Quotes About Accountability

Politicians today vow, "Never again!" But they will naturally focus only on dealing with a few scapegoats, not just because the system is harder to change, but also because if politicians traced the fault lines, they would find a few running through themselves.

At the end of all these years, it doesn't matter to me who thinks of me as what. What matters is whether I have done what I could and whether I had done something I shouldn't have.

Those who generate fog are Wizards of Oz hoping desperately that nobody pulls the curtain to reveal a trembling little writer behind it. This seldom happens. Readers who dare to point out that incomprehensible writing can't be comprehended risk being told that the problem is theirs.

Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for granting mercy. If you keep silent now you will be answerable for a great number of souls on that terrible day.

He will judge people on the basis of their response — or lack of response — to mercy. Those who presume on the mercy of God without repenting are "storing up wrath" for themselves

Power has to be insecure to be responsive.

There is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass.

Do not believe that possibly you can escape the reward of your action.

It is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself.

Blame is safer than praise.

Show me a man who has acted, and who has not been the victim and slave of his action. What they have done commits and enforces them to do the same again. The first act, which was to be an experiment, becomes a sacrament.

Wilt thou seal up the avenues of ill?Pay every debt, as if God wrote the bill.

Men's actions are too strong for them. Show me a man who has acted, and who has not been the victim and slave of his action.

To live without duties is obscene.

Wouldst thou shut up the avenues of ill, Pay every debt as if God wrote the bill.

There is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime and the earth is made of glass. Commit a crime, and it seems as if a coat of snow fell on the ground, such as reveals in the woods the track of every partridge, and fox, and squirrel.

You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong.

The leader must be in charge of getting things done by running the three core processes—picking other leaders, setting the strategic direction, and conducting operations.

Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, questioning, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.

Many business heads also feel that they're "going it alone"—they're receiving much less guidance from their boss than they did when they were functional managers.

Over the years I've asked many of them what was the greatest mistake they ever made in the area of people. The most common answer? "Waiting too long" to remove a direct report who was not matched to the job.

VIII A second dark spot, also growing darker, is the growing criminality of the political class. As

If the light of the sun is invisible to the owl it is only the fault of that bird and not of the sun.

Blame me not for my mistakes, for that's common, but surely do for my achievements which I'm equally unaware of.