned total ownership to all them areas. So when people come now for a factory tour, they're like, how do you keep this place so immaculate, so clean, so organized and the key? It's these little cards. Total ownership.
Matthew: That's really interesting because something that...[00:04:00]
I've noticed visiting other businesses around the world is, let's say their production line or their office will be just 100 percent best thing in the world, but then you'll go to the toilets and the toilets are naff or you'll be walking down the hallway and there's a big hole in the wall or it's like it needs repainted.
And I remember talking to you recently where it's like, you know, if you're the owner of a business, you've a totally different mentality. You'll pick up the rubbish, you know, you'll fix something that you see. Whereas if you're not the owner, you'll maybe not care about those things. What total ownership does is, it empowers everyone to be owners of their space.
Ryan: Exactly, yeah. And it's much more than a responsibility. It's not like saying, oh, Madeline has responsibility for the vacuum cleaners. It's, Madeline believes that she owns the vacuum cleaners. Madeline is in charge of 23 different vacuum cleaners around the factory. That's why they're all in their place.
That's why they're perfectly clean. That's why they're all working. That's why the filters are changed every, whatever, every week or whatever it needs to be. Because Madeleine has total ownership of the [00:05:00] vacuum cleaners. And it sounds a bit silly, like why would you even bother? What's the difference? And the difference is that our entire company runs like clockwork.
Because we've divided the ownership amongst every single person. That's why the fork lift is perfect. That's why the canteen looks like brand new. That's why the yard is clean. That's why... Everything works so well. Total ownership.
Matthew: Yeah. The more I learn about Lean, and the more I get to know you and your company, and the other companies in the Lean community, you guys have found ways to basically stop things from falling through the cracks.
Yeah. That's kind of what's happening. It's all those wee bits and pieces that can get forgotten about, as you call them, forgotten areas. You now have not only a system, but you have a person who makes sure that that doesn't happen.
Ryan: Exactly. So, at our morning meeting, if we have an issue, It's nearly always a total ownership issue.
So, if we say, yeah, we had a defect. We ran out of a certain type of bolt. Okay, who's got total ownership of that? [00:06:00] Or maybe that's a new area that we haven't assigned ownership to yet. So, every single problem is a total ownership problem. Yeah. Which is massive if you think of it. Yeah. Every single problem is a total ownership problem.
Matthew: How do you navigate that with blame? Because, in my head, it could be very easy for that to turn into a blame culture, which I know is the opposite of what you guys have. So how do you do that, dance?
One of the quotes that we use a lot is, when blame starts, progress stops. And it's really true if you stop and think about it.
Ryan: A really good example is our forklift, you can go to any one of our forklifts and they look brand new.
Why do they look brand new? Because one person has total ownership of that forklift. So if I'm using the forklift and I leave it back in the wrong place, or I don't leave it the way it should be, Arturus, who has ownership of that forklift, doesn't come after me. He's like, okay, I'm taking it. I'll take ownership.
It's my forklift. I probably didn't train you well enough on how to leave it back. I didn't make it clear on what [00:07:00] the standard was. I should mark out markers on the floor for exactly where I want the forklift parked when you're finished with it. So I'll take it. I'll take blame. I'll take the ownership.
Wow. So it's not, you didn't leave my forklift back. It's, sorry, I have ownership. I didn't train you well enough. Yes. So it's taking ownership and responsibility for other people's actions. It really is, and it comes back to us as leaders. If there's a problem in our business, it's our problem.
I haven't made it clear. I haven't provided total clarity on what the outcome needs to be. Therefore, it's my issue. I'm taking ownership of it. I'm not saying you didn't do this and you didn't do that. It's, it's not blame. It's taking those problems on board as a leader and saying, I'll take it. I could have done better.
Matthew: Wow. That is very, very counter cultural. I think especially to the Irish context that we find ourselves in. Yeah. Uh, and the fact that you guys are rolling that out across your business is [00:08:00] crazy. So we've already kind of talked about it on the personal level, right? There's these labels around the factory.
Someone is personally responsible for the forklift. Madeleine's personally responsible for the hoovers. What if we go to kind of like the second level then, an organizational level? How does total ownership start to play out on that level?
Total Ownership at Organizational Level
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Ryan: Yep, I think this ties in with another thing that we talk about, is total clarity.
I believe, this is only my thoughts, but I believe every single person in the organization, especially at a managerial level, should be totally clear on what their responsibility is.
So for sales, for example, whose job is it to be in charge of that number?
It's very, very obviously the sales director. It's not two or three or four people in our marketing have input on this person and that person. One person. One person should be in control of your sales. One person should be in control of filing your accounts on time. One person should be in control of your brand.
Dual ownership is no ownership. And this is why most organizations are kind of stagnant and stale and aren't scaling and aren't moving to the [00:09:00] next level because they haven't been totally clear with their people. They haven't assigned total ownership for the outcome.
Matthew: And this is kind of back to Sean Quinn, and wasn't it his factories?
Ryan: Yeah, exactly. I remember him telling us that each factory or each division, he had one person in charge. Not two or three or four or five, but one person. And they knew exactly where they stood, and they had a number or a target or an outcome to produce. And if they didn't produce that... They knew about it.
You know, not, not on a harsh way, but on a totally clear, total clarity. Because I think people really need total clarity.
Matthew: How would that bleed into something like, uh, you know, the, the, the formidable phrase, Project Management. You know, every business's favourite task.
Ryan: Aye, well this is something that, to be honest, we're getting better at as well, and we need to get better at.
And I think every organisation, and everybody listening to this podcast, will struggle with Project Management. It's... One of those things that's, every project gets passed [00:10:00] around departments and marketing say oh, but it's with design and design say oh, it's with customer service.
The real key to project management is total ownership.
One person should manage that project.
It all has to come up the pyramid to one person.
Where one person has total ownership for the new design.
One person has total ownership for the rebrand or whatever the project is. Dual Ownership is No Ownership.
The Role of a Quality Manager in Total OwnershipAddressing Challenges in Total Ownership
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Matthew: A good example is our newly appointed Quality Manager.
Ryan: So, the Quality Manager is absolutely
clear on what their outcome is. Their outcome is to pass zero defects to the customer. Zero. So, total clarity. They have total ownership of achieving that target, total ownership. Which means if that person is off for the day, they need to be training their replacement.
They need to be putting the processes and systems in place so that when they're not there, that task can be carried out at the same level. So total ownership isn't just when you're present [00:11:00] day to day at your job. Even when you're away, you're trying to leave that job and systemize it and build in processes,
total ownership is making sure that when you're off on holidays, the next person is so clear. And you've trained them, you're still taking ownership even if you're not physically present.
You've trained them, you've dialed in the processes, and it all works.
Matthew: That makes a lot of sense because back to your example of the sales director. You know, the sales director can't blame, Oh, well, like, these, these two or three people are underperforming and that's why I didn't hit my targets. It's like, no, no, no, no, no, it's like, You haven't trained your people properly, or you haven't motivated them enough to actually hit their targets, So it's still your responsibility, you still have ownership over it.
Ryan: It is, it absolutely is, yeah. It all comes back to the person, to the leader.
The Impact of Total Ownership on Business Leaders
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Matthew: See whenever comes to, like, being the leader. Of the organisation. How can you apply? Total ownership because of course it makes sense if you're the owner or if you're the, you're the leader.
Yeah, yeah, you and the business, but like [00:12:00] what about in cases where maybe there's a downturn economically or there's a natural disaster or government regulation or COVID happens, you know, it'd be very easy for a business leader to throw their hands up and say, oh, well, it's a lockdown. Like I can't meet my targets because blah, blah, blah, blah.
Like what's your, What's your take or your approach on that?
The Influence of Total Ownership on Business Culture
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Ryan: Yeah, well I believe we have an obligation as a business owner, I have an obligation to achieve these targets. We have an obligation to serve the customers. We have an obligation and like, nobody forced me into this. I signed up for this myself.
So I am taking total ownership of the outcome and as a business leader when people see that I am taking total ownership then they start to take total ownership and what actually happens is that we build a culture of total ownership. Which filters through the entire organization. But it all starts with the leader taking total ownership of the direction of the business.
Taking ownership for [00:13:00] a mistake that happened. And absolutely putting their hand up and saying I'll take this one. I made a mistake. I messed up. I've taken total ownership. And once we as business owners start to talk and act and think like that, that same thinking filters through the entire company.
Matthew: It's crazy.
Actually, I'm just thinking about the interview,
with Alan Weir from Toyota.
Ryan: Yes.
Matthew: And you asked him a really great question around challenges. And he rattled through a couple of things. He goes, well, you know, the earthquake in Japan and the floods here and the supply chain here and COVID And at the end of it he says, but you know what?
We didn't let that stop us. We kept going. We, we pretty much didn't stop production. And, uh, it was our responsibility to ensure that. And I was like, bro, this guy is taking total ownership over this business.
And if there's one way to rise through an organization, it's take ownership. You know, Alan didn't get to the position where he is by accident.
Ryan: Yeah. He absolutely took ownership at every level and kept getting promoted. [00:14:00] Brilliant example actually. Yeah.
Matthew: Crazy. So
The Impact of Total Ownership on Society
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Matthew: if we were kind of like to, to go to like a third level, like a big massive societal philosophical level, you know, the question we often like to ask here is how would the world as we know it change?
How would society change? How would Northern Ireland change if this concept of total ownership? Was really, really applied into every person's life.
Ryan: That's why I think this podcast is going to be one of the most powerful podcasts we've ever done. Because every single person can relate to this.
And this can be applied straight away, one hour after listening to the podcast. It's such a powerful, powerful thing.
Total Ownership in Personal Life
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Ryan: And the next level of total ownership is that we should be taking total ownership for ourselves. We need to take total ownership for health. We need to take total ownership for our actions.
We need to take total ownership for our happiness. We can't depend on somebody else over here to make us happy. We can't depend [00:15:00] on the economy
to make our business, grow or scale. We need to take ownership. Total ownership works at every level.
And the third level is, I think, the most powerful level.
When you realize that, actually, it's up to me. I have ownership of my happiness. I have ownership of my goals. There's nobody else, no outside factors going to distract me from what I want. Take ownership of your own situation. Take ownership of your goals.
And take ownership of your outcome.
Matthew: I remember having a conversation with a mentor of mine a few years ago.
And there was lots going on, and I was having a bit of a pity party, and I was like, oh, but this, and oh, but that, and oh, but this.
And he just went, Matthew? And I was like, oh! And he's like,
Nobody's coming to save you. It's like, are you waiting for, like, the cavalry to come round the corner and the SWAT team to come in and solve all your problems?
It's like, are you waiting for, like, someone to step in and run your business for you? [00:16:00] Are you looking to step in and someone to solve all your family issues? It's up to you, like, there's no one else can do these things, like, nobody's coming to save you, you have to step up and do it yourself. And I remember actually, at first, kind of being like, oh, what the heck, why'd you say that to me?
But then I went away and thought about it and something inside me started to rise up to that standard. And at the Lean Summit, like, looking around at all the leaders in the room. I'll not even start naming people because I'll leave people out. And I was like, here are... World class leaders who take full ownership over every area of their life.
And Brad Cairns did it class thing where, in one of his talks, he uh, referenced one of these wee labels. And he says, you know, every single one of us should have this tattooed on our chest. Where it's like, you need to take total ownership over your body, over your health. It's like, if your diet's not great, if your exercise routine's not great, if your health's not great, it's like...
Who else is going to sort it other than you? And it's crazy. I don't know if this is an Irish thing or just a [00:17:00] human nature thing. I feel like so much of my life. I've been blaming other people. I've been, you know, waiting for other people to step in. And it's only whenever the penny dropped, as you said, where it's like, this is up to me
and I'm the one that has to change here.
Exactly. So powerful, isn't it? It's crazy. There's an ad running locally on a billboard and it says, nothing changes if you don't change.
Ryan: I remember you saying it to me a good few months ago, is that we become the sum of the five people we spend the most time with. And that's so true. But who's got the power to control that?
You do! You know, we have total ownership of that. It's absolutely up to us to take control of our life, take control of our situation,
It is up to us.
Matthew: Why do you think so many of us
shirk away from that? Like, why do we make people responsible for our happiness or our goals or, you know, that's kind of like an epidemic, I would say.
Ryan: I really do think it's back to the Bob [00:18:00] Proctor teachings of staying in your comfort zone. It's like the, the dog, the story about the dog sitting on the, the thistle, you know, it's, it's bad, but it's not bad enough to do anything about it. Right. And a lot of people live in that area of comfort where, I'm maybe not happy with the five people that I'm surrounded with, but it's easier than doing something about it.
I'll just kind of stay the way I am. Yeah. But until people internalize, I love this word internalize, until people internalize. That they absolutely have control of their destiny. They absolutely have control of their life. It's not depending on outside factors. Once they internalize that concept, and hopefully this podcast will help people to do that, they will realize that there's a whole big world out there of opportunity, of potential, of untapped genius that you never thought was even possible.
You have the power within you to change.
Matthew: Unbelievable. So for people listening or watching, where do we go from here?
We're fired [00:19:00] up. We're excited. We're, you know, banging the steering wheel in the car. We're like, yes, total ownership. How do people actually start to take action? What's some of the first, you know, few dominoes they could knock over?
Ryan: Yep. It's like all the information we're putting out. It's like all the podcasts. Listen to these podcasts over and over. Listening once probably isn't, it's, it's okay for a bit of inspiration,
but I would really recommend two, three, four times until you're sitting there going. This is crazy. I get this now.
I've internalized it. Share this podcast with everybody in your organization. Gather all your people together and play this in front of them all. And start with small incremental
steps.
And you will develop that culture which filtrates into every single area of the organisation.
Matthew: Yeah, and something that I'm continuously inspired by how you and the team leads your business is that people will come maybe to do a welding [00:20:00] apprenticeship and actually it'll totally change their life because they'll start to actually take some of these principles into their day to day.
world, you know, and they themselves will take ownership over their lives and all that sort of stuff. So I actually think as business leaders, we have an amazing opportunity to actually change the culture around us
by developing people in the way that we talk about on this podcast. Yeah, we do. Amazing.
So one of the really practical ways you could take a first step is Ryan has very kindly.
Agreed to share this graphic with everyone listening or watching to this.
And it's funny because these labels are used literally all over the world now, aren't they?
Ryan: They are, yeah. There's companies from all over the world using this same template that we came up with a few years ago.
It's funny, it's been translated into a few different languages as well, I've seen on videos on YouTube. And it's because it's such a simple concept. That can be applied straight away. I think that's why people are getting on board with this. Yeah.
Matthew: You could even use this in your house. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?
I have like total ownership over the dishwasher area, over the kitchen. You can do all [00:21:00] sorts of stuff. So yeah, there'll be a link in the description of the episode if you would like to get this label completely free. And the other thing we always talk about is just, just come and see it for yourself.
Like, book yourself in for a Lean Made Simple Tour. Come down and see how these guys use their labels in real life. Talk to the people who actually have ownership over the certain things. See how they've been able to, uh, not just stick labels up in a factory, but actually embed this principle across their entire organization.
So, yes, as always,
if you and your team would like to book a Lean Made Simple tour, the link is in the description of this episode.
And other than that, Ryan, anything else before we close?
Ryan: Uh
Closing Thoughts on Total Ownership
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Ryan: ,
just, just again, I think we've said it already, but this is so practical and doable.
Like, all the information we put out, take action. It's okay listening to this stuff, but absolutely take action.
Download the label. It's all for free. Start assigning total ownership and you'll watch your company transform
before your eyes. Unbelievable.
Matthew: Ryan, thank you so much for your time today. I really appreciate it.
Thank you, [00:22:00] Matt.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. See you again next
time.