The Importance of Follow Through
I was talking with a Ed (a co-worker of mine) a few weeks ago and the topic of leadership and management came up. Of course, we naturally started talking about Jack Welch, and his latest book “Winning.” I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I have read his other books, and personally think the Audio CD (read by Jack himself) for his book “Straight From The Gut” is one of the best business books of all time. Hearing Jack, in his gruff no-nonsense tone, talk about leadership, is both hilarious and 1000 times more impact-ful than just reading it. It is well worth your time, whether you are working in a big corporation or just looking to motivate yourself, your family or your friends to achieve something worthwhile.
Ed and I were talking about what it is that makes someone a successful leader. He brought up a fantastic point about what made Jack such powerful figure. Keep in mind, Jack Welch was a lifer at GE, starting right out of school at the age of 26 and climbing to the top over a 30+ year career. The point is, Jack Welch has INCREDIBLE FOLLOW THROUGH. Ed mentioned that in his last book, there are a few pages showing memos from some of the Jack’s top leaders at GEs. These memos were commitments the leader’s had made several years prior. Jack had printed these memos, and personally referenced them regularly years after they were made, making handwritten notes on the memos to keep track of progress against commitments.
To think that a CEO of one of the most successful companies on the planet would have this long-term view and make it a point to not only keep, but reference with painstaking detail the important communications he has with his employees….well, it just blows my mind. Most companies have standard review processes, which including some type of goal-setting and ratings against goals. Unfortunately, management rarely keeps these goals top of mind. Pursuit of the next big thing is always seeming to be more important that actually finishing what was started.
You can say Jack was successful for many reasons (charisma, brains, luck, etc) but I think it comes down to two things 1) endurance and 2) follow through. Finishing what you started and having the endurance to do it. Not losing sight of goals and commitments. Measuring progress (or lack thereof) against those goals and commitments. In my last post (peaceful warrior: an amazing film) I mentioned Tony Robbin’s “words of wisdom” that making progress is ultimately what helps us feel not only a sense of achievement from reaching a goal, but a sense of lasting fulfillment for what we have done. Having following through, means that you are able to see exactly where you (or your company, or your relationship, or whatever) are making progress, and where you are just plain old stagnating.
When was the last time you stopped to review goals or commitments you made for yourself (not for your job) and gave yourself and honest assessment? Most people never do, and when it does happens, it is not done consistently. Following through is one of the hardest things you will ever do, but if it works for Jack, it’s worth giving a shot.
