Ambition

One of the most notable scenes in film occurs in On The Waterfront. Terry Malloy (a washed-up prizefighter currently working on the docks) and his brother Charlie (a mid-ranked local mafioso) engage in a dialogue in the backseat of a taxicab in Hoboken, NJ.  Charlie is exhorting his brother toward more ambition:

Charlie: ”You're getting on. You're pushing 30. You know, it's time to think about getting some ambition.”

Terry: “I always figured I'd live a bit longer without it.”

As the film unfolds, we observe Terry’s developing awareness of the graft and corruption that permeates the shipping trade on the waterfront.  Despite his caution, Terry exhibits a strong desire to break the mob’s control on the docks.  This ambition, coupled with courage in the face of grave harm, enables Terry to disrupt the mob’s domination and achieve his own redemption.

As with any quality of character, what makes that quality a virtue is the good principle of the act that is chosen.  When it comes to ambition, the motivation for the good action is the desire to succeed.  Without this motivation success, or achievement, cannot be attained.  This desire enables one to persist and persevere in spite of challenges and obstacles.

Perhaps Napoleon Bonaparte said it best when he reportedly observed:  “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.”

Accountability

We can think of accountability as that quality by which a person says what he’ll do and then do what he says [ he’ll do].  That commitment can be to himself (e.g., I’ll get up at 5:30 am today) or to others (e.g., I’ll see you at the ice cream parlor at 6 pm).  Today it seems to be a quality more observed in the breach than in the practice.  As society’s customs and mores become more casual, people are quick to commit and slow to deliver (if they deliver at all).

Whether we are considering accountability to self or to others (as in the case of participation on a work project or on a sports team) it is important to remember that the best kind of accountability comes without negative judgment.  One might ask, “How can we then be accountable without judgment?”  The two are so often intertwined.  The answer is very simple --- leave the negative judgment out of the equation.  A few illustrations here might be in order.

Suppose that you make a commitment to yourself to lose 20 pounds by a certain date.  You notice that as the date approaches you’ve lost 10 out of the 20 pounds.  Which is the better reaction?

1) I’ve only lost 10 pounds.  I’m a failure.

or

2) OK, I lost 10 out of 20 pounds.  Not a bad start, but not what I committed to.  I'll redouble my efforts and give myself another month to achieve my goal.

Let’s say your son plays shortstop for his high school baseball team.  The opposing pitcher throws a big, fat, not-so-fastball right over the middle.  The batter at the plate hits a hard grounder right towards your son.  Easy play!  Except he took his eye off the ball (after all, your son is in high school; its springtime and his girlfriend is sitting in the stands behind the dugout wearing a lovely new sundress).  Man on first.  After the game, his father talks with his son.  Which is the better conversation?

1) How could you possibly have missed that one?  You cost the team the game.

or

2) Son, I know your girlfriend is in the stands.  Keep your head in the game.  Your team is counting on you and needs your total concentration when you are out on the field.

One final hypothetical is from the workplace.  Let’s say you’re part of a team that makes high performance computer systems.  The Christmas holiday is approaching and the team has  promised delivery of a system to a customer prior to Christmas. John is in charge of Manufacturing. Manufacturing misses the deadline. The customer is understandably upset and threatens to cancel the order.  A team meeting ensues.  Which is the better response?

1) John, why were you not on top of the situation?  This failure to meet our deadline is costing us our bonus.

or

2) Hey, John, Manufacturing promised a pre-Christmas delivery. What happened?   Is there any way we can make this up to the customer?

From these examples, we can see that we can hold ourselves and others accountable without reverting to negative  judgment.  This does not mean we let ourselves or others slide.  It does mean that by taking negative judgment out of the equation, we increase the likelihood of accountability.