Have you ever known someone who was terrific at starting projects but terrible at finishing them? Sure you have. We all have people in our lives who do this. They may be a family member, a colleague, or a member of a team we lead. They start project after project, then for some reason, they can’t seem to do the follow through to make it to the finish line. Their offices, homes, and garages are filled with open files, stacks of partially sorted materials, and projects left incomplete, with whatever they were working on useless. The last five weeks we’ve been discussing the big five steps of accomplishment, and this fifth step may be the greatest indicator of whether or not someone is actually leadership material. Certainly it is important for everyone to do the steps we’ve been discussing such as Dream-Plan-Start-Work, but if they cannot finish, all the effort to this point is of little value. Leaders must, and do, know how to finish what they have started.
I am a list maker. I love to start each day with a list of things which I need to accomplish and I get great joy whenever I cross something off the list as being done. I’m even so far gone as to do something that wasn’t on the list, then I’ll write it down after the fact, just so that I can mark it off. Nuts, I know, but I get a lot of things done! When a new project comes to my attention I immediately begin the list making process. I’m one of those who can instantly figure out all the action steps that will be necessary to make a monster-sized and complex end result happen. From my first list, I categorize and make sub lists, then I get to work, and as I do, I carry my lists with me at all times. (You never know when you might need to add to your list or get the joy of crossing something off, you know!) Making my lists and dutifully working to cross things off is how I get to the finish line. Sometimes my lists are electronic, sometimes on a note pad or even a napkin, but the lists help me to stay focused and resolved to finish what I have started. For my biggest projects of the year, I even keep countdown clocks running on my IPhone so that I can constantly remind myself and my team members (sometimes annoyingly) that we have a finish line rapidly approaching. There have been times when I have even watched my countdown clock click down to zero just as I pick up my microphone to go onstage to welcome the people to the event. Yes, I am just a little off in that way, but effective!
Does knowing how to finish what you start really matter? Yes, resoundingly yes! What if you were watching the NBA finals and in game seven the refs stopped the game with two minutes to go, saying “We’ll finish sometime?” Or what if you were reading a wonderful book and found that the publisher decided you didn’t need the final chapters that wrapped up the story? More importantly, what if you have been working for months on a project with your team, and then you just stopped because you got tired. Think of the time and resources that have been wasted. How about someone who spends their entire life for a worthwhile mission and then decides to become a flake just as they are about to really change the world for good? What would you think of them? How about a leader who just lacks the discipline to finish?
We all know people, corporations, and causes that do this. They dream and plan, start and work, only to fail to finish just when their fruits of their labor were about to pay off and help a lot of people. I believe that to have a vision and to invest your time, talent, and treasure in working to fulfill that vision, only to stop short for whatever reason is just wrong. Now, I’m aware that sometimes life gets in the way. Things which we have no control over can happen that derail our finishing, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Even in those instances, the finish line can still be obtained either at a later time or by someone else stepping in. No, I’m talking about people who say they want to be a leader, but don’t have the finishing power of discipline and persistence.
To be a leader, I believe you must overcome the mental and physical fatigue as you approach the final stretch of whatever journey you are on, just as a marathon runner makes the decision to finish the last mile of their race to reach the finish line. Leaders finish, and the people they lead are counting on them to do so. DREAM-PLAN-START-WORK-FINISH. Those are the big five steps of accomplishment.
Lead well.