To Own Nothing Is to Be Owned by Nothing

“To own nothing is to be owned by nothing.” – Dan Sanker

When I first said this in an interview in 2010, I wasn’t advocating for minimalism or telling everyone to sell their stuff and live in a van. I was talking about how ownership—of assets, ideas, and even goals—can hold businesses back.

That may sound counterintuitive, but I’ve built two companies, CaseStack and SupplyPike, on this very principle. Instead of hoarding resources, we focused on collaboration, access, and shared networks—and it worked. CaseStack disrupted logistics before being acquired, and SupplyPike is empowering suppliers through data and automation.

I didn’t just write about this in Collaborate: The Art of We—I lived it.

The Smartest Companies Own Less, Scale More

You don’t get ahead by owning more—you get ahead by owning less:

? Uber doesn’t own cars.

? Airbnb doesn’t own hotels.

? Amazon doesn’t produce most of its products.

? Tesla gave away its EV patents.

They ditched ownership in favor of access, and now traditional businesses are scrambling to keep up.

Why Chasing Goals Can Backfire

Dr. Kenneth Stanley, an AI researcher, argues in Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned that obsessing over objectives can actually block innovation.

? AI and deep learning didn’t come from one master plan—they emerged through open-ended research.

? Some of the biggest discoveries—penicillin, X-rays, and microwaves—were complete accidents.

Planning is great. I’m a huge fan of the objective, goals, strategy, measures model (OGSM), but if you’re too fixated on the steps in the path, you might miss the big idea.

Creativity Dies When Everything Becomes “Content”

Writer Anya Raza captured this perfectly:

“There is this strange thing that happens to adults where the notions of play and art and creating and crafting and doing beautiful things for the sake of it, for no larger inherent purpose… that goes away. Because there’s an expectation of productivity. There’s an expectation that anything you do can be commodified.” – Anya Raza

We’ve all seen it:

? Writers stop telling stories and start “producing content.”

? Musicians optimize for streams instead of making great music.

? Entrepreneurs chase investors instead of building something real.

If you’re only creating for an outcome, you’re missing the point.

Final Thought: Success Comes from Sharing, Not Hoarding

“To own nothing is to be owned by nothing - Dan Sanker”

That doesn’t mean rejecting success—it means redefining it.

? Kenneth Stanley showed that some goals are better left unscripted.

? Anya Raza reminded us that creativity suffocates under constant direct monetization.

And today’s biggest companies? They win by owning less and enabling more.

What do you think? Drop a comment—I’d love to hear your take.

By Dan Sanker, Entrepreneur & Author of Collaborate: The Art of We