#7 Ownership

This week, I saw a tiny PR moment that made me laugh.

In a world where Donald Trump is the topic-of-the-day (every day), and his cabinet picks are the current entertainment news, someone on Jamie Dimon's comms team had a pretty good little win. 

At the APEC CEO summit in Peru, Dimon sat for a fireside chat with Lisa Abramowicz (yes, even Jamie Dimon does fireside chats, so you're not too senior for them either). It appears someone got the Bloomberg reporter to ask a not-too-subtly-seeded softball: How did Dimon feel about not being on Trump's list for Treasury?

Dimon's definitely-prepared-to-sound-unprepared response was perfectly quotable:

 "I haven't had a boss in 25 years and I'm not about ready to start!"  

Cue the disarmed audience and reporter. Dimon is a master of managing the middle, which is one reason for his almost-25-year tenure as CEO. 

Lesson? Really good PR moments (not long-term change), are usually just nothing more than a little surprise. A break from norm with a change in tone. The unexpected and not unwelcome.

In other words, good PR moments are the kind of surprise we call "delight." 

The reason is simple. If you can crack a smile on a cynical journalist, you can get quoted anywhere.

Which is exactly what Dimon did. In fact, I think he got quoted everywhere.  

So if you’re curious how to flip a script, the current score is Dimon: 1. Good or bad, Trump is a pretty hard guy to take a headline from.

I think another lesson is let yourself have fun. Truly great PR people have a sense of playfulness, and great executives let them use it.

But let’s step back. Dimon’s quote begs a good question. Why are YOU in business? 

Or why should you be?

Several years ago, a friend was struggling with his cofounder and told me he had asked himself this question. 

And I have to tell you, one great thing about hanging with self-aware people is you can steal the questions they’re asking themselves!

So, ever since, and every few months, I like to ask this question to myself, my clients, friends, and colleagues.

Jamie Dimon is neither a founder nor entrepreneur. He was already on the corporate ladder for seven years when the Berlin Wall fell. But he is an owner. 

And that's what matters.  

I get to spend a lot of time around owners. I work for them, and I am one, and a lot of my friends are. You probably are too if you're reading this.  

Why are you an owner? I’ve heard a lot of really interesting answers, but they all fall into a few simple themes. Here they are in order of persuasiveness.

1. "I control my schedule." 

This is the Dippin Dots of reasons to own a business. Is it ice cream? Yeah, I guess. But not really. Do I control my schedule? Yeah, kind of, a little. But my clients and family control it more.

Controlling your schedule isn’t a realistic expectation, and it’s not that fun anyway—you’re obligated to no one?? That kind of freedom is good for about 3 songs. As a full soundtrack, it sounds like a pretty lonely way to live your life.

2. "I control what I work on." 

Now we're getting up to real ice cream. This is serious Van Leeuwen's Honeycomb French. But—just like eating a whole pint on the couch during a Hallmark Movie—you're gonna be sick before anyone even gets kissed.  

Controlling what you work on lasts only as long as you don't scale.  

Eventually, if you grow, the top two things you do as an owner are: (1) learning, and (2) communicating. You could be talking with your employees, or testifying to Congress. And anything in between.

The substance of those exchanges, and whether they benefit you, will depend only on your skill solving new problems. Hence, be learning.

3. "I want my kids to see a good example." 

Ice cream analogies are starting to fail us, but this is so wholesome it's an ice cream truck. (In fact, the company that owns 97% of the entire ice cream truck music industry is helmed by the son of its founder). 

I've always looked at variations of this reasoning with side eye until having kids of my own. Schools will have no shortage of systems and careers for kids to witness, but who will teach them ownership? And how will I do it? How will YOU?

4. "I want to." 

YOU HAVE BECOME THE ICE CREAM. And it's Jamie Dimon flavor.

Simply put, the happiest business owners I know are happy because they enjoy responsibility, enjoy building, enjoy growing, enjoy providing, and enjoy learning. 

I'm not in the habit of quoting Naval Ravikant, but he did tweet the other day, "If you're so smart, why aren't you happy?"

It’s such a good reminder.

Can we really think our way towards happiness? I think so. Especially when we ask ourselves the right questions.

As a modicum of proof: I am happy. A big part of my secret? Ownership. Ownership, and stealing Emily's ice cream after she goes to bed.

Finally, I’m really curious to hear why you’re an owner, especially if it’s not one of these four. Or, if you’re thinking about becoming an owner, why? (And let me be your cheerleader) As always, reply to this email if you have a minute.

In the meantime, thanks again for coming along,
Jesse

PS: Last week I shared some french pins I've been making in my spare time. Please don't buy any right now since I'm on vacation for a bit and can’t ship until December. Instead, get a computer-lathed one at Sur La Table, and watch this classic clip before you return it. I'll keep the site up and mention the remaining pins next month.

For those of you who did buy one, thank you!! I’m nervous and humbled to imagine them in your hands. Bread-making is so tactile. Also, in case you are curious, I Frankenstein-welded the wood burn and ink stamp logo from a donor-parts antique typewriter. Here’s a pic. (Twitter is my Imgur for this newsletter)

PSS: Thanks for the all shares so far! And if this is your first issue reading, there's an open invite to reply any time and let me know how I can make it more useful to you. Or your favorite ice cream.  Please keep sharing!

Thanks again!
Jesse