How Did That Happen?: Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Principled Way

How Did That Happen?: Holding People Accountable for Results the Positive, Principled Way by Roger Conners and Tom Smith is my most recent non-kindle read book. I say that because this is a prime example of a book that's better on paper than on a kindle because I was constantly going back to previous pages, underlining, circling, and generally marking up the book. While I'm sure I'll get used to those things on a kindle, this book's scars from my reading and writing in it are proof enough that print isn't dead! The start of How Did That Happen?, where it talks about the title is a real eye-opener and a mindset changer. If I had to sum up the impact of the book in one line it would be way towards the front of the book where it suggests instead of looking at a problem or break-down of some sort and saying "How did that happen" we should ask "How did I let that happen?" Those two words are so powerful. It addresses where I so often see a breakdown in communication. That sort of personal accountability is, I believe, the hallmark of a good manager. If I find someone who does that automatically instead of blaming their employees, the weather, or the economy I'm thrilled and work hard to get out of their way and help them to be great. One of the breakdowns that hit home the closest was when a manager will give vague expectations, unclear boundaries of responsibility and authority, and accountability and then be surprised later when expectations aren't met. Without giving clear, concise, and measurable outlines of my expectations my employees will find it hard to NOT disappoint me. I will be setting them up to fail over and over again by my own carelessness. I can't recommend this book highly enough. I fully expect to see it in airports for years to come for business travelers to pick up and read on the way to wherever they're going.

Connors and Smith have done it again and added another weapon to the accountability arsenal. In The Oz Principle they helped us redefine our approach to personal accountability. In Journey To The Emerald City they outlined the process organizations need to take in order to manage culture to accountability. In this new offering they provide the tools to effectively manage the performance of those you work with. This book has application not only in the workplace but in our personal lives as well. I was somewhat surprised to find that I'm on the "coerce and compel" end of the accountability style stick although my family found this to be an effective evaluation much to my chagrin. Realizing this I learned how to effectively help those around me meet the expectations I have of them and create a better relationship with coworkers and family. I encourage anyone who's ever asked the question "How Did That Happen" to read this book and learn to ask instead "How Did I Let That Happen?" That mind shift might lead to better relationship not only in the workplace but on the home front as well.

I have been waiting for this book. I've always had trouble following up with my team without feeling like I'm nagging or don't trust them to do the job. This book provides language and a non-threating, easy to follow process that will be easy to sustain. This will even work on the home front!

I read this book thinking it would be your typical management/leadership book, but boy was I wrong. The authors do an excellent job of not just talking about principles of accountability, but they offer assessments and models that help the reader begin to become more accountable right away. This was my kind of book and one I would recommend to my friends.

The Good: Provides managers and workers with models, self-assessments, charts, and lists to create and maintain an accountability sequence to establish accountability expectations and managing unmet expectations. The Bad: Initially mundane, but How Did That Happen quickly turns a corner, becoming compelling as you find yourself doing mental checks to see if you've properly set expectations with your workers to instill accountability. Action Item: Managers should buy this book to learn how to establish expectations of accountability and how to manage unmet expectations. Knowledge workers should also buy this book to understand how they can become a high performer, using the accountability models, self-assessments, and lists from this book as they develop their skill set. Beyond The Oz Principle and Journey to the Emerald City: Connors and Smith's first two books are required management readings. Over the past twenty years, managers have learned some of the fundamentals of management in The Oz Principle and Journey to the Emerald City. The Oz Principleteaches steps to accountability that establishes the necessary foundation for organizations to build an accountable workforce. Journey to the Emerald Cityexplained the path organizations must take to create a culture of accountability. Like any good trilogy, How Did that Happen completes the accountability storyline by teaching managers how to hold people accountable for results. As new managers and workers come into organizations, getting results through accountability is a repeatable process, one that must be vigilantly assessed and reassessed to achieve results year after year. In this book, Connor and Smith developed an easy to learn, but comprehensive model to explain what accountability is, why it may be lacking, how to create it, and how to manage it. How Did that Happen teaches "The Accountability Sequence." It's an ideal approach for organizations to create accountability for achieving results by holding others accountable in a positive, principled way. It teaches how to enable people to fulfill the expectations you have for them, while concurrently building a positive Accountability Connection. Below are the highlights of The Accountability Sequence: * How to apply the Accountability Sequence Model to day-to-day accountability interactions with others * How to use your Accountability Styles and hold others accountable in a positive way * How to establish expectations that people want to fulfill * How to manage unmet expectations and have the Accountability Conversation that leads to better, and more consistent results from the people on whom you depend * How to establish positive Accountability Connections with everyone in your Expectations Chain * How to improve your ability to hold others accountable in a way that motivates and produces results How to Hold People Accountable for Results: How Did that Happen initially is bogged down in explaining why accountabi