Key Points of Accountability



I’m on the road this week teaching,  I want to share with you another Key Point from my new book coming out in just a few short weeks, Ownership Spirit – The One Grand Key That Changes Everything Else.  In the world today there’s a tendency to want to hold other people accountable for their actions.  Our courts are filled with people trying to enforce accountability on others.  But, one of the major messages in the book is about how powerful we can be and how much more we can do with our lives and our careers, if we learn to hold ourselves accountable.  

So, let me share with you  three simple steps to increase your personal accountability:

1.  Enthrone Commitment

The old adage, Let your word be your bond, seems out of synche with today’s “show me a loophole and I’ll drive a truck through it” mentality. Yet, the world is starved for people who can truly be counted on—who honor commitments, large or small. The principle of commitment-keeping is a principle of power. Look at what has happened to the individuals and organizations who have flouted that principle.

2.  Make No Idle Promises

Every promise we make and keep, however small, adds to our personal power and the influence we wield. Conversely, every unkept promise diminishes our influence. The next time you are inclined to say, “Hey, I’ll call you and we’ll go to lunch,” stop and think, “Do I really mean that? Do I really intend to call?”  If that’s not your real intention, don’t dilute your power by making a promise you do not intend to keep.    

3.  Stop Shrugging Off Lapes

If you make a commitment and do not complete it, don’t just dismiss it with some lame excuse about how busy you were. Own up and fess up.  Call the other party, acknowledge your lapse and apologize. If you conscientiously clean up your messes as you go, you will become less inclined to make them in the first place. 

Thanks again for reading and being part of the Quma Qummunity!

Ownership Spirit – NEW BOOK!



Dennis Deaton’s long-awaited book is here!  We are pleased to announce that “Ownership Spirit: The One Grand Key That Changes Everything Else” is hot off the press and we are offering a special discount to our Quma Qummunity.

Click on this link to order the book from the Quma Store and you will receive 25% off the cover price of $16.95 during this promotional period.  Enter the code qummunity to receive your discount.

Visit the Quma Store

Reset Your Presets



 

Happy New Year!  What I want to share with you today is another KEY POINT in our teachings at Quma Learning—a point that I cover in more depth in my new Ownership Spirit – The One Grand Key That Changes Everything Else.

One of the big benefits the comes from higher awareness of our own thought processes is that we can learn to coach our own thinking.  And, one of of those coaching Key Points I call Resetting Our Presets.

What are our PRESETS?  Well, they’re our preconceived notions or pre-existing interpretations that we carry around with us all the time.  We all have a tendency to pre-hear what someone is saying based on our preset judgment about that person.  Without realizing, we make assumptions about their motives and intentions.  We make assessments about their experience and intelligence. And so on.  In other words, before they’ve said one word, we have a preset expectation as to whether or not we are going like or value what we are about to hear. 

Unless we Reset our Presets we close down our listening and create disconnection.  

The good news is that none of us need be victims of our presets. We can coach our-selves to set aside our preconceptions. For example, take your self-centered next door neighbor, the one that monopolizes every conversation. You could reset a preset by assuming the best in his motives–maybe he’s not the manipulator you think he is.  Even if he is, you could coach yourself to be more ‘open-minded’ and actually look for the “gold” in what he’s saying.  The results that can come from that Reset of your Presets may surprise you!  

Unless we Reset Our Presets, we might not really be listening at all. Our presets may be so dominant that our receptors are entirely blocked, and we wind up hearing only what we think we were going to hear all along.  

One more quick example.  A while ago my wife and I attended a conference at which a very successful couple spoke candidly about the secret to their successful marriage.  The woman said, “The biggest key was our decision to set aside our tendency to try to change one another and we decided to work at just getting along with one another.”  

I’ve used that idea in a number of ways since that conference.  I’ve used it in my marriage and I’ve used it in my business. Resetting My Preset from “finding ways to fix” to “finding ways to just get along,” has paid huge dividends for me over the years.

I trust this Key Point will do the same for you.  Once again, Happy New Year!