Someone once asked a successful man the secret of his success and the key to his accomplished career. "I'll tell you" he replied. "It was a small trick I played on myself. No matter where I worked ,I pretended that I owned the business. I pretended that I owned the whole place - lock, stock and barrel!"

Volumes have been written about how to succeed in business, but his simple, positive approach effectively summarises all the theories.

If everyone who receives a paycheque from a company - any company - took as much interest in the business as the owner, many of the internal problems that plague businesses everywhere would be eliminated. Everyone would work together; everyone would share common goals.

In the very strictest sense, many employees of a great many companies are owners of the business. These employees own shares of stock and, as shareholders, are partners of the business. These employee stockholders have invested their money for the opportunity to share in potential profits. In a much broader sense, all employees of a company are owners, whether or not they own any stock. For these employees have made an even greater investment. They have invested their time and energies, their efforts and creative talents to help make the business successful. They have invested themselves.

All to often, we think of "The Company" as an abstract impersonal entity. We tend to forget that the company is a corporation - a body of people sharing the common goals of service and profit. As employees, we are members of that body, each playing a vital role in making the company successful. Each role, each job, each position in the company is essential. The ultimate success or failure of the business depends directly on how well each employee accepts the responsibilities associated with his position.

In other words, how well you do your job determines the success of your business! If you just "work there," putting in your time and going through the motions, try pretending that you own the place. When you realise that you work for yourself as well as the company, when you understand that you profit as well as the company, then your job takes on new meaning and importance. To gain a new perspective on your work, put yourself in your employer's shoes - and take a long, hard look at yourself!

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