Help Your Boss Help You

I Got This: Taking Responsibility

Many years ago, I watched a comedian tell a story about taking responsibility. He woke up one morning and was told by his wife to go downstairs and make breakfast for their children. He didn’t want to do it, so he immediately started raising objections that made him seem completely helpless.

“Where are the pans?” he asked. “Do we have any pans?”

She insisted everything was in the kitchen and forced him to move. When the children showed up and saw him making breakfast, they naturally asked for items they weren’t supposed to have, like chocolate cake. He thought about it and gave them what they wanted. Each step in the process followed that pattern, to the point where the children were singing his praises and violating ...