“Elected leaders come and go, but public unions just say no.” Hiding in plain sight is a fatal defect of modern democracy. Public employee unions have a death grip on the operating machinery of government. Schools can’t work, bad cops can’t be fired, and politicians sell their souls for union support. With this searing five-point indictment, Philip K. Howard argues that union controls have disempowered elected executives and should be unconstitutional. Union power in government happened almost by accident in the 1960s, ostensibly to give public unions the same bargaining rights as trade unions. But government bargaining is not about dividing profits, but making political choices about public priorities. Moreover, the political nature of decision-making allowed unions to provide campaign support to friendly officials. Public bargaining became collusive. The unions brag about it: “We elect our own bosses.” Sitting on both sides of the bargaining table has allowed public unions to turn the democratic hierarchy upside down. Elected officials answer to public employees. Basic tools of good government have been eliminated. There’s no accountability, detailed union entitlements make government largely unmanageable and unaffordable, and public policies are driven by what is good for public employees, not what is good for the public. Public unions keep it that way by brute political force—harnessing the huge cohort of public employees into a political force dedicated to preventing the reform of government. The solution, Howard argues, is not political but constitutional. America’s republican form of government requires an executive branch that is empowered to implement public policies, not one shackled to union controls. Public employees have a fiduciary duty to serve the public and should not be allowed to organize politically to harm the public. This short book could unlock a door to fixing a broken democracy. Common Good (www.commongood.org) is a nonpartisan reform coalition to simplify government and restore common sense in daily decisions. It proposes a new governing vision: replace red tape with individual accountability. Its Founder and Chair is lawyer and author Philip K. Howard.

What if you could transform your relationship with yourself, your family and friends, your colleagues and clients, and your larger community through the power of commitment? What if ten simple choices enabled you to enhance your leadership skills, improve your organizational culture, and make a local, national, or even global impact? In I Am Accountable, renowned speaker and consultant Sam Silverstein explains how accountability is the secret to filling your life with more meaning, more success, and more joy—and it all starts with your mindset. In order to create a truly meaningful life, we must first accept that the problem is never other people. “The real problem,” Sam Silverstein maintains, “is what we believe about other people.” Silverstein’s new book shows why everything we have been taught about accountability is wrong. Contrary to popular belief, accountability is not a way of doing. Accountability is a way of thinking. It is how we think about ourselves and others. And it is the highest form of leadership. The secret to creating accountable relationships, and elevating the personal benchmark that Silverstein calls The Accountability Index™, lies in making ten critical choices that support an accountable mindset. I Am Accountable offers a comprehensive plan to help you establish and leverage that mindset, deepen commitments, create lasting meaning in your life and relationships, transform the culture within your organization, and foster lasting positive change in the world.

The Accountable Leader is centred around three themes - leadership, accountability and organizational structure, and explores what it means for managers to be held to account at all levels in an organization. It will show that most leadership related problems arise from the ineffectiveness of organisational structures that lack accountable jobs. Complete with case study material and international examples, The Accountable Leader brings home the importance of accountability as the necessary and robust platform for the assessment of potential leaders and leadership development - and demonstrates how clear accountability enables managers to achieve much more within their roles. The Accountable Leader was prestigiously voted one of 'The Thirty Best Business Books of 2008' by Soundview Executive Book Summaries, USA.

Why should we avoid doing moral wrong? The inability of philosophy to answer this question in a compelling manner—along with the moral skepticism and ethical confusion that ensue—result, Stephen Darwall argues, from our failure to appreciate the essentially interpersonal character of moral obligation. After showing how attempts to vindicate morality have tended to change the subject—falling back on non-moral values or practical, first-person considerations—Darwall elaborates the interpersonal nature of moral obligations: their inherent link to our responsibilities to one another as members of the moral community. As Darwall defines it, the concept of moral obligation has an irreducibly second-person aspect; it presupposes our authority to make claims and demands on one another. And so too do many other central notions, including those of rights, the dignity of and respect for persons, and the very concept of person itself. The result is nothing less than a fundamental reorientation of moral theory that enables it at last to account for morality’s supreme authority—an account that Darwall carries from the realm of theory to the practical world of second-person attitudes, emotions, and actions.

Sure to be a classic, Called & Accountable 52-Week Devotional: Discovering Your Place in God’s Eternal Purpose is a timely and easy-to-read devotional that will keep you grounded in your accountability to God’s call. This conveniently sized book is carried easily in a briefcase, purse, or soccer bag for those days when your schedule is packed. The format makes it ideal for individual use or perfect for weekly leadership meetings.

The surprising truth behind Barack Obama's decision to continue many of his predecessor's counterterrorism policies. Conventional wisdom holds that 9/11 sounded the death knell for presidential accountability. In fact, the opposite is true. The novel powers that our post-9/11 commanders in chief assumed—endless detentions, military commissions, state secrets, broad surveillance, and more—are the culmination of a two-century expansion of presidential authority. But these new powers have been met with thousands of barely visible legal and political constraints—enforced by congressional committees, government lawyers, courts, and the media—that have transformed our unprecedentedly powerful presidency into one that is also unprecedentedly accountable. These constraints are the key to understanding why Obama continued the Bush counterterrorism program, and in this light, the events of the last decade should be seen as a victory, not a failure, of American constitutional government. We have actually preserved the framers’ original idea of a balanced constitution, despite the vast increase in presidential power made necessary by this age of permanent emergency.

Proven methods to push your organization to its maximum potential with responsible leadership Accountable Leaders is the real-world guide to propelling your business to extraordinary levels of performance and achievement. Leadership accountability is a major issue in organizations around the globe. Research has shown that teams and individual employees are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the degree of accountability demonstrated by their leaders. Effective teams need responsible and accountable leaders—the solution seems simple. Yet, thousands of businesses are struggling with mediocre performance and widening gaps in leadership. This essential resource provides practical and no-nonsense strategies to transform any organization into a cohesive, highly motivated culture of accountable leaders and fully committed teams. Bestselling author Dr. Vince Molinaro shares his proven methods of optimal leadership accountability, providing a step-by-step blueprint for leaders in any organization. Developed from years of experience helping Fortune 500 companies build strong leaders and effective teams, this book will enable you to: Build strong leadership accountability to leverage competitive advantage, increase team performance, and close the leadership gap in your organization Understand why gaps in leadership occur and recognize accountability issues in your own organization Develop an effective strategy to instill a culture of accountability and responsibility in your business Identify and implement organizational practices that encourage accountable leadership throughout your management structure Accountable Leaders is a vital guide for anyone who leads a team: from managers and supervisors, to CEOs and CHROs. This invaluable guide will provide the tools and knowledge to take you and your organization to incredible levels of performance and achievement.