{ "version": "https:\/\/jsonfeed.org\/version\/1.1", "title": "Artöm Mazurchak: posts tagged ответсвенность", "_rss_description": "Product notes by Artem Mazurchak: JTBD interviews, customer segmentation, strategy sessions and AI. Founder of Biz-cen.ru and Lashoestring.com, writing from Berlin.", "_rss_language": "en", "_itunes_email": "", "_itunes_categories_xml": "", "_itunes_image": "", "_itunes_explicit": "", "home_page_url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=tags\/otvetsvennost\/", "feed_url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=tags%2Fotvetsvennost%2Fjson%2F", "icon": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1700581632", "authors": [ { "name": "Artöm Mazurchak", "url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/", "avatar": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/userpic\/userpic@2x.jpg?1700581632" } ], "items": [ { "id": "72", "url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/how-responsibility-gets-shared-why-building-systems-matters-and\/", "title": "How responsibility gets shared, why building systems matters and the skill of putting out fires", "content_html": "
\n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

How do people share responsibility?<\/h2>\n

Responsibility, whether at work or in personal relationships is always split the same way: 100% on one side and 100% on the other. When you’re working toward a goal together, it’s not about shifting the responsibility onto someone else. It’s about agreeing on how to build a system that will help you reach that goal.<\/p>\n

The moment someone says, “I’m 99% responsible,” they’re already starting to give up control over the outcome. And if things don’t go well, it’s easy to just blame the other person. That’s how you slip into a victim mindset. And once you’re there, it’s hard to learn or figure out how to actually get things done.<\/p>\n

Focus on the system, not on who’s to blame<\/h2>\n

— Okay, but if I’m not blaming anyone and taking full responsibility, how am I supposed to get things done? I can’t do everything by myself.<\/p>\n

When you discussed the task as a team, you were actually building a system together, figuring out how you’d work to reach the goal. So if the result doesn’t happen, the only thing worth focusing on is how to improve that system. What needs fixing to make it work? The key question isn’t “Who’s to blame?” but “How do we improve the system to get the result?”<\/p>\n

In all of this, we’re assuming the people you work or build relationships with actually want to get things done. But if they don’t, even then, it’s on you. You’re the one who chose to work with them. That’s 100% your responsibility. And chances are, there’s something in it for you, some reason you picked that person or keep acting in a way that stops you from getting the result.<\/p>\n

When I started Biz-cen.ru, I was responsible for pretty much everything. And when the first team members joined, I was sure they’d mess things up, make mistakes, miss the mark, maybe even ruin our chances. But the truth is, that mistrust wasn’t about protecting the business. It came from my need to control everything and feel important. Whenever someone on the team got something wrong, I’d jump in and tell them they were doing it wrong. But people don’t like feeling blamed and pretty quickly, our conversations would turn into blame-and-defend mode.<\/p>\n

It took me a while, but I finally realized there’s no point in blaming anyone. What actually helps is getting the team together and figuring out how to improve the system so we can do better tomorrow than we did today. That simple shift really worked. First, it made it clear who actually fits the team and shares our values. And second, people started to feel like they mattered, because they had the power to make a difference. When you give people space to make decisions, you give them a chance to show what they care about.<\/b><\/p>\n

How do you get things done?<\/h2>\n

People differ in how they solve problems. And there are two key traits that define your approach: first, taking responsibility; second, the ability to build systems. That means setting up parallel processes that not only help you solve the problem faster but also keep it from coming back in the same way later.<\/p>\n

Let’s use a simple example: you’re in a village and your cousin’s house catches fire while he’s away. What you do next shows a lot about how you deal with problems and if this were at work, it would say a lot about your professionalism. There are five levels of how you can handle a situation like this.<\/p>\n

Level one.<\/b> You see the house on fire and just start running around yelling, “Ahhh! Fire! We need to do something!”<\/p>\n

Level two.<\/b> You grab a couple of buckets, run to the pond and start hauling water back and forth, hoping you can put out the fire.<\/p>\n

Level three.<\/b> You call Nick and Mike from the next house over. You tell them what to bring, where the pond is and what they need to do.<\/p>\n

Level four.<\/b> You tell your younger son to run and call everyone from the neighboring houses. Once they show up, you organize a bucket line from the pond to the burning house. Fire’s out.<\/p>\n

Level five.<\/b> Same as level four, but you also figure out the fire started because of old wiring. You call an electrician to fix it and while they’re there, you ask him to ground the roof antennas too.<\/p>\n

At level five, you took full responsibility for getting results. But you didn’t do it all alone, you got others involved and set up parallel processes that kept things moving without needing your constant attention. And in the end, you made sure the same problem wouldn’t happen again. What level of fire-fighting skills do you want the people on your team to have?<\/p>\n

Takeaways:<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Responsibility is split like this: 100% on you and 100% on the other side;<\/li>\n
  2. Don’t look for someone to blame, build systems that work better tomorrow than they did today;<\/li>\n
  3. To solve problems at level five: set up parallel processes and build systems that keep the problem from coming back.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n", "summary": "Responsibility, whether at work or in personal relationships is always split the same way: 100% on one side and 100% on the other", "date_published": "2020-06-28T19:57:10+02:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-21T11:54:57+02:00", "tags": [ "entrepreneurship", "leadership", "мышление", "ответсвенность", "развитие", "управление" ], "image": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/fire@2x.jpg", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sun, 28 Jun 2020 19:57:10 +0200", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "72", "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/fire@2x.jpg" ] } }, { "id": "91", "url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/context-training-by-gerasichev-and-moskotin\/", "title": "“Context” Training by Gerasichev and Moskotin", "content_html": "

    I attended Vladimir Gerasichev’s “Context<\/a>” training. I first heard about it from Yuri Belonoshchenko<\/a> and Vladimir Voloshin<\/a>, they mentioned it during their talks at Skolkovo. The training offers a clear, solid take on what results, responsibility, choice, and feedback really mean.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

    Format<\/h2>\n

    The training runs for three days straight from 10 AM to 8 PM. The first two days were led by Mikhail Moskotin<\/a>, who was energetic, intense and funny. Maybe he had this mindset to lead “better” than the creator of the training. Whatever it was, it worked. Mikhail was really inspiring. The third day was with Vladimir Gerasichev<\/a> and it had a much calmer vibe.<\/p>\n

    Mikhail put the goal of the training into words like this: learn to accept other points of view and clearly show the other person that you understand them. He suggests approaching the material with a learning mindset, asking yourself, “What if this is true?” Here’s some truth:<\/p>\n

    Interpretation<\/h2>\n

    The training suggests dividing the whole world into what’s “important” and what’s “not important.” Important things are those that actually show up in real life. Unimportant things are those that don’t produce real-world results. Example: if we agreed to meet at 10:00 and I showed up on time, that means the meeting was important to me. If I really want abs but keep eating fries late at night, abs aren’t important to me – fries are. You can easily check what’s important or not by looking at your real-life results.<\/p>\n

    Everything you have today comes directly from the viewpoints you hold. Everything you don’t have is also because of your viewpoints. The idea behind “Context” is that you can always choose another viewpoint and change how you see a situation.<\/p>\n

    You always win the game you’re playing. So, if your interpretation of the world is that everyone around you is an idiot, you might move to another country. But all those idiots will move with you.<\/p>\n

    No one has direct access to a “non-interpreted event.” I interpret an event through my own experience. And if I choose to view the event from a certain angle, chances are I’m getting some kind of benefit from seeing things that way.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

    Wishing something has nothing to do with action or results. I might say I want to learn to ride a motorcycle or earn a million dollars, but if it’s not actually happening, it means I don’t really care, it’s just not important enough.<\/p>\n

    If I don’t like my current job or I’m unhappy about my relationship with my parents, it means I get something out of that viewpoint. Even if I change the scenery and switch jobs, I’ll probably still feel unhappy. Enthusiasm and interest are something I can choose. If I’m excited to work in IT, I can also choose to feel excited about digging potatoes. I’m responsible for choosing how I feel about what I do.<\/p>\n

    What I “want” doesn’t actually connect with what I do. Action and desire aren’t tied together. I can choose to do something if it’s important enough to me. There’s a simple way to check this:
    \nyou want ≠ you don’t do
    \nyou want ≠ you do
    \nyou don’t want ≠ you don’t do
    \nyou don’t want ≠ you do
    \nThis whole idea of “I just don’t want it badly enough” is nothing. It simply means it’s not important enough to me.<\/p>\n

    Responsibility<\/h2>\n

    There are two positions I can take in life: victim or author. A victim is someone who believes that external forces or other people control their outcomes. Victims blame their results on competitors, emotions, childhood, traffic, weather, circumstances, horoscopes, solar storms or even illness. An author believes everything depends on them, that they’re stronger than their circumstances. And it’s completely my choice which role to take.<\/p>\n

    Victims feel comfortable with other victims because they reinforce each other’s excuses. They’re uncomfortable being around authors, it’s just too challenging.<\/p>\n

    When I do something, I’m the author. When I’m stuck thinking, I’m a victim.<\/p>\n

    Real conversations only happen when both sides take responsibility. Otherwise, conversations turn into explaining why something didn’t happen instead of achieving results. A great example: if I have results, I just show them – no explanation needed. But if I don’t have results, I start gathering analytics and detailed explanations. If the result isn’t there, clearly it wasn’t important to me.<\/p>\n

    Saying “the goal itself doesn’t inspire me” shifts responsibility onto the goal. Or when someone says “I’m looking for my life’s purpose”, it’s like waiting around for luck. They’re hoping someday they’ll fully express themselves when they finally find the perfect thing. Or the excuse: “leaders are born, not made.” All these examples illustrate a victim’s mindset, it’s comfortable because there’s no risk involved, no real action required and it allows people to complain about circumstances controlling their lives.<\/p>\n

    What if there’s no such thing as the “right” or “wrong” goal, but instead, I just make excuses for not reaching it?<\/p>\n

    In every moment, I’m fully expressing myself, just like a sparkler burning brightly. I can’t express myself better now than a second ago. If I’m still looking for my life’s calling, searching is clearly important to me, not actually doing it. Every choice has a benefit and a cost. For example, the benefit of “searching for my life’s calling” is avoiding mistakes, staying comfortable and never having to take responsibility. The price is wasting time, not moving toward goals and failing to push my team forward. When going after a new goal, I could enjoy the thrill, but the thrill comes at the price of risk.<\/p>\n

    People work with me based on whether I keep my word. First, if I am ready to take responsibility. Second, if I deliver on my promises. Do I typically act as an author or a victim? When do I start blaming external factors for my failures? I’m smart enough to always find excuses, but if I approach like this, results clearly aren’t important to me. I know this because in reality, I don’t have them.<\/p>\n

    Choice<\/h2>\n

    When a person keeps searching for something they’ll enjoy doing, they’re acting like a tourist in life, saying, “Show me what you’ve got and I’ll pick something I like.” There’s a great video of Mikhail Moskotin<\/a> explaining this concept in detail.<\/p>\n

    In reality, it’s impossible to know if you’ll truly like a future goal or not, because you haven’t been there yet (unless it’s a goal you’ve already achieved before). What if you think about a goal without relying on your past experience? Face the future directly instead of backing into it.<\/p>\n

    If you visualize this, choosing based on past experience just makes your existing frame thicker. Instead, you could expand your frame.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

    Without a goal, you have no control. It’s like shooting an arrow randomly and then running over afterward to draw a target around wherever it lands, saying, “Yep, that’s exactly what I was aiming for!” Convenient, no responsibility required. With this approach, you might say “why not?”, but you’re just moving chaotically. Right or wrong isn’t motivating, having a clear goal is.<\/p>\n

    When you’re feeling down or discouraged, ask yourself “What’s my goal?” This shifts your mindset away from feeling sorry for yourself and toward focusing on your future and present.<\/p>\n

    A healthy path: I want→ I declare it’s important → I actually do it \/ I get results. An unhealthy one: I want→ I declare it’s important → I don’t do, I waste all my energy convincing people and myself how much I truly want it, even though reality proves otherwise. How do I know it’s not important? Just look at reality. The scary part is how easily I can convince myself to live comfortably in scenario number two.<\/p>\n

    Feedback<\/h2>\n

    Feedback is neutral information about how I’m showing up, designed to help me achieve my goal. Some behaviors help me reach the goal, I should keep doing those. Other behaviors need adjusting if I want to reach the goal faster.<\/p>\n

    When receiving feedback, I usually sort it into two boxes: “good” and “bad.” For everything that lands in the “bad” box, I often create elaborate excuses explaining why I didn’t do it differently. By doing this, I’m the one labeling feedback as good or bad. I end up chasing approval rather than focusing on the real goal I wanted feedback on.<\/p>\n

    If I get offended by someone’s feedback, I gain a hidden benefit, I don’t have to change anything. I get to be right and the person giving feedback “just doesn’t get it,” despite my efforts. This is a convenient way to avoid responsibility and still look good.<\/p>\n

    Conclusion:<\/b> Move forward.<\/p>\n", "summary": "I attended Vladimir Gerasichev’s “Context” training. I first heard about it from Yuri Belonoshchenko and Vladimir Voloshin, they mentioned it during their talks at Skolkovo", "date_published": "2019-07-15T20:58:09+02:00", "date_modified": "2026-07-21T11:54:58+02:00", "tags": [ "выбор", "Герасичев", "Москотин", "обратная связь", "ответсвенность", "результат", "тренинг Контекст" ], "image": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/kontekst.png", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Mon, 15 Jul 2019 20:58:09 +0200", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "91", "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/kontekst.png", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/intrepr.png", "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/fear.png" ] } }, { "id": "77", "url": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/?go=all\/telling-the-difference-between-pretenders-and-problem-solvers\/", "title": "Telling the difference between Pretenders and Problem-Solvers", "content_html": "

    In our company, there are people who know their stuff way better than I do. And when everything goes according to plan, things run smoothly. But real work always brings surprises. So how do you tell if something went wrong because of the employee or not?<\/p>\n

    When progress in some area stalls for a while, I see two possible scenarios. In the first one, the work is actually being done right: solid hypotheses are built, tested and refined. Let’s call these folks the Problem-Solvers. In the second case, the person just doesn’t have the necessary knowledge or skills. Let’s call them the Pretenders.<\/p>\n

    \n\"\"\n<\/div>\n

    Over time, I’ve come up with a way to spot the difference. Problem-Solvers are open during discussions. They take responsibility for mistakes, explain what’s going on in plain language and lay out a clear path forward. Their mindset is: “I know I can figure this out, I learn from my mistakes.” Pretenders, on the other hand, speak in circles, avoid clear answers and tend to blame others. Their driving force is fear of being discovered. They often rely on past achievements to cover up current gaps.<\/p>\n

    I’ve never been able to turn a Pretender into a Problem-Solver. My take is that the Pretenders have built a life around avoiding responsibility, not just at work. Real growth, I believe, only happens when someone takes ownership of their life. But when fear is the main motivator, people only learn just enough to stay hidden. That’s a dead end.<\/p>\n

    In a perfect world, a good leader knows how to spot and keep the Problem-Solvers and filter out the Pretenders before they even make it past the interview.<\/p>\n", "summary": "In our company, there are people who know their stuff way better than I do. And when everything goes according to plan, things run smoothly", "date_published": "2017-03-05T19:16:10+02:00", "date_modified": "2026-02-14T14:00:15+02:00", "tags": [ "ответсвенность", "управление" ], "image": "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/ab.jpg", "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:16:10 +0200", "_rss_guid_is_permalink": "false", "_rss_guid": "77", "_e2_data": { "is_favourite": false, "links_required": [], "og_images": [ "https:\/\/www.mazurchak.com\/pictures\/ab.jpg" ] } } ], "_e2_version": 4199, "_e2_ua_string": "Aegea 11.5 (v4199)" }