# The Owner ## Leading to Success of Product and Services [[AME3]] incorporates a leadership system, with the [[Owner]] being one of its three main forces. To illustrate the leadership role of the [[Owner]], let's examine two different companies. The first is a nimble start-up with 20 employees, while the second, a well-established medium-sized [[Enterprise]], employs 1200 people. Both use [[AME3]] to navigate their unique challenges towards growth. ![[AME3 Leadership System.png]] ## Example: Start-up > Ownership is leadership with power Our example start-up was founded a few years ago with a small [[Team]]. The founder, who is also the main shareholder, is integral to a [[Team]] of now 20 employees and continues to play a pivotal role in product development. Recently, he secured additional investment capital aimed at accelerating growth. As the leading expert in the technical domain, the founder now faces the critical challenge of empowering his employees to reduce their reliance on his expertise. This transition is essential for him to shift his focus entirely to leading the business, thereby ensuring the company’s sustained growth. The new product has the chance to dominate the global market, with immense opportunities and minimal competition. As the founder and co-owner, he is responsible for defining the [[Ambition]] and setting intermediate [[Goal|Goals]] for product development. Within the context of [[AME3]], our founder is the [[Owner]], and his employees form the sole [[Arena]] of his [[Enterprise]]. The work environment is highly complex, with constant initiation of new projects. This creative chaos can often lead to frustration without clear guidelines. The employees are demanding concrete direction to maintain focus. Our [[Owner]] must collaborate with the [[Team|Teams]] to identify the most lucrative opportunities in the market. The [[Arena Product]] is teetering between the concept stage and custom build in its evolution. The [[Team|Teams]] are seeking answers to critical questions. For instance, how can they test new functionalities using straightforward experiments without significant investment in development? Furthermore, architectural decisions made now will significantly influence the company’s growth, presenting both opportunities and risks that the [[Owner]] must manage meticulously. Given the complexity of their work, the employees adopted [[Scrum]] from the outset and organized themselves into [[Team|Teams]] following the Large Scale Scrum ([[LeSS]]) framework. An external [[System Lead]] was engaged by the [[Owner]] to facilitate this process. Since [[Scrum]] and [[LeSS]] are aligned on principles with [[AME3]], this transition was seamless. The group of co-owners and investors make up the [[Accountable Representative|Accountable Representatives]]. The business case presented by the [[Owner]] serves as the [[Ambition]] for the [[Arena]] and its [[Arena Product]]. ## Example: Medium-sized Enterprise In our medium-sized enterprise, the original founders have transitioned to the supervisory board, entrusting decision-making authority to a newly appointed [[CEO]]. Her primary objectives are to enhance profitability and drive innovation to stay competitive in a rapidly changing market. To achieve these ambitious goals, the [[CEO]] plans to enhance the organization’s overall agility using the [[AME3]] framework. Within [[AME3]], the supervisory and management boards together constitute the [[Accountable Representative|Accountable Representatives]]. > The [[Arena Product]] is the result of all services, with the goal of maintaining and increasing value for the customer. Assuming, that the [[Enterprise]] has just one [[Arena]] as in the example of the start-up. And we view the enterprises' results as a single [[Enterprise Product]]. So we have to accept that the [[CEO]] is solely responsible for all investment and the overall success of it. We can recognize the [[CEO]] as the sole [[Owner]] or [[Enterprise Owner]] in terms of [[AME3]]. Recognizing the impossibility of lead 1,200 employees alone, it is clear that the [[CEO]] plans to divide the product into sub-products, reorganize the company into distinct [[Arena|Arenas]], and delegate her ownership responsibility. This aims to create a lean hierarchy, empowering each [[Arena]] to independently optimize its [[Arena Product]]. However, this is all theoretical, and the organization is far from this ideal. The current organizational structure emphasizes technical and functional specialization, where career progression and employee recognition are tightly woven into the hierarchical system. This has led to a leadership model focused on maximizing work efficiency through specialized roles and cost reduction. Consequently, the multi-layered decision-making process is sluggish, impeding the organization’s responsiveness to rapid market changes. Moreover, the existing line management has resulted in conflicting objectives. For instance, the head of prodcut management prioritizes sales growth by demanding new features, while production and operations focus on reliability. This is creating tension between the departments. This model inherently resists innovation, clinging to the status quo. The previous [[CEO]] introduced project management to boost innovation across functional barriers. However, this created additional management roles with conflicting goals, worsening the problems. The diminishing number of value-creation experts, overwhelmed by an average of 4–5 projects each, are increasingly frustrated, leading to burnout and high turnover. This problem is starkly reflected in a portfolio of over 120 active projects, most showing little or no progress. Recognizing the urgency, the new [[Owner]] is striving to significantly trim the number of projects. This task is challenging, as many projects have broad scopes and encompass both high value and high risk. Collaborating with the [[Accountable Representative|Accountable Representatives]], including experienced managers and [[Team]] experts, the [[CEO]] initiates a strategic refinement process using [[Wardley Mapping]]. This method helps identify necessary improvements in [[Arena Product|Products]] and services, alongside required changes in the organization. Critical objectives from the project portfolio are integrated into this strategy too and added as [[Goal|Goals]] to the [[Enterprise]] [[Arena Backlog]]. This process also identified potential new [[Arena|Arenas]] and their potential [[Owner|Owners]]. Some of these [[Arena|Arenas]] already exist as organizational units, while others need to be created by reorganization. All these changes are innovation [[Goal|Goals]] too and are added to the new [[Enterprise]] [[Arena Backlog]]. To outline his strategic plan, the [[CEO]] ordered the [[Goal|Goals]] into the [[Enterprise Backlog]] and pulled together with the workgroup a very limited number of [[Goal|Goals]] into focus. An external expert in organizational design facilitates this entire process, introducing and implementing the necessary methodologies, including a [[Kanban]] system, to manage the [[Enterprise Backlog]] and [[Goal|Goals]]. Later, he will take over the responsibility of the [[Enterprise System Lead]]. ## Rules <!-- Todo: I have renamed GAME3 with AME3. Check, if it is correct.--> AME3 establishes rules that foster the development and flourishing of the leadership system. Here are the rules connected with the [[Owner]] and [[Enterprise Owner]]: ![[Owner]] ![[Enterprise Owner]] ## Conclusion In both scenarios, the [[Owner|Owners]] leads to the success of products and services. They serve the [[Enterprise]] by: 1. Balancing opportunities and risks. 2. Focusing the organization. 3. Ensuring decisions are made. [[AME3]] empowers them to make informed decisions and delegate effectively, fostering an adaptable culture and continuous improvement. In the next chapter, we will delve deeper into the ongoing evolution of these organizations, exploring how the [[The System Lead|System Lead assumes greater leadership responsibilities]]. >[!button] [[The System Lead|Continue reading]]