The Power of Personal Accountability [Paperback]

Mark Samuel (Author), Sophie Chiche (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

What is the Power of Personal Accountability Approach?

Pay attention to what really matters to you. Find out where you spend your time and energy. Understand what works and what doesn’t and then use the simple strategies described in this book to change what doesn’t. Built around Mark Samuel’s and Sophie Chiche’s Personal Accountability Model, the authors share their structured approach, case studies, and exercises in a highly motivating manner. You will learn how to make choices consistent with your desired outcomes.

Why You’ll Want to Read This Book

Because life’s too short. This book invites you to look at what is there and what you would like instead. Then go for it.

Who Should Read The Power of Personal Accountability?

You should, if you want to: • Be more successful – at work, at home, even at play • Improve relationships with clients, co-workers, family and friends • Realize your full potential, get more done, fulfill your dreams • Finish ongoing projects, take on new challenges, set and achieve new goals • Look back on your life with satisfaction, with the absolute certainty that you did the best you could

Bottom Line on The Power of Personal Accountability

Being accountable helps you achieve what matters to you. Get things done. What you want to get done. Don’t let fear get in your way. Don’t be a victim. Don’t blame others. Don’t be afraid to fail—or succeed. Learn from leading authorities in the human potential movement to be accountable for your own success--- Start now.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Be Accountable And Change Your Life

"The Power of Personal Accountability: Achieve What Matters to You, is an inspirational and practical guide for self-improvement. I recommend it to anyone that wants to become the CEO of their own life." - Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One Minute Manager and The Leadership Pill

About the Author

Mark Samuel, B.A., M.A., and Sophie Chiche (B.A., M.A.) are leaders in the Personal and Organizational Accountability Movement, firmly committed to inspiring excellence using the principles found in this book. Mark is President of IMPAQ, a California-based worldwide consulting firm that teaches organizations to thrive in the competitive 21st century global marketplace. Sophie is the Chief Operating Officer of IMPAQ, and a former international journalist, writing primarily about new frontiers in modern psychology. She continues to speak and write passionately and eloquently on the subject.

Product Details

• Paperback: 133 pages
• Publisher: Xephor Press; 1 edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975263811
• ISBN-13: 978-0975263815
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARK SAMUEL is the President and Founder of IMPAQ, an international consulting firm providing coaching and consulting with an emphasis on Corporate and Personal Accountability. He is also the author of the acclaimed Creating the Accountable Organization and co-author of The Power of Personal Accountability: Achieve What Matters to You.

An Independent Consultant, Educator and Speaker since 1978, Mark has gained a reputation for masterfully demonstrating how Accountability can improve a company's bottom line. He teaches organizations of every stripe to thrive in the competitive 21st century global marketplace through results-oriented management based upon the practice of Accountability.

Mark is considered a "practical visionary" by top executives in many Fortune 500 companies. CNBC, Bloomberg and Fortune Magazine have recognized him as a top authority on how companies can end blame in the ranks and create a place where people want to work because they can produce results.

He is frequently called in by companies to address leaders on his unique approach to solving the challenges of culture change, performance improvement, leadership development and effectively managed teamwork. His personal objective is to ensure that his clients achieve meaningful and measurable breakthrough performance results that are sustained over time.

An award-winning speaker, Mark has addressed national conferences of ASTD, AQP, ODN, ASHHRA and ISPI. He has moved audiences in Europe and North and South America to effective action with his engaging, inspirational, humorous, interactive and thought-provoking presentations.

Mark's work has effected long-term positive, profitable improvement in companies worldwide, including Chevron Corporation, American Express, Genentech, Baptist Healthcare, Honda Corporation, Texas Instruments, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, AMGEN, The Royal Bank of Canada, Baxter Pharmaceuticals, The University of California at Berkeley, General Dynamics, Michelin Tires, Paris, France, and Siemens.

Mark holds a Bachelors Degree in Social Science from the University of California, Irvine; a Masters Degree in Management, with a special emphasis in Organizational Development, from the University of California, Irvine; and a Masters Degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, in Santa Monica, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I expected a lot, and got more!, November 5, 2004

By 

J. Harold (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Power of Personal Accountability (Paperback)

I have read a great deal in the personal growth and buisness development fields and am not easily impressed anymore. It all seems the same - until now. At first I wasn't sure about the Power of Personal Accountability, but as I got into it I was quickly emersed in the ideas and the practical steps given to look at things differently; I could actually feel the book impacting my thoughts and actions. It's more than a book, it is hard to describe, but it gives life, language and practicality to a powerful way of being in the world. The concepts in this book have changed my life; I see choices more clearly and make them with greater peace and higher intention. Check it out and give it a chance - there is something here for everyone!!!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two "Loops": Which to select?, August 24, 2006

By 

Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Power of Personal Accountability (Paperback)

I just read this book as well as the more recently published Creating the Accountable Organization and highly recommend both. Now more than ever before, the issue of personal accountability is critically important to all organizations (regardless of size or nature) and will become even more important in years to come.

In this volume, Samuel and Chiche present a number of insights whose foundation is what they call "The Personal Accountability Model." It can guide and inform efforts to live a deliberate life, an accountable life, one in which professional success and personal happiness are interdependent rather than mutually exclusive as is so often the case. Samuel and Chiche come across to me as being clear-headed idealists and warm-hearted pragmatists. They suggest that people usually resist accountability because of three fears: of blame, of failure, and of success. They examine each of these fears and suggest how to overcome them. They also identify and examine various "rewards" to those who are personally accountable. It is important to keep in mind that both those who resist holding themselves accountable are often the same people who (if not resent) resist being held accountable by someone else. Hence the importance of "buying into" the potential rewards. This is an especially important point for supervisors who are required to hold others accountable for their performance. They must understand various fears and respond to them appropriately, especially in terms of body language and tone-of-voice. Also, they must help those entrusted to their care to understand why holding themselves personally accountable really is in their own best interests.

I was especially interested in what Samuel and Chiche have to say about the "Victim Loop" from which so many people seem unwilling and/or unable to escape. Those who select the "Accountability Loop" proceed through a sequence of recognition, ownership, forgiveness (of themselves as well as of others), self-examination, learning, and eventually taking appropriate action. Those who select the "Victim Loop" proceed through a sequence of ignorance, denial, blame (usually of others), rationalization, resistance, and ultimately, they "go into hiding." They must then cope with the consequences of that choice...and many do so by choosing to repeat the same sequence,. They are indeed "victims" but voluntary ones who continue to suffer from self-inflicted wounds, real or imagined.

Readers will appreciate the care with which Samuel and Chiche examine a series of very sensitive, potentially volatile situations in which there is a significant breakdown in communication or a loss of trust or a sense of betrayal. Those who accept personal accountability make every reasonable effort to resolve disagreements and even significant conflicts. They fully meet all of their obligations. Their word really is their "bond." In negotiations (whatever the given issues), they do everything they can to reach a mutually beneficial, "win-win" conclusion. Of course, those who accept personal accountability are often confused and perhaps enraged by those who can't...or won't. Samuel and Chiche's sensitive and sensible advice on this familiar situation (all by itself) is worth far more than the price of their book.

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out the aforementioned Creating the Accountable Organization as well as James O'Toole and Edward E. Lawler III's The New American Workplace, The Workforce Scorecard co-authored by Mark Huselid, Brian Becker, and Richard W. Beatty (Huselid and Becker also co-authored The HR Scorecard, another fine source), Dick Grote's Forced Ranking, Leigh Branham's The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, and Workforce Crisis co-authored by Ken Dychtwald, Tamara J. Erickson, and Robert Morison.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, I am achieving what matters to me!, November 3, 2004

By 

Veronica Alweiss (Beverly Hills, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Power of Personal Accountability (Paperback)

This book is such a great resource for my daily life and for the work I do as a life coach. No matter what situation I find myself in, I can't help but know that I have a choice. It's not always easy, but when I move through the Accountability Loop I experience freedom...and, well, I simply feel better and the situation improves. From this perspective I have more clarity, objectivity and compassion. The Power of Personal Accountability delivers a profound message for self-improvement and does so in clear steps and engaging exercises. I highly recommend it.