How often do you stop to ask yourself “What can I…?” or “How can I…? when things aren’t going your way?

I’ve been reading a great book about personal accountability that really has me thinking and questioning the way I look at things. The book is The Oz Principle and it’s been around a while but I was just recently introduced to it.

To grossly paraphrase, the basic premise is that we are either in victim or victor mode. We’re either ‘above the line’ meaning we see a situation, we act on it, and we take responsibility for it or we’re ‘below the line’ and we’re blaming, avoiding, or ignoring the situation.

In business, a below the line attitude might sound like “That’s someone else’s job”, “It’s not my fault, the economy is bad”, “I don’t have enough time” or some other excuse to justify lack of results. Below the line behaviors usually coincide with a reactive mode which isn’t good for business.

An above the line attitude might sound like “How can I improve?”, “What can I do to become more productive?”, or “How can I solve this problem?”. Above the line thinking keeps you in a proactive mode which will keep you ahead of the competition.

If you haven’t been getting the results you want lately, ask yourself if you’re taking personal accountability and staying above the line to figure out how you can get the results you want. It doesn’t mean the results will come overnight but every proactive step you take is a step in the right direction.

Liz Uram is the owner of The Coach & Mentor Group, an outstanding provider of business development training programs.