March 2006

Inductees into the Hall of Blame                                           March 2006

Listen! Can you hear it? There is someone around you not taking the blame for something in their life. In fact, you hear it everywhere you go. The sales department blames the operations department for under-delivering. The operations department blames the sales department for over-promising. The employees blame the boss for not providing enough direction. The boss blames the employees for not listening. The blame never ends. It seems as though everyone is striving to be inducted into the Hall of Blame.

In fact, those people responsible for marketing products to us know we don't like to take responsibility for our actions. Not long ago I was watching television and heard the most wonderful news. The person on the screen said, "If you're overweight, it's not your fault."

Wonderful news! All this time I thought it might have something to do with all the food I cram in my mouth, or maybe a lack of regular exercise. You can just imagine how thrilled I was with this news. In fact, I was so thrilled I jumped up out of my chair and headed to the computer to do a little research.

With my king-sized bucket of fried chicken and 64 ounce soda in hand, I made a few clicks and got even more encouraging news. According to the website of the company I just saw on television, I didn't need to be personally accountable for being overweight at all. In fact, the company indicated, "a bulging midsection is not your fault ... it's the harmful combination of everyday stress, overeating, and excess cortisol, all conspiring to keep you overweight, tired, and thick around the middle. But now you can beat stress-reduced belly fat with ... "

Enough! I couldn't stand it anymore. If I'm breathing, I probably have everyday stress. If I'm overeating, it's my fault! No one has ever held me down and shoved food in my mouth! It's my fault! Stop giving me an out!

You see, marketers have seen how much we dislike taking responsibility for our own actions, and they're successfully using it to sell their products and services. This unwillingness to take responsibility in our personal lives gets drug to work with us everyday. Without a culture of personal accountability, we will be looking for a place to blame others for our mistakes.

As employers and parents, we have a responsibility to build a culture of personal accountability. While taking responsibility for our own actions is a personal decision, there are several things to keep in mind to build personal accountability into the organization, including:

The example must come from the top

Employees look to the leadership of the organization for the level of personal accountability they will follow. If the leaders of the organization aren't willing to take responsibility for their actions, then employees likely will follow that example. The same holds true for parents and children. Children look to their parents to set the standard. If you regularly place the blame on others and your children witness it, they're likely to do the same.

Make it safe to admit mistakes

Beyond the personal shame in admitting we've done something wrong, many people seek to place the blame on someone else because they believe an admission of error could result in a loss of their job. As long as employees don't trust the leadership of the organization when they're told it's alright to make mistakes as long as they learn from them, a culture of blame will continue.

Be on the lookout for victim thinking

Many people are running from responsibility at work while simultaneously running from responsibility at home. Life is throwing us curve balls every day, and taking personal responsibility is simply about making a choice. We either choose to be responsible, or we choose to be a victim. In their book The Power of Personal Accountability: Achieve What Matters To You, Mark Samuel and Sophie Chiche point out that accountability is an option when life presents us with challenges. In the book they write, "When you respond with accountability, you go on anyway, move forward, and achieve your goals in spite of your circumstances. When you respond as a victim, you begin a downward spiral that moves you further and further away from your goals." Well said.

It doesn't matter how large or small your organization is. If you work in a large organization, you are required to work with other employees. If you work on your own, you are required to work with vendors and clients. This sort of teamwork requires accountability. Based on the blame-oriented society in which we live, a culture of personal accountability must be built within our organizations, at work and at home. I, for one, have no desire to see my picture on the wall as an inductee into the Hall of Blame. I hope you join me.

Enthusiastically, 

Clint Swindall - President & CEO

*Book Review

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, by John Miller

As promised, I will share with you each month a book I've read lately that I think can enhance the way you lead yourself and those around you.

This month I would like to share with you a book written by a fellow professional speaker, John Miller. In his book, QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, John shares with readers his thoughts on personal accountability. He recognizes how most people are constantly redirecting blame to others, and encourages readers to look for the "question behind the question". In other words, instead of asking, "When are they going to hire more people around here?", the QBQ requires us to ask something like "What can I do to be more successful with the staff we have in place?" The book provides a practical method for putting personal accountability into daily action.

As I mentioned last month, I'm a big believer in the simplicity of success. As we spend way too much time trying to find new ways to be successful instead of getting good at the basics, QBQ! The Question Behind the Question is a great example of how we can take some basic ideas and use them to enhance our personal and professional lives.

*Tell Me Somethin' Good! Merchandise

Be an Inspiration to Others

We live in a world that has no shortage of negative messages. The response to the Tell Me Somethin' Good! message has been incredible. Help spread the inspirational message to your family, friends and colleagues.

*Quotes

Inspirational thoughts

“To succeed as a team is to hold all members accountable for their expertise.”
- Mitchell Caplan

"The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood under the arch."
- Michael Armstrong"Some favorite expressions of small children: “It’s not my fault. . . They made me do it. . . I forgot.” Some favorite expressions of adults: “It’s not my job. . . No one told me. . . It couldn’t be helped.” True freedom begins and ends with personal accountability."
- Dan Zadra

*Question to Ponder

Some time to think

Spring is upon us. Last week I looked out my window and realized my dormant yard was beginning to produce hints of life with its green blades. For some people, that’s a horrible sight because it means continuous yard maintenance is around the corner. But for me, I love it because my wife and I love to spend time in the yard.

In anticipation of this spring’s activities, I headed to the garage to ensure I was properly prepared. Fertilizer spreader. Check. Shovels, rakes, etc. Check. Ant killer (we live in Texas). Check. All the supplies seemed to be good to go.

Now it was time to check anything with a gas- powered motor. Leaf blower. Fired right up. Weedeater. Fired right up. Lawnmower. Didn’t fire up. I let it sit for a while and tried it again. Didn’t fire up. I was furious.

My first reaction was to blame the lawnmower. It’s practically brand-new. I just bought it last year. How could it not work? It must be the manufacturer. It must be the guy who sold it to me. It must be the parts.

That’s the natural thing to do when something doesn’t work. Find someone or something to blame. But when I write about personal accountability in this newsletter, I’m talking about asking ourselves what we could have done differently to get a different outcome. In the case of my lawnmower, I stopped and asked myself, “What could I have done to ensure it would have started this season?” The answers were obvious. I could have drained the gas from the lawnmower last fall. I could have gone out to the garage and started it every week so it wouldn’t have a chance to sit so long. I could have called the John Deere dealer and had them come out to start it!

You see, when I looked at this situation from a position of personal accountability, I realized it wasn’t the manufacturer. It wasn’t the guy who sold it to me. It wasn’t the parts. It was me. By taking personal accountability for the situation, I’ve prepared myself to not make the same mistake twice.