obama and accountability

president barack obama continued to call for greater levels of accountability today, warning the nation’s mayors that he will “call them out” if they waste the money from his massive economic stimulus plan. if only marketing managers and executives were held to such standards on the regular by their teammates and stockholders.

“the american people are watching,” obama told a gathering of mayors at the white house. “they need this plan to work. they expect to see the money that they’ve earned — they’ve worked so hard to earn — spent in its intended purposes without waste, without inefficiency, without fraud.”

this makes me think of the head-scratching times when, as an employee or as a consultant, i would watch as a marketing manager or executive spent marketing dollars on a pet project or on a friend’s company without being held accountable. i sure hope this isn’t still happening at organizations like it was happening before 2008 – ie. all the time.

remember that if intentions are strong and proper, then there is never a reason to be defensive about any action or initiative. there is no reason not to be held accountable in all things, especially at times like these. i’ll only speak for myself and say that i rarely get upset when a customer questions my intentions, or digs deeper to fully understand why something is being done. i want them to know all the details in real time (if they can stomach them) because nothing better displays my leadership, knowledge and sound judgment. it provides the most transaparent way for me to reinforc why i do what i do, and it reminds the customer of why they first hired me and why they continue to work with me.