In 2016, I quit my job and went out on my own. The organization I was working for had just been acquired by a very large conglomerate, and if I knew one thing about myself, it was that the big corporate life and structure was not for me. I'd always had the spirit of an entrepreneur (and a little practice starting a side hustle t-shirt company), but was I really doing this? Trying to be an Independent Workday consultant in an ecosystem of basically no independent Workday consultants was a big risk. How was I going to compete against the large partners out there? 

If I really think about what drove my leap of faith, it boiled down to one thing - I hate red tape.

As fortune had it, a friend of mine reached out with a contract opportunity at another large company: LinkedIn. I learned many things at the Sunnyvale campus, but what really struck me was how well LinkedIn treats their employees. It was immediately obvious why this company had been so successful and how it became a household name.

Even as a contractor, I was expected to go to the same new hire orientation as all other employees. This seemed odd, but in many ways and obviously, was a great idea. One of the first things I heard in my orientation is something I adopted in my businesses for the rest of my life: “Act like an Owner.”

I love this saying for so many reasons, but mainly because it might as well say, “To hell with the red-tape!” Do what you think you need to do when you need to do it. Think on your feet, and well, just Act like an Owner.

To me, rules and red tape are only there for one reason: protect the company from employees doing bad things. So...why don't companies just hire good people who do good work? No tape needed, right? Might this also make employees in your company feel like they are appreciated, respected, and have jobs people rely on?

I’m sure lots of people reading this are rolling their eyes and thinking, “It’s not that simple. We need those rules for reasons of X, Y and Z.” Let me be clear: I understand there will always be a level of review needed on processes that have high consequences. Trust me, I get it. But I think even the "eye rollers" get the point I am making. And if not, maybe the red tape is there for you.