At many of my presentations, I'll leave time at the end for the audience to brainstorm the ideas and take-aways they plan to implement as a result of what they heard in the speech. At a recent presentation for the Vail Valley Partnership in Vail, CO, Clark Walsh an employee at Old Forge Pizza made a great comment:

"I want to be so good that my customers ask me if I am the owner."

Why would a customer ask that? Because of Clark's positive attitude, the excellent service he delivers, the way he treats fellow employees, and more.

At least several things are happening here:

One, Clark respects and admires the owner.

Two, Clark finds the customer's comment to be a compliment.

And three, the owner of the restaurant has obviously set a good example, one that Clark wants to emulate. By the way, this one is important. An owner must be a good role model, a mentor and leader. I've seen plenty of owners/leaders who don't set good examples with a "do as I say, not as I do" management style.

Regardless of the size of your company, it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, act like an owner.