In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker reluctantly agrees to "try" to salvage his spaceship. The Yoda replies, "Do or do not. There is no try." The authors of this book agree with the Yoda. They suggest that responsible managers insist on achieving results. While chairman and CEO of Pier 1 Imports, Clark Johnson observed that he always encouraged effort but only rewarded performance. Johnson may not have read this book but he certainly agrees with the key points its authors make. In Chapter 1, they revisit and redefine the concept of responsibility. In subsequent chapters, they discuss a leader's responsibility to the customer, to the organization, and to everyone within the organization. They view the responsible manager as a problem solver and, in Chapter 5, provide a problem-solving approach "that works." They then shift their attention to "Getting the Right Answer" and "Getting the Right Result." For the authors, judgment is the foundation of responsibility. They also assert, in Chapter 9, that there is "a rationale for teams that work" and then explain what that rationale is...also, what it requires of everyone involved. In Chapters 10 and 11, they answer two key questions: How to design an effective team? and How to maximize productivity among the members of a team? In the final chapter, the authors explain what is needed to keep responsible change alive.
According to the authors, "most change efforts fail because of an inadequate understanding of what produces value in the business or of how human beings change." They then offer eight specific reasons why change efforts fail:
1. We like to feel good. [change threatens comfort levels]
2. No top leadership support [if "they" don't care, why should anyone else?]
3. Change efforts do not address the whole system [a fragmented approach tends to focus on symptoms rather than on causes]
4. We hide failure [success is reassuring...failure could involve blame and guilt]
5. Misunderstanding of what has changed [See #3]
6. Too few understand the rationale for change efforts [ie those who are expected to support change initiatives are not told how and why their support is so essential]
7. Neglect of transition [failure to understand that change is an incremental process, not a quantum leap from "here" to "there"]
8. There is no structure for change [within the organization, there are no policies and procedures to resolve the conflict between "what is done now" and "doing better"]
Hence the importance of having a sense of responsibility to help solve problems shared by everyone, of having patience during the inevitably slow process of organizational change, and of having self-discipline throughout that challenging process. The authors correctly point out that (1) "everyone must be willing to carry his or her share of the load", (2) "Sustainable efforts take two to three years but result in dramatically more healthy and more exciting organizations", and (3) "The discipline of change refers to the regularity with which change is pursued as well as emerging skills that are developed through devotion to change." A responsible leader understands all this, conducts herself or himself accordingly, and requires everyone else to do so also. Working together, they identify problems and then solve them. "There is no try...." and excuses are unacceptable.
One final point: Recent research suggests that by 2025 at the latest (but probably much sooner), organizational rewards will be completely based on performance. To varying degrees, responsible leaders have been supporting that policy for decades.
Accountability for results is key
A Different Perspective on "Entitlement"