What's your business thought?

So I finished the article "Steve Jobs' iCloud: The View from 10,000 ft" by Philip Elmer-DeWitt from Fortune magazine.

There was one anecdote that stuck out to me after reading this article. Jobs tells a story, apparently if you're an Apple employee you've heard the story more than once.

The story is about a janitor that doesn't empty the trash. The janitor is asked why the trash wasn't emptied. His response was that the locks to the office were changed and he didn't have the new key. There's a reason why something didn't get done. Jobs' makes the comment that at this level "reasons" matter. Jobs' goes on to comment that somewhere between the janitor and CEO, reasons stop mattering. He says; that Rubicon is crossed when you become a V.P.

I love this story for a few reasons:

The first being that I feel I'm part of the tail end of Generation X; and I'm one of the few who doesn't feel that he is entitled. The whole hard work, dedication type mentality that I was brought up with. Though I don't necessarily feel any loyalty toward a particular organization.

The second is that in my career at points I know that I've had "reasons" that were valid as to why a task or project was not up to par.

The third is that even where I am now within the hierarchy of my organization, I have responsibility and accountability.

Why then do I see more people around the same level, or demographic, in mine and other organizations still looking for "reasons?"

When you're courteous and pleasant in business no matter at what level it goes a long way. Couple that with doing your job and a winning combination starts to manifest itself. Sometimes it does take a steadfast leader to steer an organization. It also takes employees who want responsibility and accountability.

So my business thought for myself is Be Responsible and Accountable. It has also served me well in life.

What's your business thought?

~bbryon