Let’s start with some quick context on “accountability”.

Essentially, it’s the act of chasing someone up to make sure they did what they said they were going to do... It’s “holding them to account” for the things they have committed to.

And in my opinion, the best side of accountability to be on, is the side that is holding someone else accountable, because you have the power... do you agree?

... in reality, it’s the other way around!

The person with the most responsibility is the one charged with making sure it got done in the first place.

Easy enough to chase someone up and find they didn’t do it. Plenty of energy and excuses get thrown around when that happens. But challenge yourself on this small, but kinda everything point... what was it that you were counting on getting done and can you truly afford to waste more time without it?!

My bet is that you wanted it done for a reason. So the next question I have for you is this.

When something doesn’t get done by someone else who said they were going to do it. Rather than waste time and energy on that outcome... ask yourself: “What responsibility in that do I take and what do I need to do differently to get it done”.

The answer lies somewhere in the reason it was not done and often in the actual reasons that excuse is covering up.

Is it a “will” issue, or is it a “skill” issue?

Were they not motivated to get it done at all or did they lack the confidence or ability to do it to a standard they wanted to deliver.

In my experience, most of the reasons things arent being done is not because of a lack of intent of the individual. If it was intent that was the issue, in many cases, they wouldnt have committed to doing it in the first place! I find that there are reasons (not obvious) that caused the individual to avoid the task and as experts of social survival, they are incredibly good (almost expert) at devising a reason or excuse that would satisfy almost anyones mission of holding them accountable!

But I warn you. This ignorant management approach will only lead to further delays and excuses, it may even lead to complete avoidance and delaying tactics from someone generally pretty happy and engaged! You see, they need to protect themselves at all times from judgement and exposure, its instinctual and being vulnerable is not natural, especially if you dont feel safe to do so. Then net result? You dont get done what you really needed to get done and, in some cases, the individual disengages from other activities or even quits their job!

All of this could have been avoided if you re-framed the intent of accountability from the beginning. More so, anticipate a lack of skill and approach the accountability with support in mind to get it done.

Gone in 60 seconds - gone in 60 years.   I was recently talking to a manager of a small business. He told me that when the owner gets too old to run the shop he knows that the company will fold.  Now this is not a small outfit. They have quite a few employees so this will be a tragedy for all of the staff and their families and will ripple out to affect the wider community for years to come.  All of their past successes will be forgotten.  It is said that when even a small company like a corner store closes down it actually has a million dollars impact and this one is much bigger.

As human beings we all have similar needs. We all want to live, to love and to learn. But as we grow older there is another fundamental need which becomes more apparent. We want to leave a legacy.

There are 36,000 small businesses in Tasmania. Let’s leave aside the fact that there is no agreed definition of small business.  Do you define it by turnover or number of employees or some combination? It seems that nobody can agree. Let’s leave aside the “small” and look at the other word “business”.

Just because I am the director of a company and I am not working for someone else, doesn’t mean that I am actually running a business.  Many small businesses start because the founder has some technical ability and decides that they want to make a go of it. But that isn’t a business – that’s a job where the idiot you call the boss is yourself.

And here’s the important point. You can’t sell a job. A job gives you income but it is not an asset. You might have 10 people working for you, or even 200, but if everything depends on you then you don’t have a business. If you get too old, too sick or too tired to carry on, then nobody will be willing to buy your so-called business or if they do they will pay you a fraction of what it is really worth.  On the other hand whatever you think of their food McDonalds is one of the most successful businesses in the world and it’s largely run by 16 year olds.

A business, whatever its size, is a repeatable system.  It’s a consistent process that spits out value.  If the information about how it all works is inside your head it is not a system. You may know how it works but if you aren’t there then it will start to fall apart very quickly. McDonalds don’t invest in staff – they invest in the process. They make it their most important asset.  When a 16 year old walks out of McDonalds it is no drama.

Now this might all seem like common sense but there are thousands of people running businesses who assume that when they retire they can sell their business or pass it on to a family member. Their business is their super.  One of the impacts of the GFC is that many people deferred retirement. So around about 2018 there is going to be a crush of people wanting to sell their businesses as the baby boomers retire. Most of them will discover too late that their nest egg is worthless.

So what stops the owner of a business from doing a proper succession plan?  In a year or two any small business can transform itself provided there is the will to make it happen.  It’s not lack of knowledge, expertise or intelligence. It is something much simpler. When the business is your life what do you feel when it no longer revolves around you? Loss. Loss of purpose, loss of meaning, loss of respect, loss of identity, loss of self-worth. If you are no longer the person making it all happen, who are you?  For many people just the thought of that sense of loss is so challenging they put it in the too hard basket and soldier on.

However little do they know that if you make a succession plan and execute it that sense of loss quickly translates into something else, something which lasts – a sense of pride.  True happiness only comes when you do something that helps others. When you leave a legacy you move beyond the small world of me, myself and I, and enter a far bigger conversation, one that revolves around us.

And when that happens all the excuses that you give – nobody will do it as well as me, they aren’t ready, it’s not the right time etc. simply fade away.  Because now you realise that you can control the process, determine the timing and leave on your own terms. And once you leave there is nothing to stop you going out and doing the same thing all over again if you choose!

This blog was written by Bill Aronson. 

Here are some tips

1. If you are breathing then you are in the game.
2. You can watch. There is no obligation to turn up for life.
3. Everyone else is better than you in every respect but one. Use that.
4. Life is empty of purpose.  Create meaning with others.
5. The mind is not reality. It is a model created by senses and language. 
6. The foundation of language is metaphor.
7. You do not speak language, language speaks you.
8. Assume that thoughts probably don't arise in the mind but land there.
   
9. The game only becomes really interesting when you find your purpose.
10. This is not the truth.