The Big “A” In Business…..Accountability

If you are building a business without accountability, chances are your business is not growing as rapidly as you would like. When people set out to build businesses, accountability is not something they think about as a ‘must have’ item. They think about leadership, marketing, sales and tools. Accountability never usually crosses one’s mind. It is however, one of the most CRUCIAL things to apply to your business.

Why? Because accountability is what Gets Things Done. Without it, things just don’t happen. Or at least not as quickly as they need to happen. Remember when you were a kid? Why did you make your bed in the morning? Why did you do your homework? Your chores? Someone was checking up on you and making sure that you did everything you were supposed to.

From a young age we were taught to do things because if we didn’t, we would get in some kind of trouble. We were subconsciously taught to care more about doing for others, than doing for ourselves. Which is a great lesson when applied to selfless acts of kindness, but not our daily important tasks. Now that you’re an entrepreneur and building a business, Who is checking up on you?

Here are Two Ways you MUST us Accountability as an Entrepreneur…

First, establish accountability partners for all of your work. These people can be business partners, family members,friends, prospects or who ever can or will be there to ask you if you are getting done everything you have set out to do. One word of warning however, DO NOT ask a person to hold you accountable that is either a pushover and will accept any excuses that you feed them, or a person that really doesn’t care about your work. Neither one of these people will actually help you. Instead they will be enablers. Find yourself some tough ‘NO B.S.’ individuals that care about you and will keep you on track.

This takes care of our ‘learned’ accountability habits where we need someone checking up on us to fully complete our tasks. Without a doubt, if we know someone is going to ask if our project is completed yet, we are going to work even harder to do it before they ask. No one wants to look lazy or un-dedicated.

Secondly, you MUST be accountable to yourself. Period. There is not a Single Successful entrepreneur that does not employ self accountability. There is not always going to be someone standing at the finish line making sure that you crossed and then praises  you when you get there. We have to care enough about our wants, desires and goals that we Do Not allow ourselves to slack off, make excuses or be lazy.

Secondly, To be Truly Successful, we Have to Want it More than Anything Else. So much more so, that having someone else hold us accountable wouldn’t even make a difference because we are too driven and focused. This is where we have to learn how to get rid of the old thought process of doing more for others than for ourselves. This is Where we Want and Need to be Selfish. This is where we put ourselves first and simply work and work until we have achieved our goals.

The biggest piece of the puzzle here is following our passion. If you are following your passion and doing  work that is aligned with your purpose and highest calling, how could you Not hold yourself accountable? You would be crazy Not to. If you are having a lot of difficulty holding yourself accountable and completing your work, maybe you need to ask yourself if you are in the right line of business. Because when you are working at your passion, there is no ‘Have to’ at all. It is a simple and natural ‘Just Do It’.

What ways are you using accountbility in your business? What ways can you incorporate accountability into your business?

Take this message to heart and apply it. This is what makes all the difference in your business when it come to day to day results.

Believing in Your Success,