Quotes About Responsibility

When Averell Harriman tried to console Churchill by saying that under the proportional representation system he would still have been prime minister, of a Conservative–Liberal coalition, he indignantly rejected the idea, saying, 'I will fight against the evils of proportional representation with all my strength,' and explained that democracy could succeed only if the people knew which party was accountable and responsible for the decisions taken in government

The interpretation Churchill gave to the obligations of aristocracy was that he and his class had a profound responsibility towards his country, which had the right to expect his lifelong service to it.

The temptation to tell a chief in a great position the things he most likes to hear is one of the commonest explanations of mistaken policy,' he later wrote in The World Crisis; 'the outlook of the leader on whose decisions fateful events depend is usually far more sanguine than the brutal facts admit.'45

Vanniv put a hand over his chest. "I don't know what you're implying, madam professor, but I have a strict 'no attacking cities' policy.

This was both unsettling, since I'd been duped, and a little comforting in that it took away some of my feeling of guilt for my actions. Ah, the sweet power of deflecting responsibility.

Words without action behind them are about as useful as an empty cup in the hands of a man dying of thirst.

Because if everyone in this world waits for another Hero to save them, I don't know if this world will survive. And if I'm content to wait and let another person risk their life for me, I don't know if I'm worth saving.

we confused the manager's general competence and maturity with his task-relevant maturity.

delegation without follow-through is abdication.

Middle managers are the muscle and bone of every sizable organization, no matter how loose or "flattened" the hierarchy, but they are largely ignored despite their immense importance to our society and economy.

A poor performer has a strong tendency to ignore his problem.

ask both the manufacturing and the sales departments to prepare a forecast, so that people are responsible for performing against their own predictions.

one of the manager's key tasks is to settle six important questions in advance: •  What decision needs to be made? •  When does it have to be made? • Who will decide? •  Who will need to be consulted prior to making the decision? •  Who will ratify or veto the decision? •  Who will need to be informed of the decision?

The output of a manager is the output of the organizational units under his or her supervision or influence

To use your calendar as a production-planning tool, you must accept responsibility for two things: 1.  You should move toward the active use of your calendar, taking the initiative to fill the holes between the time-critical events with non-time-critical though necessary activities. 2.  You should say "no" at the outset to work beyond your capacity to handle.

Because the art and science of forecasting is so complex, you might be tempted to give all forecasting responsibility to a single manager who can be made accountable for it. But this usually does not work very well. What works better is to ask both the manufacturing and the sales departments to prepare a forecast, so that people are responsible for performing against their own predictions.

How you handle your own time is, in my view, the single most important aspect of being a role model and leader.

Andy introduces management with this classic equation: A manager's output = the output of his organization + the output of the neighboring organizations under his influence.

When a person is not doing his job, there can only be two reasons for it. The person either can't do it or won't do it; he is either not capable or not motivated." This insight enables a manager to dramatically focus her efforts. All you can do to improve the output of an employee is motivate and train. There is nothing else.

In effect, the lack of a decision is the same as a negative decision; no green light is a red light, and work can stop for a whole organization.

But be sure to know exactly what you're doing, and avoid the charade of insincere delegation, which can produce immense negative managerial leverage.

In other words, one of the manager's key tasks is to settle six important questions in advance: •  What decision needs to be made? •  When does it have to be made? • Who will decide? •  Who will need to be consulted prior to making the decision? •  Who will ratify or veto the decision? •  Who will need to be informed of the decision?

Are you adding real value or merely passing information along? How do you add more value? By continually looking for ways to make things truly better in your department. You are a manager. The central thought of my book is that the output of a manager is the output of his organization. In principle, every hour of your day should be spent increasing the output or the value of the output of the people whom you're responsible for.

The subordinate did poor work. My associate's reaction: 'He has to make his own mistakes. That's how he learns!' The problem with this is that the subordinate's tuition is paid by his customers. And that is absolutely wrong.