If somebody asked you what is the most crucial aspect of business to focus on to ensure success, what would you say?
Some would choose Sales. Some would say Marketing. Many would claim it’s Leadership. Others believe it’s Systems. More than a few would be adamant that the most important element is financial acumen.
I don’t disagree that these areas are all vital to the creation of any outstanding commercial enterprise. But in my experience there’s one element rarely talked about that trumps all the others in importance.
That element? Urgency.
Think about it. What’s the number one gripe of executives and entrepreneurs today?
They can’t get enough done.
Sure they’ve got great ideas, plenty of them, but actually making those ideas happen is the hard part.
It’s not just a matter of spending more time working. The reason so many are not achieving enough is not actually a shortage of time (who isn’t working at least 50 to 60 hours a week?).
It’s that other people get in the way.
In so many different ways.
They take ages to decide. Or make it difficult to get your job done. Or sit in endless meetings pontificating on the pros and cons. Or put off allocating the right resources. Or just don’t make a decision. Or forget they agreed to do something. Or don’t follow up.
The plain truth is that getting anything done in the business world is damn hard, because the inertia, complexity and resistance to action is so strong.
The only way to cut through it all is to act with a real sense of urgency. To behave with an almost desperate urge to get the job done, no matter what and as soon as humanly possible.
Only when you have a spirit or urgency can you push your way through the admin and red tape. Only by acting with urgency can you get others to deliver on time. Only being truly urgent in your dealings can you achieve anything significant in a year.
The more you think about it, the more it rings true. Urgency is the one thing that drives projects forward quickly.
If you’re not urgent, people sense it and relax and move slowly. Things take ages to bear fruit. Mediocrity abounds.