In The Oz Principle, Connors, Smith, and Hickman brilliantly use the analogy of "The Wizard of Oz" to discuss a business philosophy aimed in propelling individuals and organizations to overcome unfavorable circumstances and achieve desired results. This philosophy can be encompassed in one word: ACCOUNTABILITY.
The eponymous principle builds upon the ethos of personal and organizational accountability. It explores the root cause of an organization's impediments to exceptional performance and productivity, and provides great insight on how to re-establish a business from the bottom up, emphasizing on the thin line that separates success from failure. The Above The Line, Below The Line methodology is the driving force behind The Oz Principle.
The Oz Principle: Getting Results through Accountability
Just like Dorothy's search for the Wizard of Oz for enlightenment, individuals and organizations also seek out the wizard that will save them from the maladies that afflict their workplace. However, the wizard is just a distraction, bearing new-fangled business philosophies and management fads that will only create a layer atop the ugly truth that needs to be revealed. When the core problem is not addressed, the ills will eventually resurface and the business is back to its sorry state.
Victim Thinking or Failed Accountability
When a company suffers from poor performance or unsatisfactory results, individuals from top management all the way to the front line begin finger-pointing, forming excuses, rationalizing, and justifying, instead of doing something to alleviate the situation. They foolishly profess that the circumstances have made victims of them, that the events are completely out of their control, and that they shouldn't be blamed for the company's current problems. It's always something or someone else, never themselves.
Above The Line, Below The Line
A thin line separates failure and success, greatness and mediocrity.
Above The Line, you'll find the Steps to Accountability which include in chronological order: See It, Own It, Solve It, and Do It. The first step, See It, means acknowledging the problem; to Own It is to assume responsibility for the problem and the results; Solve It means to formulate solutions to remedy the situation; and, as a culminating step, Do It commands the practical application of the solutions identified.
Below The Line is where the self-professed victims play
The Blame Game. Here, crippling attitudes such as Wait and See, Confusion/Tell Me What To Do, It's Not My Job, Ignore/Deny, Finger Pointing, and Cover Your Tail are rampant. Though majority of the people found in this dimension are weak in accountability, this does not mean that very accountable individuals are exempt from falling Below The Line. They, too, slip every now and then. The only difference is that they know how to get out of the rut.
A Simple Solution to Victimization
Individuals and organizations Below The Line languish in self-pity until they get trapped in the "I Am a Victim" mind-set and find it hard to break free from the vicious cycle. Accountability offers a very simple choice to make, albeit a difficult one to act upon: "You can either get stuck or get results." So stark in its simplicity that most people fail to realize that the ball has always been in their court.
The Power of Individual Accountability: Moving Yourself Above The Line
The first step to accountability is recognizing the problem. It takes great courage to admit that you are stuck in a difficult situation. Most people, however, fail to view reality the way it is because they choose to ignore it or they accept the situation as the status quo and go along with it.
To commence the march up the Steps to Accountability, you must first muster the courage to: a) recognize when you fall Below The Line; b) realize that remaining Below The Line not only ignores the real problem but leads to increasingly poor results; and c) acknowledge and accept reality as the first step toward taking accountability.
Mustering the courage to See It will lead to the next step, Owning It. Here, you must have the heart to own the circumstances you've recognized in the See It step as well as the results that will come from the course of action you plan to take.
"What else can I do to rise above my circumstances and achieve the results I want?" That is the question to continually ask yourself when you find yourself stuck in a stubborn situation. Apart from creating solutions, Solving It also involves foresight in determining the worst possible scenario that can happen, and being prepared to battle it head on.
Having solutions is not enough if you neglect practical application. You can't Do It unless you make yourself accountable not only for immediate circumstances but also for future accomplishment. With this, you are empowering not only yourself but also your organization.
It's so easy to be pulled back Below The Line, especially if you don't accept full accountability for the situation and the future. A lot people are afraid to become accountable because they fear the risks associated with it. However, know that without taking the big leap, you will never get anywhere.
By: Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla
Regine Azurin is the President of BusinessSummaries.com, a company that provides business book summaries of the latest bestsellers for busy executives and entrepreneurs.
http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs
Mailto: mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com
BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.
(c) Copyright 2001- 2005 ,BusinessSummaries.com - Wisdom In A Nutshell
Alan Heywood writes a stimulating, though sometimes improbable, adventure novel... Read More
The Storyteller New Book Offers Supernatural Tales Involving Everyday PeopleMartha... Read More
There has been a lot of publicity lately centered on... Read More
A missionary and his family were forced to camp outside... Read More
America´s 220 years of Democracy (of its 400 years) is... Read More
"Druxel Manor is a stimulating thriller-mystery-romance novel that keeps the... Read More
"The dedication in this book is a work of poetry... Read More
This modern, aristocratic book portrays real-life events and how hard... Read More
In his book, "Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a... Read More
The Leadership Pill is another volume for those of you... Read More
The Surgeon grabbed me and kept me reading. The suspense... Read More
Title: Critical Condition: How Health Care In America Became Big... Read More
Tom Peters crafted a moving, educational animal adventure story in... Read More
Marone Memoirs ? An immigrant Story by author Sarah E.... Read More
For those of you who've been on another planet for... Read More
We are all "self-employed" now.Today there is absolutely no job... Read More
You look at the salesletter and the price tag ($8.95... Read More
"Fern's Dragon is a wonderfully fun read that stimulates the... Read More
Dr. Frankel clearly identifies the common mistakes ?101 in all-that... Read More
The Review Diaries "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy... Read More
The Joy Of Dating Again is designed to be a... Read More
THE MORAL OF THE STORYLou Dubose and Jan Reid's new... Read More
"Within the first few pages, I was engrossed and deeply... Read More
Explore what goes into a company's transformation from mediocre to... Read More
Win-Win Partnerships ? Be on the Leading Edge with Synergistic... Read More
Jack Welsh, the recently retired CEO of General Electric, presents... Read More
Businesses are run mostly on auto-pilot and any problem areas... Read More
EMPOWERING TEENAGERSFrom a new book: "Adolescence is a difficult period,... Read More
I have decided to start with this text as simply... Read More
"Action, thriller and humor ? this book has it all!... Read More
Ever wonder why most small businesses-- no matter how huge... Read More
Primal leadership takes center stage in this book. This concept... Read More
When the topic of family history comes up, where do... Read More
Description:Intense action and gripping suspense characterize the seemingly real story... Read More
Oswald Spengler predicted a protracted winter in The Decline of... Read More
The Joy Of Dating Again is designed to be a... Read More
Never Fry Bacon in the Nude (And Other Lessons from... Read More
This land is my memories. For two thousand years this... Read More
"Retired professor of Microbiology, Harry Gilleland certainly has a variety... Read More
Percival Everett's Erasure takes a look at how racism affects... Read More
Retired police captain, Marshall Frank, has written another excellent read... Read More
John C. Maxwell is back again in Thinking for a... Read More
The Wal-Mart Decade: How a New Generation of Leaders Turned... Read More
The Big IdeaA lot of people consider selling a very... Read More
I dreamed since I was fourteen years old to spend... Read More
Moon Child by Simone Maroney is a larger sized adventure,... Read More
The City of Los Angeles Storm Water Program has recently... Read More
"Silent Lies is an action romance saga, that takes the... Read More
Geeks & Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape... Read More
This beautifully laid out trade paperback has a gorgeous and... Read More
In James Martell's Affiliate Handbook, he mentions that he focuses... Read More
Excerpted from the book "Your Right to Be Beautiful: How... Read More
Reality Checked ? Life through Death, is a moving saga... Read More
It is hard to specify exactly what genre Larry Roth's... Read More
It is rare to find a brand new blueprint for... Read More
Whether you are an experienced air traveler or a novice,... Read More
Author Joseph Yakel presents his own blend of humor and... Read More
"The dedication in this book is a work of poetry... Read More
I've discovered a new favorite author, and his name is... Read More
The black widow spider is notorious for eating her mate... Read More
You look at the salesletter and the price tag ($8.95... Read More
Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins: How Incompetence Tainted an American Icon... Read More
As of August 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA)... Read More
Alan Heywood writes a stimulating, though sometimes improbable, adventure novel... Read More
THE MORAL OF THE STORYLou Dubose and Jan Reid's new... Read More
To achieve great things, you need a team. Building a... Read More
Book Reviews |