Quotes from Roger Connors

Do It step and achieving what you want: Trying is just not in the equation. It's all about doing.

What else can I do? are perhaps the five most powerful words anyone can say

fixing accountability will be the low-hanging fruit for optimizing performance in business for at least the next decade. Accountability

62 percent of respondents said that people often failed to stick to established deadlines, viewing them as general guidelines rather than must-do organizational mandates.

Thomas Edison not only failed his way to success, he insisted, "When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: you haven't." When

success springs not from some new-fangled fad, paradigm, process, or program but from the willingness of an organization's people to embrace full accountability for the results they seek.

The world's societies suffer from the current cult of victimization because its subtle dogma holds that circumstances and other people prevent you from achieving your goals.

risks must be taken . . . the person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing . . . he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live. . . . / only a person who risks is free." Taking

Management wizard Jim Collins, best-selling author of Good to Great and Built to Last, argues that what must glaringly separate great companies from mediocre ones is the latter's tendency "to explain away the brutal facts rather than to confront the brutal facts head-on.

Accountability is a personal choice to rise above one's circumstances and demonstrate the ownership necessary for achieving Key Results: See It, Own It, Solve It, and Do It.

at AES, the builder and operator of electricity-producing cogeneration plants, CEO Roger Sant implemented a "they busters" campaign with all the necessary buttons, posters, and flyers to help workers stop blaming the elusive "they" who always seem to stifle results. "They" represent all the finger-pointing, denying, ignoring, pretending, and waiting habits that grow up in organizations and keep people from taking charge of their own destinies.

In software, you don't want to release a huge chunk of code only to find out something's wrong with it. You release small bite-sized chunks so you can pick up problems quickly.

While losers languish Below The Line, preparing stories that explain why past efforts went awry, winners reside Above The Line, powered by commitment and hard work.

When you know you'll be facing yet another agenda with your name next to an action item, that kind of pressure will drive some very healthy accountable behavior.

To get Above The Line, and out of the blame game, you must climb the Steps To Accountability by adopting See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It attitudes.

Whatever the wording, all our justifications for failure focus on "why it can't be done," rather than on "what else I can do." To

He taught me the importance of commitment, of doing what you say you're going to do. It really isn't complicated. If you say you're going to do something, you do it. If you don't plan on doing it, then don't overcommit.

Jim Collins describes superior work environments this way: "When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results." We

Trust opens people up to give you the truth, rather than just telling you what you want to hear.

Getting everyone to set their expectations on how they will work together and consciously think about what it will take to create a high-performing team will yield huge dividends. To build team trust, make sure you talk about it. Personally

Asking, "What else can I do?" when you discover that you are wrong, in any situation or after suffering any personal setback, illuminates the path you need to take

When you guide and don't tell, people may fail a bit more, but they will also grow more, learn more, have more ownership, and bring more results to the company table." Give

If it can be done, then we'll do it. If it can't be done by us, then no one can do it." Self-Assess

The problem, however, is obvious: we all operate on limited information based on where we stand relative to the challenges we face. As a result, we rarely see the whole picture, relying instead on just our own bias and restricted point of view. Going