Dirk Jumpertz's Reviews > Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything

I had the fantastic opportunity to hear and see Dr. John Izzo during a staff event at the company I work for early this year. Even though he wasn't able to join us in real life, he managed to keep us challenged through a 90 minutes videoconference. Kudos to him for pulling this off.

I finally managed to dive into his "Stepping Up" book which is an interesting quick read with some motivating and unique stories of people who stepped up and made a difference. Evidently these stories have been chosen to spice the narrative and proof Izzo's point that individuals can indeed make a difference, but still it's inspiring to find out how these people made a difference by believing they could do it and gradually and patiently made it happen.

The recipe sounds almost too simple:
Be patient and persevere.
If not me, then who? If not now, then when?
Be a bit naive, but believe with conviction.
Take responsibility with no excuses.
Lead the way.
But take baby steps.
And start now.

There are some caveats, in my opinion, especially when Stepping Up is used in a business environmet. Stepping Up in a climate of Pushing Down will destroy all initiatives. The 100/0 mantra (100% responsibility and no excuses) requires an environment that fosters taking responsibility. It's like Jef Staes' explains in My Organisation is a Jungle where his Red Monkeys are threatened by the Red Monkey killers. Even though Staes writes about innovation personified by his Red Monkeys, one can easily replace "innovation" by "change". Actually I find Staes' work an excellent addition to Izzo's Stepping Up as even the most naive person who believes he/she can change the world will bump into the mechanisms described by Staes.