Hold yourself and your people accountable and appreciate them for holding you accountable.

Accountability is a very important element of productivity and getting things done.

1. If you’ve agreed with someone that something is supposed to go a certain way, make sure it goes that way.
   People will often subconsciously gravitate toward activities they like rather than what’s required.

2. Distinguish between a failure in which someone broke their “contract” and a failure in which there was no contract, to begin with.
   Don’t assume that something was implicitly understood.

3. Avoid getting sucked down.
   Don’t let the manager get involved in a task of a subordinate without acknowledging the problem.

4. Watch out for the unfocused and unproductive “theoretical should.”
   People tend to say, “We should do A, B, and C,” without clearly defining who should do it.