Building a Culture of Ownership

Summary

What does it really mean to think and act like an owner?

In this episode of Culture Architects, David J. Friedman sits down with Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge, a 100% employee-owned manufacturing company in Durango, Colorado. Kerry shares how her own leadership journey, including rebuilding her life after addiction, shaped the way she thinks about ownership, trust, accountability, and culture.

David and Kerry explore how StoneAge grew from a 30-person company into an organization of roughly 250 employees while working to preserve and intentionally codify the culture that made it special. Kerry explains how the company’s “Own It Mindset” grew out of a real need to define not only how people perform their jobs, but how they show up as teammates.

They also discuss why trust is the foundation of a healthy culture, how leaders can create environments where people are willing to speak up and take ownership, and why difficult conversations are most productive when the goal is to be accurate, not simply to be right.

Together, David and Kerry offer a candid conversation about ownership, trust, feedback, and what it takes to build a culture where people are empowered to lead.