It's Accountability, Stupid!Accountability structures are the shortest path to success. Let me elaborate. I know why you are on this website and reading this page. You are here to looking for ideas and inspiration. I can guarantee that you will get plenty of both right here. The problem we all face is that ideas and inspiration are not enough. What ultimately matters is ACTION. As we know, everything is created twice, once in your mind and then in the real world. What connects the chasm between ideas and action? In my opinion, the shortest & the most efficient route from ideas to action is using an accountability structure. DefinitionThe classic example of an accountability structure is your typical job. Your manager assigns you tasks and holds you responsible to him or her. You report to them as you work on your tasks and they make sure you get them done in a timely manner (& earn your keep!).I have this fantasy of having a "personal manager". I have a million ideas going through my mind all the time and I would really like to implement many of them in real life. I would like to create more art and create a product line based on my art (t-shirts, posters, post-cards). I would like to produce my solo album. I would like to take my barbershop quartet to the Internationals stage. Why have I not been successful at these? I believe it is because I do not yet have accountability structures build around them. The problem with most projects related to personal growth (such as starting a new business or learning to play an instrument) is that there are no built-in accountability structures. No one cares if you don't learn to play the guitar as fast or as well as you could. No one cares if your side business is launched or not. This is precisely the kinds of projects where accountability structures mark the difference between success and failure. Get a coachThis is exactly what led to the genesis and growth of the field of personal coaching. Personal coaches hold you responsible to what you committed to doing. Working with a personal coach can be very powerful. After all you are paying them good money! A good coach keeps you on track and stops you from sabotaging yourself. I know this is what I need in my personal life and I intend to work with a coach in the near future.You can work with a coach in a group setting such as the Life Design course I did in 2009 with Jackie Woodside. Join a mastermind groupA Mastermind group is another example. Napoleon Hill first used this phrase in his best-selling book Think And Grow Rich . He wrote:No two minds ever came together without thereby creating a third, invisible, intangible force which may be likened to a third mind.In a Mastermind group everybody holds everybody else responsible. There is also a synergy of purpose and a pooling of resources. The goal is to support each other and keep everybody on track. It is usually, but not necessarily, used in the context of business. I sing in a barbershop quartet called Common Thread. Now that I think of it, a musical quartet is a Mastermind group! We sing our own part in (literal!) harmony with each other. And when we are doing it right, we do create an entity that has a life of its own. The whole is much greater than the sum of the parts! As I wrote in my June 2010 newsletter, I joined a Mastermind group focused on taking my online business to the next level. I will of course write about my experience here and also in my newsletter (have you signed up yet?). Onward and Upward!Looking back at my own life, here is what comes across to me: Practically all my personal achievements (from becoming a good singer to developing this website) have come from good accountability structures. Conversely, I have not achieved what I want to achieve because I did not have good structures in place. It is that simple. Stay tuned. The best is yet to come!Return to Know Thyself Return from Accountability to the Home Page
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