We procrastinate because we fear failure or because we fear dealing with certain people or taking on responsibility.  We put off the inevitable even when we know we should start and finish the job.

Here are four steps that will help you eliminate procrastination in your personal and professional life.

Clearly Define What Needs To Be Done
When you have a clear definition of what needs to be accomplished it makes it easier to begin the project.  Many times we put off starting a project because we do not have a full understanding of the scope of the project or the expectations of what we need to produce.  The more specific you can be in describing what needs to be done the less likely you will be in making excuses for not beginning the project.  The same concept applies when delegating a task to a team member.  Be sure to clearly define the expectations.

Know WHY You Are Doing Something
Everything comes down to “why.”  It’s the “why” that drives your actions and determines the decisions we all make.  The more important the “why” the more likely we are to want to begin the project.  Take the time to think about why you are doing something, what completing the project means to you and exactly what you stand to gain when you finish.  This information will motivate you to move forward.

Review the Consequences of Lack of Performance
What happens if you don’t meet you deadline or you put the project off so long it is impossible to have enough time to do a great job?  If the consequences are great enough, chances are you will want to get started sooner.  The greater the consequences of failure the higher the likelihood that you will push yourself to move forward.

Reward Yourself For Meeting or Exceeding Deadlines
Hey, we all like a present from time to time.  Set up check-points and deadlines for your projects.  Give yourself small rewards each time you meet a check-point and then something larger when you hit your overall deadline.  Some projects can seem overwhelming but when you break them into smaller, achievable elements you will feel comfortable beginning and ultimately finishing the project.

Eliminating procrastinating is a trait of highly accountable people and leads to greater results in your personal life and higher productivity in your professional life.  Great leaders are accountable leaders and eliminate procrastination.

We spoke to the manager, Claude. Claude wanted to serve us. I’m sure he realized that an extra 25 people during his lunch period would make his daily numbers look great! He expressed concern over being able to give us the outstanding service they were known for and at the same time not diminish the service to those patrons already in the restaurant. After checking with his staff Claude decided that he would be able to accommodate us.

Claude was fully aware of his strategic intent, to provide exceptional service and a positive dining experience to the guests that entered his restaurant. Claude also had a strategic intent based around volume and productivity. By being fully aware of his strategic intents and by making sure that one didn’t suffer because of the other, Claude was able to optimize his performance.

Do you take the time to determine your strategic intent? Do you ever let one goal get in the way of achieving something else you are committed to? Being accountable means assuring that your behaviors are congruent with your values. When we let a success in one area take away from another, it may be that we are not being accountable to the big picture and fall prey to short term gains.

Take the time to determine your strategic intent. Create your “right things” or tactical activities that, when performed consistently, will lead you to the achievement of your goals. By engaging in these activities you are showing a high level of accountability to your strategic intent.

I carried in the computer and asked where the help desk was. Micro Center conveniently has the desk off to the right as I entered the store. I signed in and Dave called my name. I explained the issues and that I wanted to completely install Windows from scratch. As soon as Dave heard what I needed he rolled into action.

Dave said that I needed a special driver in addition to the Windows install disk. He went to the Dell website, downloaded it and put it on a floppy disc. He then inserted both the floppy and the Windows install DVD and booted up the machine.

Dave was able to initiate the install process. He told me to feel free to look around the store and that he would monitor progress. After about 30 minutes I mentioned that I had a phone call I needed to make and Dave said to take my time and he would continue the installation. Well, my conference call lasted 45 minutes and when I returned Dave had completed the Windows installation, downloaded and installed all the necessary drivers for the many add-on boards that were in this computer and placed copies on the desktop of the two upgrade packages that I would need when I returned to my office. Dave was friendly, very knowledgeable and dedicated to great service.

The entire process took about two hours. When I asked Dave what the charge would be he said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad to get you back up and running.” I stood there in disbelief. Here was an out of warranty piece of equipment that I didn’t even purchase from Micro Center and they helped solved all of my problems at no charge.

This is a prime example of being accountable to contribute to your relationships. Yes, they do provide fee based services but if they can handle your problem at their help desk then many times they simply do not charge. By offering this level of service Micro Center is in essence contributing to important relationships. Micro Center is positioning themselves as a leader in the technology community and a leader in providing assistance to the community in which they serve.

How You Can Apply These Skills

What relationships do you have in your personal or professional life that you could be making contributions to? From an organizational standpoint, what relationships could you make contributions to? Create a list of six people whom you could contribute value to. Be accountable to contribute to your relationships and watch as people around you flourish. You never know where your new and enhanced relationships will go.

By the way, while I was looking around the store I found this nifty device that allows me to back up all my files and then provide me access to them from anywhere in the world via the internet. Guess who is now a loyal Micro Center customer?!

Hope is what drives all action and without action nothing happens. With hope we believe that something is possible. Once we believe it is possible we will work through the challenges to find the solutions and figure out how to make it happen.

When people don’t believe, they don’t take action, they betray their potential and eventually they give up.

Accountable leaders recognize the value of hope and work to instill hope in everyone with whom they come in contact. When we instill hope in others they have the opportunity to fulfill their vision and achieve everything they deserve. When we instill hope in others they remember that we took the time to believe in them, pat them on the back and encourage them on to success, and maybe more importantly, significance.

Look around you and see in whom you can instill hope, a dream and the possibility of reaching higher and achieving more. We all win in the presence of hope.

We determined well over 30 characteristics for a safety leader, and then we defined three that really jump out at you

Number one, great safety leaders are great communicators. They need to be able to explain to those people on their team what’s important, the steps that they need to follow, what’s happening in the organization, what’s working and what’s not. Good communication is important because everyone on the team needs to know what’s going on in the safety environment.

The second characteristic of a great safety leader is the ability to set goals and create a vision. By setting goals and creating a vision, they get others on their safety team to buy in and if the vision is strong enough, everyone wants to be a part of the vision. Ultimately, in most safety organizations, our vision is to drive for zero. We want zero incidents. We want to eliminate safety as a problem in every workforce. So we must have a clear stated goal and vision.

And the third characteristic of a great safety leader is accountability. Safety leaders understand what it is that they are accountable for and they apply their accountability on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. They understand that they’re accountable to do the right things consistently, that they’re accountable to establish the correct and right expectations and ultimately, that they’re accountable to contribute to the relationships to the people around them. They do that by not only assisting those individuals, but by helping them achieve their personal goals. Because when we help others achieve their goals, they will want to come on board and help us achieve our goals, achieve our strategic intent and ultimately, we achieve the vision that we have set for our self.

These three traits apply to any organizational leaders but when we teach this skills to our safety leaders they help lead the charge for a workplace safety record that moves to zero!

Here’s what I discovered during the meeting. It was a small meeting of maybe 225 people. Some of the friends that I regularly hung out with were not there and what happened was I had the opportunity to build relationships with some new people or to further relationships with some people that I only had known on the surface. I developed two new partnerships out of this time together.  What I find is that it’s the relationships in our life that drive everything positive.

If you think about your business or your personal life, think about an amazing accomplishment. Think about the number one thing that you’re proud of, and I guarantee you, there is a relationship involved in it. Look in your life both professionally and personally to make contributions to your relationships because as you grow those relationships, you’ll find new ways to advance. You’ll find new ways to achieve. You’ll be helping others achieve and ultimately, they will help you.

Look to grow your sphere of contribution, those people who you proactively contribute to the growth and wellbeing of your relationship.  Think of five people right now that you know and you feel that you should work to further develop your relationships.  What can you do to add value to their personal or professional life?  Have you read an interesting article that they might enjoy?  Have you read a great book lately that you could share with them?  Can you possibly provide them with a professional referral?  Take action now.

Then, think about two people who you would like to get to know and build a relationship.  Find someone who can introduce you.  Look to discover their needs and see how you can deliver value.  Make the effort to start the process that only time can finish.

Contributing to our relationships is something that we’re all accountable for.  By building new relationships and stronger relationships you will be adding value for others and showing accountability for growing your professional and personal life as well.

Our plates are so full with so many activities that we don’t have the time or the space or the mental capacity to take on a new activity that’s going to lead us to the success that we’re trying to achieve. We need to find what’s not working and quit. I’m not saying give up on a project. I’m not saying walk away from something before you’re able to achieve the success that eventually you should be able to achieve. What I’m saying is we need to evaluate the activities in our lives and then decide. Are they really yielding the results that we want or are there other activities, other ventures that could give us a greater return on our time and investment? Because when we eliminate what’s taking up our time and implement new ideas, new business ventures, new product lines, then we’re able to grow at a substantially faster rate and achieve what it is that we’re trying to achieve.

We are accountable to manage our space, the space in our life that allows us to achieve what it is that we deserve and have the ability to achieve.  We must take the time to determine what is really working and what isn’t.  We need to know our options as well.  We need to know what new directions we can go, projects we can assume and new products we can offer.  Maybe there is a new client service experience initiative that would be a valuable use of our time and financial resources.

Quit what isn’t working or only generating marginal results.  Then, use that new “space” to take on a new project and accelerate your growth and success.

I bought the same product before from a different manufacturer, only there was no cellophane on the outside of the box. This time, as I opened the cellophane to get to the box, I thought to myself, wow, this product must really be fresh. I opened it up and I enjoyed it. And when I went back, I bought this new product the next time. My question for you is this, what are you doing in your business to add that second wrapping of cellophane to the products and services that you offer?

Our customers’ expectations are evolving and changing and we need to change ourselves, not only based on what they want but we need to be one step ahead of them. We need to change the game for them so they realize that we’re an industry leader. We’re not just trying to follow and keep up with the pack but we need to take our products and services and change the way that our customers engage with us.

We need to look at all of our systems, whether it’s the sales system, customer service system, or delivery system.  We then ask ourselves, “Is there something we can eliminate?” Can we streamline? Can we improve the process? Can we put an extra bow on it or wrap it in cellophane? Because when we come up with a better system and engage our customer at that level, then we’ll create that better customer experience.

You see, when I opened the box, my expectation was that the quality of the product was going to be better. When our clients believe going in that we are going to deliver a better quality product or a higher level of service, then for the most part, we are able to deliver at a higher level. Their higher expectations create a situation where we have a self-fulfilling prophecy. Look for improving the way that you work and communicate with and deliver products and services to your clients and watch your business grow.

You know, many times, we look at our business when there’s a challenge and we go for a quick fix but we haven’t done the in-depth thorough analysis to fully understand what’s not working. We need to take the time to look at our business, to tear it apart, look at the details, and look at other businesses in the same industry.

Additionally, look at businesses in other industries that perform similar tasks because we can learn from them as well.  And when you combine all that information, we’re in a better position to determine what may not be working right.  Be accountable to establish the right expectations based on others’ successes combined with your past personal experiences.  We can then take into consideration where we want to be and come up with a diagnosis of how we’re going to close the gap between where we are and where we want to be because it’s closing that gap that will lead us to success.

Great leaders understand that while their organization may not be working at the rate or the efficiency that they want, that to get there, they need to first do a thorough examination so that they know everything that’s wrong before they try to fix anything.

You see, sometimes in business, we accumulate stuff that gets in the way and what we need to be doing is we need to be focusing on the value that we deliver to our clients and nothing else because everything else gets in the way. Everything else drives up expenses. Everything else is a cost overrun for us and for the clients.

Sure, the razor manufacturer would much rather sell me a $4 razor blade than a 35-cent double-edged razor blade. But why engage in that level of business when you can deliver true value to your clients?

Look to simplify what you do. Look at the core of what it is that you do and deliver on that to the very best that you can. Sometimes, when you try to deliver something that’s so big, you do it in a marginal way rather than keeping it simple and being the best there is, the best for your clients, the best for your self and the best as a leader in trying to build your organization.  We are all accountable to be our best.