Business Lessons From a Toddler
Earlier this month, my son Alden turned three — and lately, we’ve been talking a lot about what it means to be responsible for something.
One of his daily tasks is feeding our dog in the morning. And at just three years old, he’s already starting to grasp what it truly means to own a responsibility.
When I ask him to be responsible for feeding the dog, he knows it’s not just about dumping food in the bowl. It’s his job to make sure the entire process gets done — start to finish — and done well.
He picks up the bowl, carries it to the food container, opens the lid, and… asks for help. (He can’t quite reach the scoop yet. Short arms.) I scoop the food and hand it to him, and from there he’s back in charge — dumping it into the bowl, returning the scoop, setting the bowl down, and calling the dog over when it’s ready.
The dog gets fed.
The job gets done.
And Alden’s proud of it.
Here’s what I love about this:
Being responsible doesn’t mean doing everything yourself.
But it does mean making sure everything gets done — and being the one to set (and hold) the standard.
Understanding that is critical — and it’s exactly what we’re digging into in this week’s Owner to Owner.
Let’s get into it,
— Andrew
In This Edition:
✏️ You’re still responsible — even after you delegate
📊 Stacked Ownership: shared responsibility builds stronger teams
⚡ A one-line filter to audit your follow-through
❓ When’s the last time you saw something through?
✏️ OWNER TO OWNER: You're still responsible.
Being the owner means setting the vision, building the plan, and ensuring it’s executed well.
You don’t have to do it all yourself (and you probably shouldn’t). But you are responsible for making sure it gets done.
Hiring someone, launching a new product, outsourcing a task — those are just the starting points. What follows is the real work: ensuring what you’ve planted actually grows.
If you plant a seed and walk away, it might grow.
But if it dies, that’s on you.
You’re the one responsible for the sunlight, the water, the container, the fertilizer — and the patience to keep checking in while it grows.
This is what responsibility looks like in business, too.
A few places I see this show up:
Marketing: You outsource Instagram and assume leads will magically appear — but never clarify the strategy, build the funnel, or track the ROI.
Team: You make a new hire, and they underperform — because you didn’t fully onboard them or define what success looked like.
Sales: You build a beautiful website — but never test the user journey or create a process to follow up with leads.
You don’t need to micromanage. But you do need to take absolute ownership of the outcome.
As the owner, you’re on the hook — not just for startingsomething, but for finishing it well.
So this week, ask yourself:
Where have I planted something… but stopped watering?
📊 IN THE WEEDS: Stacked Ownership
Let’s go a layer deeper.
Yes — Alden was responsible for feeding the dog. He owned the task, asked for help when needed, and followed it through to the end.
But I’m still the one ultimately responsible for our dog’s well-being. (He’s still a toddler, after all…)
If something doesn’t go right — if the dog doesn’t get fed — that’s on me.
This is a critical leadership lesson: Ownership can stack.
Responsibility isn’t a baton you pass — it’s a mindset that can live at every level.
Alden owned the task.
I owned the outcome.
He’s proud of his follow-through.
I’m proud of his growth — and of mine.
And this is exactly how healthy teams function in business.
When ownership is clearly defined and shared, you avoid finger-pointing and dropped balls.
You build a culture where:
Everyone knows what they’re responsible for
Everyone follows through
Everyone is invested in the outcome
Everyone celebrates the win
Whether you’re delegating to a toddler or a team, it works the same way:
You’re not off the hook. But neither are they.
That’s the beauty of stacked ownership — and the foundation of real leadership.
⚙️ TRY THIS TODAY: A responsibility filter
Use this one-line filter today:
“Have I taken responsibility for this — or just assigned the task?”
Scan your calendar or to-do list.
Pick one thing you’ve delegated — and check whether you’ve also:
Defined what success looks like
Equipped your point-person
Checked for progress
Ensured follow-through
If not? That’s your next step.
❓ ONE BIG QUESTION:
Think about the last time you took full responsibility for something — and created a great result.
What motivated you to stay engaged to the end? And what were you most proud of yourself for?
Reach out — I’d love to hear what came to mind.
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