Before coming to your training, please do the following:
Accountability for actions is an eternal principle that is present throughout associates' time with Deseret Industries. We consistently hold associates accountable for the choices they make. The choices that associates make will lead to their successes or failures in becoming self-reliant and employed. Correctly using the variety of reporting methods available to you will help hold associates accountable and help associates improve their performance.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Watch the video “The Sting of the Scorpion,” Mormon Messages, LDS.org.
Discuss the relationship between choices and consequences.
In small groups, read President Thomas S. Monson's story included in the “Lesson Resources” section, Resource 1.
After reading the story, discuss the relationship between choices and consequences.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Read 2 Nephi 2:26–29. In groups, discuss the principles taught in these verses. Discuss effective ways to teach these principles to associates.
Divide into small groups and share any current challenges you are experiencing in helping associates understand accountability. Brainstorm solutions for your group members' challenges.
On sticky notes, write ideas on how to hold an associate accountable to a task, goal, or plan. Write only one idea per sticky note. Place the sticky notes on the wall. Take a few minutes to read all the sticky notes on the wall.
From the following list, choose and complete one or more activities that best apply to your situation.
Discuss how using reporting methods can improve performance. Make a list of reporting tools, meetings, and processes that Deseret Employment has put in place to foster accountability.
Make sure the following methods are listed:
Demonstrate how the case management software can be used as an effective reporting tool. As you demonstrate the software, respond to any questions the group may have.
Ask for volunteers to share experiences of when the ATI or development plan discussion process has helped them or one of their associates become more accountable.
Seek to identify a personal or business gap or need.
Spend a few minutes silently pondering what you've discussed during this lesson. Listen as the Holy Ghost helps you identify areas where you can improve. Record your impressions in your learner's journal under the question “What Lack I Yet?”
Seek ways to close the gap or develop the required talent(s) to meet the need.
With the guidance of the Spirit, create your plan of how you will improve and close the gap(s) you have identified. You may use one or more of the exercises below, your own strategy, or a combination of both. Record this plan in your learner's journal under “What Must I Do?”
After a few minutes, those who are comfortable doing so can share their impressions with the group.
Seek understanding, and then share what you learned.
During the week, focus on implementing the plan you created. Record your impressions or lessons learned in your learner's journal under “Therefore, What?” You will be given time at the beginning of next week's lesson to share your experience with the group.
“When I was growing up, each summer from early July until early September, my family stayed at our cabin at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon in Utah.
“One of my best friends during those carefree days in the canyon was Danny Larsen, whose family also owned a cabin at Vivian Park. Each day he and I roamed this boy's paradise, fishing in the stream and the river, collecting rocks and other treasures, hiking, climbing, and simply enjoying each minute of each hour of each day.
“One morning Danny and I decided we wanted to have a campfire that evening with all our canyon friends. We just needed to clear an area in a nearby field where we could all gather. The June grass which covered the field had become dry and prickly, making the field unsuitable for our purposes. We began to pull at the tall grass, planning to clear a large, circular area. We tugged and yanked with all our might, but all we could get were small handfuls of the stubborn weeds. We knew this task would take the entire day, and already our energy and enthusiasm were waning.
“And then what I thought was the perfect solution came into my eight-year-old mind. I said to Danny, 'All we need is to set these weeds on fire. We'll just burn a circle in the weeds!' He readily agreed, and I ran to our cabin to get a few matches.
“Lest any of you think that at the tender age of eight we were permitted to use matches, I want to make it clear that both Danny and I were forbidden to use them without adult supervision. Both of us had been warned repeatedly of the dangers of fire. However, I knew where my family kept the matches, and we needed to clear that field. Without so much as a second thought, I ran to our cabin and grabbed a few matchsticks, making certain no one was watching. I hid them quickly in one of my pockets.
“Back to Danny I ran, excited that in my pocket I had the solution to our problem. I recall thinking that the fire would burn only as far as we wanted and then would somehow magically extinguish itself.
“I struck a match on a rock and set the parched June grass ablaze. It ignited as though it had been drenched in gasoline. At first Danny and I were thrilled as we watched the weeds disappear, but it soon became apparent that the fire was not about to go out on its own. We panicked as we realized there was nothing we could do to stop it. The menacing flames began to follow the wild grass up the mountainside, endangering the pine trees and everything else in their path.
“Finally we had no option but to run for help. Soon all available men and women at Vivian Park were dashing back and forth with wet burlap bags, beating at the flames in an attempt to extinguish them. After several hours the last remaining embers were smothered. The ages-old pine trees had been saved, as were the homes the flames would eventually have reached.
“Danny and I learned several difficult but important lessons that day” (Thomas S. Monson, “Obedience Brings Blessings,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 89–90).