CEO of OWN, Inc. (Springfield, MO), an engineering firm that unleashes the power of true, 100 percent employee ownership.
By Liisa Andreassen
Correspondent
Exciting things are happening at OWN including a somewhat recent name change from Anderson Engineering. According to Hogan, the company has enjoyed its former name since 1977, but a firm evolution led to a brand that is now one part actual and one part aspirational.
The business has been 100 percent employee-owned since 1998 and as it has continued to embrace its love, passion, and commitment to employee ownership, they knew it was time to rebrand and lean into OWNership – to create a brand that lived up to its incredible OWNers. Hogan says as they grew and expanded they wanted a name that could grow with them too.
“Our employees OWN their projects, their relationships, their future, and their company,” he says.
To truly OWN this, the company developed five new principles too:
- Owners do it better.
- Responsiveness is a superpower.
- Success is not a limited resource.
- Fun matters.
- People are at the center of it all.
OWN it people! As a people-first company, when OWN couples its principle of “people are at the center of it all” with “success is not a limited resource,” empowerment to work hard for win-win-wins in work prevails.
Hogan admits that some changes had to be made to legacy handbook policies that previously put company first; staff called them out. Changes were made to quickly align with the principles.
“We value employee feedback as a gift and we are proud when we can hear tangible ways that we can do and be better,” he says.
Another example of the company’s commitment to the people principle is its “Beyond the Call” fund. This is a voluntary fund set up by people for people and it allows the company to take care of their fellow team members when personal hardships arise.
“This is relatively new in our firm, but has already touched the lives of many OWNers,” Hogan shares.
OWN also prioritizes brain health. As a people-centric firm, it believes that health is foundational to thriving in life and mental health is a big part of that – not just the physical. OWN partners with Burrell Behavioral Health which holds meaningful “brain health” sessions every six weeks for the entire team. They also provide helpful resources and access to a variety of support services.
And speaking of brain health, Hogan says that part of the firm culture and ethos is, “We reserve the right to get smarter.” (This is a phrase OWN borrowed from Terri Tucker, a top facilitator and strategic thinker).
“We believe that introspection is vital,” he says. “It’s typical to spend several days preparing for a one-day meeting only to debrief for an additional day. We love to look back with a critical eye and challenge ourselves to be better and to learn.”
He adds that one of the greatest lessons they’ve collectively learned as a company has to do with their capacity and cadence for change.
“We’ve been really aggressive in our goals to improve and grow and now we work harder to balance growth and progress with a sustainable cadence,” Hogan says.
And, when he and the company turn their thoughts to other areas outside of growth and improvement, two topics top Hogan’s list of concerns: polarization of humanity and artificial intelligence. He fears that the latter may make the former worse. However, on a positive note, he also believes there’s an upside.
“I believe in humanity to ultimately choose good and unity and I also believe that our industry has huge opportunities to use AI to make us better and stronger,” he says. “We’re restructuring our firm and working hard to use AI as an advantage and influence our OWN future.”
OWN’s focus for 2024 is to protect its culture/brand, stabilize operations, and to fine tune some efficiencies.
“We’re not going to take our foot off the gas pedal of growth, but we might enjoy a season of intentional steering and get ourselves geared up for our next big growth push, which is right around the corner,” Hogan says.
