Leadership Without Excuses

Overview

IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO INCREASE EMPLOYEE ACCOUNTABILITY—NO EXCUSES!

“Very engaging! Grimshaw and Baron provide practical coaching points on how to translate leadership intentions into results.”
DAVE HILFMAN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CONTINENTAL AIRLINES

“A timely collection of valuable lessons on how to prevent excuses before they happen.”
MICHAEL PIETRUNTI, PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, KYOCERA MITA AMERICA, INC.

“Jam-packed with authentic examples and insights, this book encourages all leaders to actively look in the mirror and pay keen attention to the eff ective execution of their most important responsibilities.”
JEFF IRMER, VP OF SALES, THE AMERICAS, HONEYWELL AUTOMATION AND CONTROL SOLUTIONS

“It’s never been more important for leaders to take responsibility and drive accountability. Unfortunately, in too many organizations those are just words. Grimshaw and Baron provide practical guidance on how to translate these ideas into authentic actions.”
JEFFREY A. HIRSCH, REGIONAL PRESIDENT, RESIDENTIAL SERVICES, NEW YORK CITY REGION, TIME WARNER CABLE

About the Book

There are three kinds of employees: Some are Saints; they’re always accountable. Some are Sinners; they’re never accountable. But most are Save-ables; sometimes they make good choices, sometimes they don’t. What makes the diff erence? Leadership without Excuses has the answers.

Jeff Grimshaw and Gregg Baron help you put an end to the Save-ables’ poor choices and excuse-making—and convert them into Saints. The secret is to communicate clear and credible expectations, create compelling consequences, and lead conversations grounded in reality.

In order to save the Save-ables, you need to:

• BOOST THE CLARITY AND CREDIBILITY OF YOUR HIGH EXPECTATIONS
• REWARD WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE MORE OF—AND STOP TOLERATING WHAT YOU DON’T
• PROMOTE PERSONAL OWNERSHIP WHILE STRETCHING YOUR PEOPLE
• TAP INTO HIDDEN SOURCES OF MOTIVATION
• USE YOUR AUTHORITY EFFECTIVELY— BUT WISELY
• TREAT MISTAKES AS INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL
• PREVENT EXCUSES BEFORE THEY HAPPEN

There’s no excuse for putting up with excuses. Leadership without Excuses is for anyone who actually wants to do something about it. It’s the definitive guide to taking excuses out of the system and creating an environment where accountability and performance are consistently high. With this game-changing guide, you’ll stop the excuses in their tracks and put your team on the path to success. Find out more at www.takeawayexcuses.com

Table of contents

Part I: Proven Strategies for Communicating Clear and Credible Expectations
Introduction
1. Equip your People for Moments of Truth and Tradeoff
2. Invest Excruciating Minutes to Ensure Role Clarity
3. Use Commander's Intent to Promote Ownership, Stretch Your People, and Align Them with Your Business Strategy
4. Compete for Attention
5. Boost the Credibility of Your High Expectations

Part II: Proven Strategies for Creating Compelling Consequences
6. Reward What You Want to See More of. . . And Stop Tolerating What You Don't
7. Use the Other F-Word to Tap Hidden Sources of Motivation
8. Wield Your Biggest Stick: The Power to Take Things Away
9. Whnn You HaWheno Authority, Use Increased Confidence and Reduced Anxiety as Your Consequence Currency

Part III: Proven Strategies for Leading Conversations Grounded in Empirical Reality
10. Whet the Appetite for Truth
11. Prevent Excuses before They Happen
12. Banish the Fantasies and Fetishes that Lead to Fingerpointing
13. Treat Mistakes as Intellectual Capital and Give Negative Feedback That Doesn't Freak People Out
Conclusion

Biographical note

Jeff Grimshaw, a partner in the firm MGStrategy,
is an expert on accelerating accountability
and alignment. Over two decades, he’s
helped hundreds of leaders deliver the results
on which they’ve staked their reputations.
Grimshaw serves as senior advisor, Leadership
Solutions, at stickK.com, helping leaders
apply powerful insights from behavioral
economics to improve performance. With
POW/MIA activist Paul Pinkerton, he cofounded
Paul’s Kids Vietnam Children’s
Charity. Visit Jeff at mgstrat.com.
Gregg Baron is president of Success Sciences,
a research-based performance improvement
firm that focuses on the points of customer
contact (sales, service, collections, and technical
service quality). As a certified management
consultant, Gregg has more than two decades
of experience helping senior leaders enhance
their practices for leading change. Gregg is also
a founding principal in The Institute for
Organizational Effectiveness.
Visit Gregg at success-sciences.com.