Am I the only one thinking about accountability and repsonsibility as we watch and listen to the CEOs of the Big Three Auto makers literally plead with Congress to bail them out. It is very sad to me. I don’t know much about these leaders, I think they must be very well educated and have years of experience to be promoted to such positions, but what happened?
Accountability is described by Webster’s Dictionary as “Responsibility to someone or for some activity”. In every business, regardless what you do, you have responsibility to someone. Someone will hold you accountable for your actions. Who is holding these CEOs accountable? Is anyone? Are the stockholders?
I am just having a real hard time with this whole scenario. I am not sure how this will all play out but somehow I know, these three CEOs won’t pay as big a price as the auto workers and the tax payers.
Many great leaders in this country from Benjamin Franklin to Ronald Reagan understood accountability. Here’s what they said:
“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”
Benjamin Franklin
“We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
Ronald Reagan
and Steven Covey: “Accountability breeds response-ability.”
Stephen R. Covey
