If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
If all were a single member, where would the body be?
—1 Corinthians 12:15–19
If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.
—1 Corinthians 12:26
The scripture quoted above is referred to as the “One Body with Many Members,” or “The Body of Christ.”
Here, we are told that the body consists of many members, each with its own necessary function that serves other members and the body as a whole.
While accountability starts at the top, every member of an organization is held accountable.
Likewise, in every organization, each member contributes to the whole, and every outcome—successful or not so successful—is attributed to all of the members.
Each department has its own area of responsibility, and the success of the entire organization depends on the combined performances of all departments.
If one member isn’t doing what they’re supposed to, it affects the whole body.
For instance, the sales reps may generate large orders, but what good is that if the plant gets behind in production and can’t fulfill orders?
Or if the warehouse isn’t able to ship units in a timely fashion.
Or if the accounting department doesn’t send invoices or fails to collect payments due the company!
So, like the body, each part depends on all other parts—and each is held accountable for its execution.
A well-run enterprise assigns responsibility to its people along with authority to carry out their assignments.
Authority and accountability are like conjoined twins—inseparable.
Those with accountability must have enough autonomy to be able to make decisions.
There must also be a system in place to measure goals and objectives that have been mutually agreed upon in advance.
Without an ongoing method to periodically measure people’s performances, no one can be held accountable.
We set up matrices at WWT to assess and measure performance.
Several years ago, we invested millions of dollars in Oracle’s business system, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).
This software system is applicable to every aspect of our organization—distribution, warehousing, marketing, sales, operations, customer service.
Each aspect of the business is interconnected with every other aspect.
ERP is a modern-day version of the lesson taught in the Body of Christ.
Here too, each member (that is, vice president, department head, manager, etc.) has a specific function that can be measured to determine how each individual contributes to the entire organization.
The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30) also serves as an excellent example of accountability.
Here, Jesus tells about a man who entrusted three of his slaves with talents to invest in his absence.
When the master returns, he gives more responsibilities to the two slaves who performed well, and he takes away responsibility from the slave who did not.
Jesus uses this parable to teach that we are held accountable for our performance—those who perform well are rewarded and given more responsibility, while responsibilities are taken away from poor performers.
The year 2002 will be recorded in history as a time when self-interest and corruption occurred at the highest echelons of some of the nation’s largest publicly held companies.
Motivated by greed, business leaders misstated corporate financial data to hide losses and exaggerate profits for personal gain.
These charlatans traded securities held in their own companies, profiting from inside information unavailable to the public.
They put their self-interest ahead of their people’s interests or those of their shareholders.
They held positions of leadership, but they failed to lead.
They could have chosen to be exemplary role models.
In their positions in publicly held corporations, they were entrusted to serve their shareholders.
In order for the investment industry to function, men and women throughout corporate America must be held accountable.
Their illicit deeds did irrefutable harm, eroding the public’s trust in our economic system.
As a consequence, hundreds of thousands of employees of formerly leading companies such as Enron, Tyco, Global Crossings, Adelphia, WorldCom, and Arthur Andersen (a few of many) lost their jobs.
In many instances, their savings in retirement accounts were greatly diminished, if not wiped out altogether.
In addition to innocent employees and shareholders incurring personal losses, all Americans were hurt by re-percussions that threw the economy into a tailspin.
There was an unparalleled loss of faith in the free enterprise system.
Granted, only a small percentage of all business leaders were actually guilty; nonetheless, large numbers of innocent people associated with tainted organizations suffered.
Let those self-serving executives who were found guilty and punished serve as an example: Every business leader must be held accountable for his or her actions.
As my fellow Missourian Harry Truman often said, “The buck stops here.”
Business leaders in privately owned companies must also be held accountable—while shareholders might not be involved, these leaders are still obligated to do what’s right for their employees, partners, vendors, and other involved parties.
As a CEO, I am the
first and last person in our organization to be held accountable.
This responsibility goes with the title.
Every day I set the tone for everyone to follow; my example sets the standard for others to emulate.
I do this by following the Word of God and remaining truthful and faithful to the Lord.
Finally, as it is written in Proverbs 29:26, “Many seek the favor of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that one gets justice.”
Lest we forget, we are not working for man but for the Lord, and it is to him that we are accountable.