Accountability: Freedom and Responsibility Without Control

by Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer

Book Overview

Authors Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer show how to transform a business by replacing the control and manipulation that typically characterize the workplace with personal accountability. The book helps... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157675183X
• ISBN13: 9781576751831
• Release Date: August 2002
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Whip to Wand

How exhausted are you with trying to hire and fire those who intend to take advantage of you? Are you tired of babysitting your staff? Do you waste your time making sure everyone is doing their job? Are you convinced it's the only way to run your business and get results? Are you open to a new way of being - one that most everyone involved with your company would appreciate and one that would free you up to do what it is you do best? Are you ready to enjoy having a staff that is accountable and happy? Then this book is for you and your entire company. Randy and Rob have paved the way to a concept that is not only exciting and timely but also crucial in this evolving age of consciousness.

A bright spot on a dismal horizon A bright spot on a dismal

In the morass of highly promoted, usually content-free "business books," In an area where we've all been let down by government agencies that don't protect us and corporate giants that inevitably flutter to the ground, there is a bright spot. Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer's Accountability there is the exception that proves the rule. A genuinely helpful easily read book. A book you won't forget. Accountability adroitly blends together economics, psychology, sociology and management into a coherent view that pinpoints the problem with "fad of the day" business "solutions" and returns to the basic molecules where business success or failure originate: the motivations of their employees.Accountability takes a lighthearted look at the poor long-term track record of control-oriented firms, and posits a carefully researched alternative, Freedom Based Thinking. Rather than starting with the premise that employees are both evil-intentioned and children in need of direction, Accountability focuses on helping workplaces develop Freedom Based Thinking that empowers everyone in a corporation to work as hard as they can, to establish their own performance standards, and mentor others.Accountability blends together the pioneering work of Edward Deming with years of careful research. Accountability provides a roadmap to transferring dysfunctional, control-oriented organizations into enthusiastic Freedom-based organizations. Far from a dry business book, Accountability's lessons are delivered as part of an ongoing narrative on board a transcontinental train. The storytelling genre results in a "fast read" book with lessons that will be imprinted on the reader's mind. Worksheets and resources help readers move on their own.Each year, numerous business "gurus" produce their biannual "salvation of the day," salvation books that may create great consulting contracts and keynote addresses, but do little to offer businesses long-term solutions. Accountability is the exception. No fluff, no empty promises, just "Freedom and Responsibility Without Control," and how to achieve it. Did I like this book? I tell my friends: I read it once, I read it twice, and I'm reading it again--and finding myself underlining different passages. Roger C. Parker

Now I see

I have just finished reading Accountability-Freedom and Responsibility without Control and now I understand why our valiant attempts at change were destined to fail. We tried everything to bring about alignment of mission, values, plans and effort: TQM, Empowerment and Outcome Driven Management were all "putting the cart before the horse." In spite of the fact that these were great creative and innovative ideas, none of these change initiatives worked because they all were an effort to impose accountability. Looking back, I now see that unless everyone is willing to take responsibility and to be accountable for his or her work without the controls we were trying to impose, accountability cannot occur. Lebow and Spitzer provide the "recipe" by which true Accountability becomes possible. I recommend the book to any organization that has struggled to make Accountability a reality.

Accountability That Sticks

What separates Lebow and Spitzer book from the rest is that it sticks with you. Is it true that experience is the best teacher? How many times have you read a book with seemingly good ideas, but the ideas never seem to get converted to the workplace? The unique dialogue in this book brings to life the characters in your world, including yourself. The way the book is written allows you to experience what the characters of the book are experiencing. And because you experience it, you own it. Everyday you can see the behaviors of the Lucys, the Yolandas and the Hanks of your organization. They are a real life reminder and a motivator to keep moving toward a freedom-based environment.The story of the worker at NASA has broken the log jam amongst my co-workers. It was an experience that many could relate too and has energizes our organization to address the concepts and principles so eloquently expressed in this book. Thank you for the creative genius of Lebow and Spitzer and the style in which they present their material.

Want to create a high performance business culture?

Accountability is an instructive, inspiring book, based on the simple truth, that people truly want, and need to be great. It clearly, concisely, and in an entertaining fashion, delivers leadership lessons that took years for me to learn.Accountability outlines the exciting potential offered by organizations that achieve a culture of "Freedom With Accountability". It also provides the specific steps to create that culture, where people come together to become a high performance, intrinsically motivated organization. I believe, like the authors, that organizations that can achieve this culture will have a long term, and sustainable competitive advantage, as a result of their ability to attract and keep the most motivated and creative talent.