Achieve with Accountability E-Book

Mike Evans

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 301

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE CATALYST THAT IGNITES: Accelerated Change, Robust Employee Engagement, Intensified Ownership, Relentless Perseverance, Impeccable Alignment, and propels individuals, teams and organizations to desired results. Accountability crumbles silos, boosts teamwork and collaboration, strengthens camaraderie, creativity, resiliency, agility, trust, and communication Achieve with Accountability presents a recipe for awakening the whatever it takes attitude to achieve what matters most to individuals, teams and organizations. Discover how to transform accountability into a positive, engaging and forward looking experience that will secure your position in the new world of work. Learn how to kick-start a revolution that will blast your team or organization to new heights of success. We are in a brawl with no rules, where the fast, flexible and agile will eat and spit out the slow, over-thinking and complacent. When you relinquish accountability you place your future in the hands of other people or events. It's only by taking accountability and ownership for our circumstances that we can achieve what matters most. Embrace the accountability fundamentals that have helped individuals, teams and organizations for years to achieve and exceed what matters most. With the world coming at us fast and furious every day, it's easy to feel like you've lost control of your own life, your team or your organization. By choosing to take and lead accountability you reclaim control and are able to direct your own destiny. * Develop the agility, flexibility and resiliency to adapt and thrive during constant change * Foster a can-do, resolute, solutions focus in the face of difficult challenges, obstacles and barriers * Eradicate the blame-game and vanquish excuse-making that stifles peak performance * Shed feelings of disarray, discomfort, apathy, entitlement, indifference and despair * Take control over your circumstances and achieve what matters most * Unleash voluntary contributions of discretionary performance that is often left untapped in individuals, teams and organizations * Establish unshakable trust and credibility Accountability is a current that feeds into the slipstream of success. Your performance, your decisions, and your results are all your responsibility; when you operate from that premise, magic happens. Achieve with Accountability shows you how to nourish that can-do mindset, so you can begin to achieve what matters most.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

The Author

Resources, Solutions, and Workshops

Preface: Taking Accountability

Why Accountability?

What Is Instigating the Call for More Accountability?

Chapter 1: Taking Accountability

Positively the Best Decision

Take Accountability or Blame? The Stakes Are High

The Magic of Taking Accountability

The Rewards of Taking Accountability

Accountability Accelerator

Shine the Spotlight on the One and Only

An Unexpected and Illuminating Discovery

Do They Know the Rules of the Game?

Chapter 2: Choices

Decisions Determine Destiny

Stay the Course—Avoid Drowning “Below the Water”

Beware of the Bell

Leading Accountability—It Is a Choice, and Everyone's Job

Where Do They Learn Those Things?

Words Are Cheap—The Actions We Choose Are What Matters

The Enemies: Justifications, Explanations, Reasons, Rationalizations, Vindications, and Excuses

Why Did Randy Cross the Road?

Chapter 3: Accountability—What Is It?

Once Defined, It Flows

Are You Fully Recognizing Your Realities?

The Eyes Have It

Have You Accepted Ownership for Your Realities?

Yoda—The Accountability Coach

Lessons from Hyrum

Solutions Abound

The Obvious Next Step

Chapter 4: Accountability Transcends

Powerful Shift in Perception

Cement the Focus

The Magical Mindset Shift

Lessons from the Marauders

Accountability Trumps Responsibility

To LAG or to LEAD

Chapter 5: The Preeminent Organization

Accountability Is the Catalyst

Shaping an Accountable Culture

Ignite Desired Accountable Behaviors

The Power of Genuine Appreciation

Culture: How We Do Things Around Here

Forging an Accountable Culture: Little Things Matter—A Lot!

Are the Experiences in Your Culture Nurturing Accountability?

The Relationship Triad: Experiences, Beliefs and Actions

You Alone Are Accountable for How You Are Perceived

Sustaining an Accountable Culture: Tune‐Ups Required

Accountability Tip: Do Not Shoulder Their Accountabilities

Do Not Dwell on Why: Keep Moving Forward

Accountability in Times of Change: Overcome Fear and Denial

The Pinnacle: The Accountable Organization

Live and Lead Accountably

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

Chapter 1: Taking Accountability

Figure 1.1 : Lack of Clarity: Consequences and Sampling of Root Causes

Chapter 3: Accountability—What Is It?

Figure 3.1 : Mountainview Enterprise's 4 Categories of Accountability

Figure 3.2 : Four Distinct Categories of Ownership

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Begin Reading

Pages

iii

iv

v

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

130

131

132

133

134

135

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

160

161

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

ACHIEVE WITH ACCOUNTABILITY

Ignite Engagement, Ownership, Perseverance, Alignment, & Change

Mike Evans

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright © 2017 by Mike Evans. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available:

978-1-119-31408-0 (Hardcover)

978-1-119-31410-3 (ePDF)

978-1-119-31409-7 (ePub)

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images

To Zack and Nick, my heroes.

The Author

Mike Evans has developed a unique perspective from working alongside a star‐studded list of world‐renowned thought leaders, including Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Stephen Covey, Tom Peters, Jim Kouzes, Hyrum Smith, Steve Farber, and Chris McChesney.

Mike served in senior leadership and consulting roles with Kotter International, FranklinCovey, and Tom Peters Company.

In addition to unleashing personal and organizational accountability, clients rely upon Mike's solutions to Accelerate Change, Shape Their Optimal Culture, Flawlessly Execute Key Strategies, Ignite Leadership Capacity at All Levels, and Amplify Employee Engagement.

He consults with senior teams, facilitates custom workshops, delivers keynote speeches, and provides coaching and consulting on all of these subject areas.

Mike has worked with organizations in virtually every arena, from the tech sector to financial services, manufacturing, health care, hospitality, entertainment, retail, and the US government. Clients include: Intel, Capital One, Apple, BP, BNY Mellon, Pfizer, The United States Navy, Fidelity Investments, Johnson & Johnson, Symantec, Cigna Corporation, Oracle, Astra Zeneca, Baxter International Inc., Shell Oil, Cargill, American Airlines, DuPont USA, and NASA.

His personal mission is to help individuals, teams, and organizations accelerate their ability to achieve more than they ever believed possible. Clients describe him as inspiring, motivating, and a ball of energy with an unequaled focus and passion for helping them achieve their desired results.

Reach Mike at: www.questmarkcompany.com [email protected]

Resources, Solutions, and Workshops

There is a reason that “accountability” continues to top the critical needs list of most organizational leaders. These leaders are keenly aware that accountability is the essential ingredient that allows individuals, teams, and organizations to soar and leave the competition in their wake.

Accountability helps individuals, teams, and organizations

Develop the agility, flexibility, and resiliency to adapt to constant change

Adopt a can‐do, solutions focus and resolute mindset in the face of difficult challenges, obstacles, and barriers

Eradicate the blame‐game and excuse‐making that stifles peak performance

Strengthen collaboration and teamwork

Shed feelings of disarray, discomfort, apathy, entitlement, cynicism, and despair

Cultivate a sense of control over your circumstances to achieve what matters most

Establish unshakable trust and credibility

Unleash voluntary contributions of discretionary performance that is often left untapped in individuals, teams, and organizations

Stimulate creativity and innovation

Flawlessly execute crucial strategies

Galvanize alignment and ownership

Ignite a desire to learn, grow, and improve

If you are interested in creating a highly accountable team or organization, Mike and QuestMark offer the following options and solutions:

Speaking

: Bring Mike Evans into your organization, your conference, or offsite event to keynote on: Accountability, Change Leadership, Culture Shaping, Exemplary Leadership, Flawless Execution, or Employee Engagement

Workshops

: Schedule an interactive, half‐day, one‐day, or multiple‐day onsite custom workshop for your team or organization:

Cultivate a Highly Accountable Team

Leading and Accelerating Change

Creating Your Optimal Culture

Flawless Execution—Achieve What Matters Most

Unleash Exemplary Leadership Capacity at All Levels

Consulting

: Hire Evans and QuestMark to advise, counsel, and coach your team. Integrate proven and pragmatic models, tools, methodologies, and principles into your leadership repertoire to supplement and enhance your current efforts.

To Learn More Visit: www.questmarkcompany.com or contact [email protected]

Preface: Taking Accountability

If Not You, Who?

Accountability continues to be a topic high on the list of interests of executives and organizational leaders. What we find more interesting is that accountability is just as high on the list of what employees want from their peers. Everyone wants more!

Accountability is the catalyst to accelerated change, robust employee engagement, intensified ownership, relentless perseverance, impeccable alignment, and it propels individuals, teams, and organizations to intoxicating heights of achievement and success.

Accountability crumbles silos, boosts teamwork and collaboration, strengthens camaraderie, creativity, resiliency, agility, trust, and communication.

Achieve with Accountability presents a recipe for awakening the belief, resolve, confidence, perseverance, determination, can‐do mindset, whatever‐it‐takes attitude, esprit de corps, drive, and creativity to achieve what matters most to individuals, teams, and organizations. Discover how to transform accountability into a positive, engaging, and forward‐looking experience that will secure your position in the new world of work. Learn how to kick‐start a revolution to achieve what matters most.

Why Accountability?

We are in a brawl with few rules, where the fast, flexible, and agile will eat and spit out the slow, over‐thinking, and complacent. In the past, change was episodic, transient, and gradual; now, change is constant as business, technology, and society itself continue to evolve at an ever more rapid pace. Individuals, teams, and organizations that fail to adapt will find themselves vulnerable, uncomfortable, and at the mercy of other people, events, or the competition.

With the world coming at you fast and furious every day, it is easy to feel like you have lost control of your life, your team, or your organization. By choosing to take and lead accountability, you reclaim control and are able to direct your own destiny, as well as the fate of your team or organization. Accountability is a current that feeds into the slipstream of success. Your performance, your decisions, and your results are all within your control; when you operate from that premise, magic happens. You deliver like never before because you are personally invested in the outcome. Achieve with Accountability shows you how to nourish that can‐do mindset so that you can start achieving what matters most. Accountability helps individuals, teams, and organizations

Develop the agility, flexibility, and resiliency to adapt to constant change

Adopt a can‐do, solutions focus, and resolute mindset in the face of difficult challenges, obstacles, and barriers

Eradicate the blame‐game and excuse‐making that stifles peak performance

Strengthen collaboration and teamwork

Shed feelings of disarray, discomfort, apathy, entitlement, cynicism, and despair

Cultivate a sense of control over your circumstances to achieve what matters most

Establish unshakable trust and credibility

Unleash voluntary contributions of discretionary performance that is often left untapped in individuals, teams, and organizations

Stimulate creativity and innovation

Flawlessly execute crucial strategies

Galvanize alignment and ownership

Ignite a desire to learn, grow, and improve

Individuals, teams, and organizations that are mired in the blame‐game, self‐pity, excuse‐making, cynicism, complacency, and apathy, and that lack alignment, engagement, and ownership to achieve what matters most, are in jeopardy. When you relinquish accountability, you place your future in the hands of fate. It is only by taking accountability and ownership for our circumstances that we can achieve what matters most. Today is the day to start owning your situation and take control—to orchestrate and realize the future you want.

Start believing in you, your team, and your organization. Embrace the accountability fundamentals that have helped individuals, teams, and organizations for years to achieve and reach beyond what they had believed was possible. The race is about to begin. Don't miss the starting gun while wallowing in the blame‐game.

What Is Instigating the Call for More Accountability?

There are myriad reasons individuals, teams, and organizations crave more accountability. Some that are listed below may strike close to home. What would you add to the list? What realities are you, your team, or organization faced with right now that heightened levels of accountability would be the ideal prescription?

Increased Competition

Commoditization

New Technologies

Increased Shareholder Demand

Pressure to Innovate

Shrinking Margins

Globalization

Talent Wars

Economic Downturns

Penetrating New Markets

Nonstop Change

Doing More with Less

Regulations/Legislation

Expansion

Brand/Reputation Management

Political Uncertainty

Winning in the New World of Work

For many of the reasons cited above, Beth and her leadership team of nine were always looking for a competitive advantage. So the opportunity to attend a forum with a world‐renown authority was a no‐brainer. Almost immediately, this guru captivated Beth's team.

He started with passion and energy, “The interplay of unstoppable forces that are creating the ‘Perfect Storm’ in the deep waters of commerce will sink organizations and individuals that are ill prepared, or that lose focus on what they have identified as most important.

“The white waters of change are unnerving for many. But the fact is they will only become more turbulent. For organizations and employees who are unprepared, the future will be devastating.

“The need for increased levels of personal and organizational accountability has never been higher. And that need will expand daily.

“Consider:

There are companies and entrepreneurs at this moment looking to reinvent the way your business is done. How many bookstores were wiped out because of Amazon.com? What happened to Kodak? Blockbuster? Sears? Woolworth's? Nokia? Rest assured there are some college students ensconced in a dorm room somewhere about to revolutionize your industry.

How many jobs have been expunged, teams eliminated, and firms driven to extinction due to ERP, SAP, the Internet, or White‐Collar Robots (e.g., Cash Machines). Blue‐collar robots came and triumphed. Are you, your team, and your company confident that the value you exhibit outweighs these options? What are you doing to take accountability for your future success?

MIT's No. 1 computer guru, Michael Dertuzos, said not long ago that India could easily boost its GDP by a

trillion

dollars in the next few years. How? By performing “backroom” white‐collar tasks for Western companies. He estimated that fifty million (white‐collar) jobs could be sucked from the West and transplanted to India, at less than half the cost. What are you doing to take accountability to make certain one of those jobs is not yours in the future?

It took thirty‐eight years for the radio to get to fifty million users. The Internet got there in four years. Change is coming at us faster than ever before. There is no time to rest on our success. Success often leads to complacency, and complacency kills. What is your plan to take accountability to keep up with the pace of change?

In his book,

Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life

, Alan Deutschman, cites that only one in nine people will make lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, etc.) after they are told they could prolong their life, restore their health, and even reverse diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Even when people know that these relatively simple changes can potentially save their lives, 90 percent choose to not take accountability to do so. Imagine the gargantuan task leaders face in order to create heightened levels of personal accountability for organizational objectives when only 10 percent of people will make simple changes to save their own lives.

Every job being performed by white‐collar workers employed in any corporation is also being performed by someone on the outside that can be hired as a consultant to do the same work, probably with higher quality, and at a lower cost. How are you, or your team taking accountability to make sure you or your department survives in the new world of work?

Whether individually, as a team, or organizationally if you cannot answer these three questions in a compelling manner, you are in trouble: What is the overt benefit I/we offer? What reasons can I/we point to as to why anyone should believe I/we are the best option? How am I, or are we, dramatically different from all other options?

The speaker paused, surveying his audience before driving home his final point: “Those who will survive and thrive in this new world of work are individuals, teams, and organizations who can maintain high levels of accountability, remain focused, and do whatever it takes to achieve what matters most.

“To take and lead accountability? If not you, who?”

Chapter 1Taking Accountability

Positively the Best Decision

Frustration and exasperation were escalating among Janet's team. Their attempts to heighten accountability to boost organization performance and achieve better results had negligible impact. In fact, there was a noticeable decline in morale, enthusiasm, and engagement, with a touch of resentment and irritation to boot.

Fierce competition, shrinking margins, pressure to innovate, new government regulations, and a downturn in the economy had Squire Medical on its heels. Squire Medical was losing ground to the competition at an alarming rate.

Clayton offered, “It seems our plan to instill a stronger focus on personal accountability has had little to no affect on achieving more accountability. If anything, we have created stress, anxiety, acrimony, bitterness, and tension among the workforce.”

The board of directors viewed Janet as an up‐and‐coming leadership superstar. They had seen her perform miracles in other roles over the previous two years and had confidence in her abilities to resurrect what was once an industry leader. Complacency, with a hint of arrogance, had thrust Squire Medical into a downward spiral. The competition was intense and the stakes were high. Employee morale and engagement were at an all‐time low. Top talent was leaving in droves and those remaining had little hope of things getting better. There was a very real possibility that the plug may be pulled and assets sold off.

“I agree with Clayton. I have observed the same reactions,” Janet said. “We must create a culture that is engaged, focused, resilient, innovative, and agile.

“I believe I may have a solution to jump‐start that journey. I had an epiphany last night while attending a Miracles for Kids meeting. Within our volunteer group it is commonplace that every member is passionate, engaged, committed, and energetic when asked to get involved with a project. Members leap at the opportunity to participate, take ownership, and accountability. Everyone involved voluntarily chooses to take personal accountability to achieve what matters most. There is an indestructible level of personal ownership among all involved, and nothing will deter the members from accomplishing the desired outcomes.

“Obstacles, challenges, and barriers are viewed as trivial and as minor bumps in the road on our way to attaining our goals. Excuse‐making, finger‐pointing, blame, and inaction simply do not exist. The group's desire, focus, determination, and can‐do mindset are unrivaled. With all of the external challenges we are faced with at this time, that same passion, zeal, and energy are paramount to our future success here.”

Not quite sure what Janet meant, Clayton asked for clarification.

“What I discovered,” Janet shared, “is that too often accountability is something that is addressed after the fact. Most often after a mistake is made, when somebody drops the ball or when someone screws up. So naturally in those circumstances, accountability is viewed as punitive, historic, focused on blame, and unpleasant. Far too many people hold a negative connotation or perception of accountability because of their past experiences.

“Think about it, when do you typically hear the question being asked, ‘Who is accountable?’”

Andrew, dripping with indignation, chimed in, “Usually after somebody makes a mistake.”

“Exactly! So, what are people really hearing when that question is asked?”

“Who messed up and who is to blame!” Andrew stated with a tone of disdain.

“And when they are really hearing ‘who is to blame,’ what do people tend to come up with?”

“A litany of excuses, stories, and reasons,” Andrew declared. “People spend more time explaining why something is not their fault than they do on finding a solution.”

“And time spent playing the blame‐game is not helping anyone,” added Janet. “And as we hear more excuses being offered, as leaders we often are mistakenly compelled to ask the question ‘who is accountable’ even more. Not realizing that we are reinforcing the prevailing perception many hold of accountability being a negative experience. The more we ask the question after the fact, the more we fortify that belief. It can become a hairy monster that cannot be stopped.

“I cringe when I hear someone say the words, ‘We need to make them accountable.’ It even sounds like a punishment. We need to flip this and create positive experiences with accountability.

“How much more effective would we be as an organization if every employee voluntarily chose to take accountability rather than being pressured to be accountable? We need to engage employees on the front end—before the results are in. Think about it, when accountability is positioned up front, people have the opportunity to get excited about the ability to help while there is still time to influence the outcome.

“Our folks want to succeed in the workplace. They want to make a difference, find meaning in their work, and contribute. For the most part, people are not stupid, lazy, or defiant. People crave to find significance in their work and to feel they are part of a team doing something worthwhile. We have plenty of talented, smart people here at Squire. We need to engage and energize them to take accountability on the front end as we define and declare our desired results. Asking ‘Who is accountable?’ once the result is in does not change the result. Leadership is about getting our folks to voluntarily choose to take accountability while they can still help shape the outcome.

“With this approach we will begin to create positive, engaging, and forward‐looking experiences around accountability, which I believe will result in employees exhibiting accountable behaviors.”

Janet challenged her team to create positive experiences around accountability by engaging employees on the front end. Instead of the after‐the‐fact experience of “Who is accountable for failing to achieve the result?” the question became “Who is accountable to achieve the desired results?” The second format captivates people because they have the ability to choose the appropriate actions that will positively influence and move the team closer toward the desired result. Positioning accountability before the results are in promotes a heightened sense of control, which in turn leads to increased productivity and when people feel they have control and are productive it bolsters self‐esteem, morale, and engagement.

This new focus on enlisting employees and creating ownership, energy, and passion preceding a clearly defined “must‐achieve desired result” had an immediate and noticeable impact. Janet's team observed a distinct shift in employee enthusiasm and willingness to voluntarily take personal accountability to achieve desired results. Accountability began to be viewed as something that was positive, forward‐looking, and energizing.

Engaging, aligning, and enlisting employees up front requires leadership traits that reside inside all of us. Exemplary leaders foster high levels of personal accountability in a variety of ways on which we will elaborate throughout this book.

The cornerstone, and most essential element, to cultivating soaring levels of personal and organizational accountability is communicating top priority desired outcomes so that they are unquestionably clear in the minds of every employee. As we will reveal in later chapters, explicit and precise clarity on desired results or expectations is not as common as many believe, and the implications are severe.

A very close second element is connecting to both the head and the heart of those involved. Individuals must not only understand the logic behind the desired result, they must also recognize how it will benefit them. How will it make their job better or easier? How will it help their team? The organization? Their career? Their family? How will it make their life better or develop them? What is it that will light the fire within and get them to voluntarily choose to engage? What is in it for them? Deprived of compelling answers to these questions, many employees select compliance instead of commitment. To thrive and excel in the new world of work demands leadership create waves of enthusiasm and commitment. Obedience and compliance are ingredients commonly found in failure.

Janet discovered that when leadership changes the way accountability is experienced that employees welcome and embrace the opportunity to contribute fully. She understood that nobody relishes being told, “I am holding you accountable,” “I am going to make you accountable,” “You need to be accountable,” or being asked “Who is accountable for this?”

The leadership team at Squire Medical attributed the shift in perception around accountability as a key component of revitalizing their culture. As they described it, they transitioned from a “have‐to” to a “want‐to” culture. What the team had described as a complacent, slow‐moving, apathetic culture had transformed into one dubbed as agile, focused, innovative, and opportunistic. This change ultimately allowed Squire Medical not only to strengthen their competitive position in the market, but also to once again become the recognized leader.

Take Accountability or Blame? The Stakes Are High

Lack of accountability can lead to dire consequences. Consider the following scenario that played out in the Pacific Northwest back in 1993.

In what many described as the most infamous food‐poisoning outbreak in history at the time, 732 people became seriously ill. Four children died and 178 others were left with severe injuries, including kidney and brain damage. Panic set in throughout the Pacific Northwest. Investigators quickly discovered that people had become stricken with the E. coli virus after consuming food from Jack in the Box.

As the story was reported, Jack in the Box chose to ignore Washington state laws stating to cook hamburgers to a temperature of 155 degrees to completely kill E. coli, and instead adhered to a standard of 140 degrees.

The company's almost unforgivable response was, “No comment.” That soon led to Jack in the Box blaming their meat supplier, Vons Companies, Inc. Vons, evidently, was in no mood to take that sitting down and in a variety of ways pointed the finger of blame at the meat inspectors.

The meat inspectors were all too willing to play the blame‐game and some declared that it was the fault of the USDA due to their inadequate number of inspectors. In testimony, some went as far as to blame Congress for not providing sufficient budgets.

On and on it went. No accountability. As a result of their refusal to immediately take accountability, and with their reputation tarnished, it took Jack in the Box years to recover financially.

Jack in the Box eventually became known as an industry leader in safety and health procedures because of changes throughout the company.

Flashback to Chicago a decade earlier. Seven people died after taking capsules of Tylenol that some lunatic had laced with cyanide. Hysteria set in worldwide.

Within 48 hours Johnson & Johnson not only recalled all Tylenol products from around the globe, they incinerated $300 million (estimated in today's dollars) worth of product. This took their market share from over 35 percent to rapidly approaching zero within 48 hours.

Many people would have given Tylenol a break. After all, Tylenol could not reasonably foresee something like this taking place. Instead, Johnson & Johnson chose the approach of taking accountability and ownership.

The company determined and believed they had not done enough to protect consumers. They adopted a steadfast mindset of “what else can we do to protect and keep consumers safe?” Within weeks following the tragedy they developed tamperproof packaging, which is still used today. In fact, if you have a headache today you need to plan three days in advance so you can figure out how to open the darn package. But at the time of this tragedy, they were the innovators with the concept.

Because of their accountable “what else can we do?” mindset Tylenol recaptured over 80 percent of their market only months following their launch of the revolutionary tamperproof packaging.

Take accountability and recover in two months? Play the blame‐game and recover in years? The choice is always yours to make.

These stories clearly demonstrate the power of taking accountability. The decision as to whether you take accountability is solely yours, your team's, or your organization's.

The Magic of Taking Accountability

It is essential and vitally important to understand that nobody can make any other person accountable. One can choose to take accountability and model it in hopes that others choose to do the same. But again, you absolutely cannot make anyone accountable. In fact, you cannot make any other person do anything. The choice to take accountability is personal. You either will take accountability or you will not.

Vanquish the phrase “make them accountable,” and any variation of that, from your vocabulary. You can, however, hold others accountable. And there are best practices associated with holding others accountable. We will address those later.

Let us experience both choices.

“Good morning. I'm here to pick up the truck I rented for today,” I offered to the inattentive employee seated behind the counter. As he grunted and reluctantly peeled himself from his chair and slowly moved toward the counter, I looked at my son who mirrored my expression of concern with what we both believed we were about to experience. “You Evans?” he mumbled, never making eye contact. “Yes. I called last night to confirm my reservation and to let you know what time I would be here to pick up the truck.”

“We talked to you five minutes ago to tell you not to show up because we don't got no truck for you.” Dumbfounded and with a look of confusion, I silently glanced at my son, wondering if I had missed something. From the expression on his face, it was obvious that Nick and I were on the same page.

Nick was always observant of the experiences employees create for customers. Even as a very young child he would ask me to take him to a specific Burger King over another one that was closer to home because he liked the way the employees treated customers at the store farther down the road. Nick has a penchant for engaged, upbeat, enthusiastic, accountable employees who display a can‐do mindset. Never one to openly judge, and always with kindness, fairness, and generosity in his heart, Nick developed a habit of closely examining the experiences employees created for customers. After quickly synthesizing an interaction he would then render a decision on whether or not he would want that employee representing his future company.

Without a word, we communicated to one another, “What on earth is this guy talking about?” We had left the house fifteen minutes ago. Nobody called the house before we left and my mobile phone never rang during the drive to the rental agency.

“I believe there is a misunderstanding. What is your name?” I calmly asked the employee.

“Arnie,” he shared.

“Arnie, I did not speak with anybody from your company in the last twelve hours. My last communication was yesterday, with you I believe, to confirm the reservation and the pick‐up time. We are ten minutes early. My phone did not ring and I have no message from anyone from your company. So, are you telling me that there is no truck here for me, or just not the one I wanted?”

Arnie, with a hint of disdain, uttered, “My boss talked with you and told you we got no trucks today. We told you not to show up.”

Knowing my son was watching me closely, I took a deep breath, looked at Nick, whom I could sense was anxious to see how I would respond. I took a few seconds, attempted to synthesize the series of events, and consider that perhaps I missed something.

Reminding myself to remain calm, I offered to Arnie, “I am 99 percent certain I did not speak with anyone from your company in the last ten minutes. If I did, and was told there was no truck, I would not have shown up. Do you have any trucks at all available today? We are moving a bunch of furniture into an apartment today and we need a truck. I'll take any truck you have.”

“Do you see any trucks in the lot?” Arnie sarcastically questioned with a strong dose of indifference.

I must admit, that caught me off guard and maybe in my younger years would have set me off. However, we acquire wisdom, patience, and grace as we age. “No, Arnie. I don't see any trucks in your lot. Is there anything you or your boss can do to help me? You do have other locations in the area, don't you? Can you check with them to see if any have the same type of truck I reserved?”

“We're a franchise. I don't know what other franchise owners have.”

“Would you call a few or maybe check on your computer to see if one of the other franchises in the area might have what I need?”

Without a response, acknowledgment, or eye contact, Arnie pulled out his cell phone and walked away. Nick and I looked at each other wondering if he was checking for us, was ordering lunch, or had just given up on us. Nick took on an expression of bewilderment. He jokingly declared that someone might be playing a prank on us. I asked Nick, “Is Arnie the type of employee you would want working for you?”

“My lord no,” Nick asserted. “He seems angry that we showed up, has no interest in trying to resolve the situation, has not offered any alternatives, is taking no initiative to accommodate us, and has pretty much called you a liar. He's blamed you and his boss for creating this situation. He's pathetic and I would never use this rental agency in the future. Why on earth the owner of this company would have him interfacing with customers is perplexing.”

After watching Arnie whisper into his phone in the back office for fifteen minutes he finally strolled out and ventured back to the counter. “Got a truck for you at the Moon Township location if you want it.”