I was reading the Oz Principle, a modern business book. The Oz Principle kept having quotes from The Wizard of Oz that were very interesting. Finally I said, why am I reading this. I'll go read the original. I did, and it was so enjoyable that I finished it less than a week.

Then I went back to finish "The Oz Principle" because I wanted to return the borrowed book in a reasonable time. I finished it, but there wasn't much joy in reading it. I decided that reading classics will probably teach me more than the latest business books. ( )

Basic premise: don't be a victim but take hold of your situation and ask what you can do to improve it. I'm not sure the book adds a whole lot of detail beyond that simple statement, but it pretends to. Lots of vague examples of companies and business people who were sinking then choose to stop complaining and start fixing and "voila!" their business turned around. Each section begins with a quote from [a:Frank L. Baum|3242|L. Frank Baum|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1383720421p2/3242.jpg]'s book [b:The Wizard of Oz|762677|The Wizard of Oz (Great Illustrated Classics)|Deidre S. Laiken|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387746123s/762677.jpg|14816545] to illustrate that just like Dorothy, The Scarecrow, the Tinman, and The Lion, you have what you need inside you to solve your problems. You don't need a wizard to change your circumstances, just a Good Witch like Glinda perhaps to guide you on your way. A bit gimmicky, because they don't really borrow too much from the classic story, but it got me to read the book, so I guess it works (as a gimmick).

All the examples are very business-world, not so identifiable for me. ( )

In this revised edition, Smith, Connors, and Hickman share the wealth of information they have gathered since their book's 1994 original publication. The authors use the characterizations from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to metaphorically provide a commonsense schematic for an interesting, if somewhat simplistic, transitional organizational culture, emphasizing individual responsibility and accountability to replace what they perceive as a tradition of excuses and justifications for ineffective and inefficient behavior. The ten short, readable chapters are divided into three sections: "The Oz Principle: Getting Results through Accountability," "The Power of Individual Responsibility: Moving Yourself above the Line," and "Results through Collective Accountability: Helping Your Organization Perform above the Line." A series of self-assessment lists and quizzes enable readers to evaluate their performance and contributions to organizational success. Those who agree with the Oz philosophy will find this edition captivating; those who do not nevertheless will find the authors' premise an interesting commentary on contemporary organizational leadership

I read this book as a result of a training class I took entitled Achieving Accountability. The book delivers a modern perspective on an old topic. The concepts provided in this book are not necessarily new or innovative, but rather re-packaged using terminology that has been updated to the current day.
The authors have done a good job of communicating the core ideas of Accountability and describing its wide berth in terms of adopting it as a core value within yourself.
Overall, I would recommend this book as this is a topic that is always relevant and important to remind yourself of the different areas where accountability applies. ( )

With a focus on accountability and its corollary, empowerment, there’s a lot that’s good here. Connors et al. shoehorn business lessons into the framework of The Wizard of Oz pulling out lessons that are ironic when one considers Baum’s work. But although it is better to view workers as people who are endowed with the unique skills that empower them to make a difference (as a opposed to replaceable cogs without free will), the assumption of the authors is that in large corporate environments like the ones they profile in their books, the accountability of average workers can make a difference. Sure, if an executive takes responsibility, there are measurable results that matter. But are we to believe that an instructional designer or systems consultant’s actions aren’t so obscured by layers of bureaucracy that the customer/client will really be able to tell the difference? ( )