The Oz Principle Blog

The exchange of ideas has become crucial in the majority of today’s work environments. Why? Change is accelerating. Information is proliferating. Product life cycles are shortening. Agility in execution is intensifying. Innovation has become a precondition for sustainability. The maximization of idea-sharing, at all levels, allows organizations to become flatter, more agile, and less dependent on hierarchy, which in turn promotes commitment, self-management, innovation, collaboration, and learning. Consider how one corporate icon does it.

With millions of employees and hundreds of billions in revenue, Wal-Mart manages to share ideas of every kind at every level in its organization. At weekly merchandise meetings employees, called associates, are encouraged to share their ideas openly and with passion. Every idea counts and is taken into consideration. On Saturdays there’s more sharing of ideas, information, and knowledge, along with informal entertainment. Every day in the stores, associates are encouraged to look incessantly for ways to improve the operation. Sam Walton’s legacy of rules, ten of them, still guides the global retailer; here are two of them that address idea-sharing:

• Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners. The more they know, the more they’ll understand. The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them. If you don’t trust your Associates to know what’s going on, they’ll know you don’t really consider them partners.

• Listen to everyone in your company. Figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front lines—the ones who actually talk to the customer—are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there. You’d better find out what they know.

Sharing ideas of every kind at every level is a way of life at Wal-Mart and the results are obvious. Not only has Wal-Mart revolutionized the retailing industry, it has become a model of successful management throughout the world. Without question, sharing ideas openly and actively throughout an organization is one of the best ways to build accountability, commitment, and greater collaboration.

Are ideas, information, and knowledge shared actively and readily within your organization? To learn more about turbo-charging the exchange of ideas throughout your organization, we invite you to join the Accountability Community at www.ozprinciple.com.

Accountability Community is a registered trademark of Partners In leadership Inc.

Are there people inside your organization that do not receive the respect they deserve? Are there people outside your organization—vendors, suppliers, partners, communities, customers, or other stakeholders—that likewise fail to receive respect from your organization? If so, why? What about the people who report directly to you? Are any of them respected more than others? If so, why? Are you respected by your peers and leaders? When did you last feel seriously disrespected? What did you do about it?

Consider Procter & Gamble, a company that regularly graces Fortune’s most admired company list. Through ups and downs, this well-known consumer products company has maintained the respect of millions of people throughout the world. One of the main reasons is P&G’s own profound respect for individuals. Flowing from P&G’s purpose to “Provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the world’s consumers” are key principles and values of the Procter & Gamble culture and work environment. These principles are as follows: 1. We show respect for all individuals; 2. The interests of the company and the individual are inseparable; 3. We are strategically focused on our work; 4. Innovation is the cornerstone of our success; 5. We are externally focused; 6. We value personal mastery; 7.We seek to be the best; and 8. Mutual interdependency is a way of life.

One of the important benefits of taking accountability for respecting individuals and their individuality is an unusually high level of trust that facilitates astonishingly open and candid discussions about mistakes, learning, failures, and how to foster improvement. Think about it. “See It” is the first step Above The Line. To learn more about how to build greater respect for individuals and individuality in your organization, we invite you to join the Accountability Community at www.ozprinciple.com.

Let’s begin the year by restating our premise: when you get accountability right, everything else is likely to go right. Execution, critical communications, trust, teamwork, leadership, change… name the organizational imperative and you will find accountability at the heart of the effort. Get accountability wrong and pay the price in missed deadlines, poor delivery and bad results.

On February 16, 2012, Partners In Leadership brings you a new suite of training curriculum for The Oz Principle Self Track Training, including the new Implementation Tools Website and a newly revised participant workbook that is fully integrated with the new website. Click here for a sneak peak of the newly designed workbook.

These cutting edge tools include the first-of-its-kind website designed solely for clients to enhance their skill in implementing greater accountability for results into their daily work. And the best news: every workshop participant receives free access to the new PILTools.com website.*

Sustainability just got even easier with access to guided tutorials that walk you step-by-step through the workshop curriculum. Use the tutorials when you want and as often as you want.* The tutorials will help you apply the principles and practices of greater accountability in your daily work to overcome the challenges you face and to solve the problems you encounter.

Better results are just around the corner with the new Implementation Tools website. At your fingertips are: client best practices; practical self, team and 360° assessments; expert practitioner advice; case studies; original research; celebrity interviews; relevant video content; and a wealth of other resources never before available.

We are excited to be the first in the industry to bring you this type of new offering to enhance your training experience. Now, The Oz Principle Self Track Training will be an even more powerful tool in the hands of everyone looking to create greater accountability for achieving results.

Mark the date on your calendar and schedule your workshop with a Partners In Leadership expert facilitator—February 16th will be a “Sweet 16!”

*Free access is for a 45-day period from the date of initial login to the website. Extended access is available per the pricing schedule, provided upon request.

The Oz Principle is a registered trademark of Partners In Leadership Inc.  Self Track is a trademark of Partners In Leadership Inc.