Rating: 
Summary: Reversing cultures of fear, blame, avoidance and dependency.
Review: Using the Wizard or Oz as a metaphor, the authors convey the idea that a culture of victimization weakens people. The power to overcome victimization and achieve success lies within oneself. For an organization to succeed, employees must become willing to accept individual accountability. The book provides an approach to changing individual attitudes and shows how individuals can implement leadership and a culture of accountability in their own organization. Key action steps of the principle in taking accountability are: see it (the issue); decide to own it; personally work to solve it; and individually commit to do it. This book zeros in on a crucial issue offering a pragmatic approach that links individual and organizational success. The idea of a culture of accountability can be seen as the flip side of the all-to-common cultures of fear, blame, risk avoidance and dependency.
Rating:
Summary: Doing the job and getting results should be the same thing
Review: When asked what their job is, most people will define it in terms of their title or as the list of activities they perform day by day. Never mind that despite all of their honest efforts, they may not be hitting their targeted results. Or worse yet, they may think that as long as they did their part, it doesn't matter that the team may have failed to achieve its goal.The OZ Principle encourages the reader to challenges that old belief and to take accountability not only for one's individual results, but for the the results of the team. It suggests that "reasons" become "excuses" when we stop trying to overcome obstacles and find solutions. The operative question becomes a mantra of sorts for the truly accountable person as he/she continues to ask, regardless of one's circumstances, "What Else Can I Do?" (to acheive the desired result). For those who habitually fall "Below the Line", and play the proverbial "Blame Game", this shift in attitude may be a hard pill to swallow. Coupled with the reality that those managers who play the wizards may either be expected to solve all of their people's problems, or may make the mistake of reliquishing their responsibility as coaches in the performance equation. Through a series of real life corporate case studies, The Oz Principle presupposes that, although it may be natural to point fingers, make excuses; to avoid or procrastinate, it is simply not productive. When an individual and/or a team achieves results, it is because they are operating most of the time "Above the Line", climbing the "Steps to Accountability" by finding ways to SEE IT, OWN IT, SOLVE IT, and DO IT. For those who need a dose of motiviation, the awareness of our "joint accountability" for results and the consequences for our accomplishments, or lack thereof, is enough to keep this reader striving to stay "Above the Line" I highly recommend this book for any front line employee, supervisor, manager, director, Vice President or CEO who cares
about not just doing the job, but getting the results.
| 
