In our business, we are constantly put in situations where the actions of others directly impact us and the question becomes one of taking ownership. My observations are that people have a tendency to “pass the buck” when it comes to dealing with deficiencies in either products or services and this is not a display of taking ownership; which can quickly create friction and conflict………detracting from our Mission to Deliver WOW. Can we all be better at taking ownership? I believe that I can, and I believe that all of us can make improvements toward this, but how? Off to the Internet I went and found a great article by the Belding Group that did a good job summing it up

Don’t Take The Easy Way:

It’s way to easy to just say to yourself, “that’s the customer’s problem, not mine,” and leave them on their own to solve it. Take it the next step. Provide a solution!

Be A Resource:

You could just say, “I don’t know anything about that.” Or, you could say, “Let me check to see if anyone else here might know the answer.”

Tell What You Can Do:

When you have to say ‘no’ to a customer, or absolutely aren’t able to give them what they want, make a point to tell them what you can do for them. Apply these quick points and a quote by Bill Gates, “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” to a desire to continuously improve and the goal of taking more personal ownership in all the things we do can be achieved.