At its core, accountability is all about delivering results as promised.

I believe in dreaming. It is a very valuable thing to do. In fact, I also believe in manifesting what you want. I also believe in the power of attraction. But, alas, there are some shortcomings with only doing this.

All results come from action.

Dreaming and manifesting will not do it. I know, it’s disappointing, but it is true.

On top of that, it seems that many people are concerned overly about being mistake-free. They become so concerned that they fail to take action and instead spend an inordinate amount of time on dreaming, planning, research, and calculations. No results come from any of those efforts. Note, all of them are important.

Sometimes all of our digital capabilities make this issue even worse. It allows us to spend even more time on these “non-result-producing” efforts.

At its core, accountability is all about delivering results as promised. Trying or even trying hard or harder will not do it.

A story to ponder.

In World War 2 a submarine captain had to be very certain his vessel was properly aimed before he fired. He could (should) spend hours making certain he had a high probability of success before he fired. That’s because the torpedo worked much like a bullet. You have to have the proper aim before you pull the trigger.

If that were the case with you, you would probably behave the same way—to your detriment.

Today a torpedo has a guidance system.

This a very good thing. It allows the captain to take action now and not spend any time dreaming, planning, researching, and making calculations. There is no time!

The captain must fire quickly and guide the missile afterward. If not, he could be too late, and late has serious consequences for his business.

In WW2, a captain had to wait, wait and wait before taking action. Why? If he fired too soon, he would likely miss and expend his resources on a futile cause.

Now, a submarine captain must fire ASAP. Why? If he takes the time to think, plan and study, he is likely to lose his ship and all the crew to the enemy.

Far too many people use the WW2 technique to run their business affairs. They do not seem to realize that if they wait to act, it could be too late.

However, today’s world is much like the world of the modern-era submarine captain. Sure, not life and death perhaps, but very fast-moving nonetheless.

You simply must take immediate action, and adjust afterward. You can not take the time to plan, plot, and ponder first.

An illustration of the cost of not taking action.

I had the opportunity to discuss this with a colleague the other day. She was lamenting about a friend's constant “getting ready to get ready” behavior. It seems this very bright person did not seem to get anything meaningful done. The results were always, “just around the corner”.

I told her about the young man who was sent out to get a deer for dinner to feed his family. When he returned just after dark he brought back a small rabbit. It turns out, he could not find a deer in the woods. So, rather than return empty-handed he shot a rabbit.

At least the family was able to have dinner and did not go hungry since he did not spend all his time waiting for the deer to show up. It is like what many people do today by spending a large about of time on the computer using Google to find out what a deer is!

Far too many people spend entirely too much time trying to get the deer and go hungry in doing so.