Friday Forward - Taking Ownership (#521)
Often, saying "I've got this" is what separates excellence from mediocrity
If you ever read in the news that I’ve had a public meltdown, or have been arrested, it probably won’t be about politics, travel, or even a Boston sports loss.
It’ll be about appliances.
Over the past month, I’ve tried unsuccessfully to schedule the delivery of a dishwasher and washing machine I ordered from a well-known big box retailer. After more than 20 customer service calls and four missed delivery windows, none of which I was notified about until after they were missed, I was still missing one of my appliances.
Now, you might assume I’m using this Friday Forward to rally my loyal audience and shame the retailer into doing the right thing. That’s not the case.
This particular company has an inbound-only call center that is the only way to contact customer service. Each of the 20+ calls I’ve made has played out like the movie Groundhog Day. I’d start from scratch, explaining the issue in full to a totally new person, and hear the same lines in response:
“We’ll look into it.”
“We’ll call you back.”
But if anyone ever did look into it, they never called back, and certainly never solved my problem. Once the call ended, it seemed that whichever customer service rep I spoke to simply moved on to the next caller in the queue. No case number, no continuity, no ownership of the problem.
All through this process, there was never an opportunity to speak to someone who was already familiar with my case and had the power and initiative to resolve it. It became clear the system isn’t designed for ownership. It is designed to move calls along and pass the buck.
This experience, equal parts maddening and absurd, highlighted something much bigger than a missing washing machine. It revealed a deeper leadership crisis I’ve seen across industries: a widespread erosion of individual accountability. Across many companies, fewer people than ever seem willing to raise their hand and see a task through to the end.
In many companies, especially in service businesses, hyper-specialization and efficiency have undercut accountability. Too many organizations are now built like modern-day assembly lines, with each person completing their step, checking the box, and moving on. No one in this chain is actually responsible for ensuring the customer eventually gets what they need, which is the whole purpose of the business.
This is a glaring issue. An efficient process is worthless if it isn’t designed to deliver the desired outcome. The system runs properly, but the customer is left stranded.
In my case with the retailer, someone, anyone, could have said, “You’ve called so many times and we have failed you so many times. Let me take this on. I’ll be your point of contact and see it through, here’s how we can stay in touch.” But, over and over, that did not happen. Because the system rewards employees for following their part of the process, not owning the outcome.
I’ve heard variations of this story more and more in recent years, especially in travel. People pass the baton quickly and make the customer navigate their own maze of confusion and bureaucracy. They defer. They follow the process. But rarely do they say, “I’ve got this.”
And yet, that’s one of the most powerful things any of us can say in work or in life.
If you’re leading a project, serving a customer, mentoring a teammate, or solving a tough problem, willingness to take ownership is often the difference between mediocrity and excellence. In a world increasingly dominated by automation and AI, the ability to take ownership may be one of the few uniquely human advantages we have left.
Because if we can’t out-care, out-commit, or out-responsibility the machines, we don’t have much of a future competing with them.
Against all odds, this story had a happy ending. Around my 26th call to the retailer, I was connected with an employee named Karen. She heard my story, promised to find out the issue, took my phone number, and actually called me back with a solution. The appliance was delivered Wednesday, which happened to be my birthday.
While I may never order from the retailer again, I will remember Karen and would be happy to give great feedback on her behalf.
Contrary to the popular phrase, my advice is: be a Karen. When you have the chance, be the person who says, “I’ve got it.” Be the one who owns the full outcome, not just the task assigned to you. Encourage your team to do the same. That’s what real leadership looks like. And people notice.
“Responsibility finds a way. Irresponsibility makes excuses.” - Gene Bedley
Have a great weekend!
-Bob
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This struck a nerve with me, and l’m sure many others. I’ve been dealing with a bank, significant money hacked from an account, and hours and hours of circular conversations. After months of repeating myself and reproving the data, I was finally refunded the money only to be over-refunded. After spending 3 hours on the phone trying to explain they needed to take the over payment back, I finally thought I found someone to own the situation and get the account straightened out. I was told the woman would see this through and clear things up(after 6 months) and instead a different person did, finally, call back and the situation went right back to circular conversations. 8 months later, I still have too much money in that account. I simply wish to close the account and never think about them again. It’s one of the largest banks in the world- ugh.
For years, I've said that this world is made of up those that are process oriented and then there are those that are problem solvers or doers. What I have seen over the years, is with all of the hand holding that parents do with kids today, helping them solve all of their problems, we have less and less doers and more and more people that do not think for themselves or think out of the box.
The struggle when running a business is real. We want, we need doers. Someone that will own what they do and actually try to improve up the process, especially when it's broken or limping along, like the call center for the big box store (by the way, I have the same struggle with an internet and cable provider).
This artical really hits home. Thanks for the read!