--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You would not let your kids do whatever…" description: "\"You would not let your kids do whatever they want. So the challenge is to create accountability in a non-mechanistic way. You cannot come in with a cli..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/john-kao-11833_accountability_you-would-not-let-your-kids-do-whatever_649740.png" --- # You would not let your kids do whatever they want. So the… ![“You would not let your kids do whatever they want. So the challenge is to create accountability in a non-mechanistic way. You cannot come in with a clipboard and check off boxes and figure out why something has not been done on schedule.” quote by John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/john-kao-11833_accountability_you-would-not-let-your-kids-do-whatever_649740.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/john-kao-11833_accountability_you-would-not-let-your-kids-do-whatever_649740.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/john-kao-11833_accountability_you-would-not-let-your-kids-do-whatever_649740.png) > “You would not let your kids do whatever they want. So the challenge is to create accountability in a non-mechanistic way. You cannot come in with a clipboard and check off boxes and figure out why something has not been done on schedule.” [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating accountability without rigid controls requires fostering intrinsic motivation and shared responsibility. **In simple terms:** Build responsibility through trust, not checklists. Key Takeaway Empower teams, avoid micromanagement. Themes leadership accountability motivation Mood thoughtful inspired Type advice leadership When to use this quote - team projects - remote work - startup culture - education - non‑profit management Key Concepts intrinsic motivation psychological safety Questions to Reflect On - How can you measure accountability without formal metrics? - What incentives foster self‑regulation? A Different Perspective May reduce clarity on specific tasks if not balanced with guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accountability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accountability/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Clipboards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clipboards/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Schedules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schedules/) ## Related quotes > [I guess the best advice I ever got or anyone could get for doing a talk show, though it has not been easy very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/i-guess-the-best-advice-i-ever-got-or-anyone-could-get-for-doing-a/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [So what do people see when they read that well-behaved women rarely make history? 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I tagged you at seventy miles per hour,"she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/do-you-know-how-fast-you-were-going-fang-looked-at-the-speedometer-no/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [People notice peacemakers because they dress funny. We know how the people who make war dress - in uniforms and medals, or in computers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/people-notice-peacemakers-because-they-dress-funny-we-know-how-the/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [If you ever see a war," she says, not looking up from her clipboard, "you'll learn that war only destroys. 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Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [I've always felt this, from when I was growing up to now with my son Riley. We don't let them be little. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-peterman/i-ve-always-felt-this-from-when-i-was-growing-up-to-now-with-my-son/) [Melissa Peterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-peterman/) > [We are the only animals that let our kids come back home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/we-are-the-only-animals-that-let-our-kids-come-back-home/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) ## More by John Kao > [The impresario function is about intervening with the company's more administrative management structure. It is about trying to establish a sense of boundaries and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-impresario-function-is-about-intervening-with-the-company-s-more/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [The traditional model for a company like Coca-Cola is to hire one big advertising agency and essentially outsource all of its creativity in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-traditional-model-for-a-company-like-coca-cola-is-to-hire-one-big/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [If you are at Coca-Cola, the creative challenge is one of maintaining - rather than creating - a tremendous level of consumption for your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/if-you-are-at-coca-cola-the-creative-challenge-is-one-of-maintaining/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [In a corporate context, companies have to try very hard to oppose the enticements of conventional wisdom. They must aim for the leaps, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/in-a-corporate-context-companies-have-to-try-very-hard-to-oppose-the/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [Coca-Cola can get really fresh output because it is getting people who are outside the traditional model and they are combining ideas in very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/coca-cola-can-get-really-fresh-output-because-it-is-getting-people/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [All of these creative ideas and decisions about new ways to reach the consumer can be tracked with regard to how well they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/all-of-these-creative-ideas-and-decisions-about-new-ways-to-reach-the/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [The imagination is like a muscle: it strengthens through use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-imagination-is-like-a-muscle-it-strengthens-through-use/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [If you come up with a new product, you can very easily track its contribution to the bottom line. But often the challenge can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/if-you-come-up-with-a-new-product-you-can-very-easily-track-its/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [Companies have to take risks to get new knowledge, in a manner similar to how jazz musicians take risks when they go after a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/companies-have-to-take-risks-to-get-new-knowledge-in-a-manner-similar/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [Performers may play in the studio, but they need to go out and tour every once in a while to keep their edge, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/performers-may-play-in-the-studio-but-they-need-to-go-out-and-tour/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [There's real "right brain" creativity that goes into all of the organizational processes that a company utilizes and must continually reinvent in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/there-s-real-right-brain-creativity-that-goes-into-all-of-the/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [Instead of command and control, managing the creative process is about facilitating and permitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/instead-of-command-and-control-managing-the-creative-process-is-about/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [Rather than managing by clarifying events, the creative process may require raising the level of uncertainty. 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It is prescribed, it has right answers and wrong answers and it sounds about the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-conventional-asset-allocation-method-is-like-sheet-music-it-is/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) > [The head of a record label sets up structures, but he also defines the sound of the label, which is to describe what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kao/the-head-of-a-record-label-sets-up-structures-but-he-also-defines-the/) [John Kao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) [Explore all 57 John Kao quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kao/) ## More Accountability quotes > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [In the battle for police reform, accountability and justice, Americans don't have to re-invent the wheel. 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When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [Democracy is not being well served as we're accustomed to. There is less information, there's less investigation, there's less analysis, there's less accountability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-greenspon/democracy-is-not-being-well-served-as-we-re-accustomed-to-there-is/) Edward Greenspon > [I come from a world where accountability and accomplishments matter, and where titles and rhetoric take a back seat to results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-come-from-a-world-where-accountability-and-accomplishments-matter/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [It means a lot. It means I'm accountable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/champ-bailey/it-means-a-lot-it-means-i-m-accountable/) [Champ Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/champ-bailey/) > [Our particular principles of religion are a subject of accountability to our god alone. I enquire after no man's and trouble none with mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/our-particular-principles-of-religion-are-a-subject-of-accountability/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [This strongly asserted but ill-defined license to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-alston/this-strongly-asserted-but-ill-defined-license-to-kill-without/) Philip Alston > [Responsible Development shares many practices with XP but the roots are different. Responsible Development's values are honesty, transparency, accountability and responsibility. These lead me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/responsible-development-shares-many-practices-with-xp-but-the-roots/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. 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