We were having a conversation today about the timeless book 13 Fatal Errors Managers Make (and How You Can Avoid Them) by W. Steven Brown. The idea of personal accountability came up (it’s rule #1) and the idea of internalists – people would believe the results of their life and work are dependent on their decisions and their efforts regardless of external situation. The other type of person is the externalist who has decided that the results of their life and work are completely dependent on external things or people. They blame their results and decisions on others and the environment.
In support of these delineations, I thought about one of my favorite novels, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. In it, the heroes of the book are all internalists. They disregard the external factors and do whatever is needed to (in one case) keep the railroad running. In fact, Ayn Rand’s philosophy of “Objectivism” relies on the idea that we are all responsible for our results.
I’d highly recommend either (although Atlas Shrugged may be quite a time commitment) if you are interested in exploring these concepts more fully. For 13 Fatal Errors Managers Make (and How You Can Avoid Them), we run a book club discussing the principles, creating accountability partners and experimenting with the ideas in practice. Click on this link for more information. For a free consultation, send us an email at info@transglobaldevelopment.com or call 917.930.0801. We can help.