Page 280 - Fearless Leadership
P. 280

Chapter

                                           11



                      100% Accountability:


                   A New Canvas on Which



                          to Paint the Future





                     Destiny is no matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;
                   it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

                             —WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN (1860–1925)






                ccording to legend, in ancient Rome, engineers were compelled to
             Atake full accountability for what they built. As the scaffolding was
             removed from a new Roman arch, the lead engineer who built the struc-
             ture was required to stand beneath it. If the capstone came crashing down,
             he would be the first to know (this story illustrates an important point even
             though tenements in ancient Rome collapsed frequently). The point is that
             the Roman engineer knew he was 100% accountable for business results
             and his personal impact on at least one person. Millennia before President
             Truman popularized his famous leadership stand about where the buck
             stops, Roman engineers firmly grasped, “The capstone stops here.”
               Are you willing to stand under the arch you build and live up to your
             highest ideals? As a fearless leader you must “break the mold” on old think-
             ing and automatic behavior and propel the organization into a new game
             with new rules.
               This chapter brings together what you can do right now to transform
             yourself, your team, and your organization. The following actions do not


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