Do you want to succeed in business and in life? Learn to execute!

Question: Three kids are sitting up in a tree. One decides to jump down. How many kids remain in the tree?

Answer: If you said two, then you’re WRONG! The answer is three.

You see, the decision to jump down, and the actual act of jumping down, are two completely different things.

A decision without execution equals failure. And, just like the kids in the tree, we often make decisions but fail to execute or follow through. Great decisions are made every day but unless the decision is followed by an action the decision is useless.

There are many excuses for not taking action, but the main cause is often linked to procrastination. We have seen this so many times in our own lives. You decide that you are going to do something, and then for whatever reason, you never do it. Often it is because you feel that you don’t have the time or the skill to accomplish the task, but most times it is just plain fear, fear of failure that causes you to procrastinate (PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THE DECISION NOT TO ACT ON A DECISION, IS IN AND OF ITSELF, FAILURE!).

How many times, just this past week alone, have YOU decided to do something and then didn’t follow through with it? Losing weight…, creating a blog…, joining a gym…, these are all common activities that if not executed can cause great regret in your life.

But, what about when others rely on you as part of a team? People that procrastinate can also negatively impact an entire organization. I have seen many nonprofit organizations suffer from the failure to execute. The board of directors, community leaders, business leaders, stakeholders and staff spend hours and sometimes days conducting SWOT analysis and brainstorming sessions where tremendous ideas are generated. Sometimes consultants are hired to prepare expensive feasibility studies and business plans. During this process, decisions are made, but without execution the plans often end up on a shelf gathering dust.

Do you procrastinate or execute? Please share with me your ideas and experience with this issue? How do you keep people motivated and executing?