It’s the difference between just working at a job or exerting the emotional energy that makes you indispensable. What you invest of yourself each day will ultimately determine the value you create. A high level of performance begins a conscious decision to “Own It”, to truly own the Attitude, Process and Outcomes associated with what you do.

Alan Hall exemplifies what it means to “Own It”. His outlook is reflected in how he sees his role with Austin Outdoor, what drives his daily efforts and what gets accomplished. Some recent, significant process improvements in financial systems and reporting have revealed his underlying attitude that led to these breakthroughs.

Alan’s current title is “Financial Systems Analyst”, but when I asked him “what do you do here?” he replied: “I support our culture of professionalism with a positive attitude and by finding system efficiencies that contribute to accurate reporting.”

Anyone who has had the pleasure of interacting with Alan knows that he’s always positive. In fact, he takes great pride in having a “positive attitude about everything” and it’s clearly reflected in his work. He believes that “people appreciate being helped and I enjoy helping them”. 

Attitude is linked with a “drive to get things done” through daily hands-on involvement in the financial information systems and processes. He sees a “balance between speed and accuracy” and constantly looks for ways to improve speed without sacrificing accuracy. Some might simply accept the way things have been done, but Alan’s recent breakthrough system enhancements came because he “figured there had to be a better way to do it”.  There was and he found them, all because he wasn’t content with the status quo.  

The net result of one process improvement he implemented shaves off several days of accounting staff time each month in processing recurring bills, which in turn contributes to faster monthly closes and less monotonous staff work. The dramatic effect of another finding has been to unlock real-time labor reporting for field management.

Alan’s decision to “Own It” contributes daily to creating premier properties and building lasting relationships; he believes that the “mixture of positive attitude and a drive to succeed” at Austin Outdoor affects morale and in turn  that “affects how outsiders perceive us”. And I believe that his understanding of the qualities that drive success goes far beyond his financial knowledge.