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This column is part of Globe Careers' new Leadership Lab series, where executives and leadership experts share their views and advice about the leadership and management issues of today. There will be a new column every weekday. Follow us at @Globe_Careers. Find all Leadership Lab stories at tgam.ca/leadershiplab

What does a $2 ignition switch have to do with you and your work? Everything.

When General Motors' ignition switch fiasco broke earlier this year, I had just developed a new program called "Take action, it matters. Doing nothing is making a choice." Reading about this story reinforced for me that our success or failure, like GM's, depends literally on something so small yet so important. A $2 ignition switch. Our action or lack of it decides what our future will hold.

When I walk on stage to present my program, I have this tiny ignition switch in my hand. It instantly reminds conference participants of the consequences of GM's lack of action. It emphasizes how vital it is that we don't fall into this abyss. Napoleon Bonaparte's words are even more relevant today than they were 200 years ago. "Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in."

Taking action matters. Inaction is costly. It costs us time. It costs us revenue. It costs us customers. It costs us our reputation.

Just as I ask participants at conferences, I ask you to think back to your last couple of meetings. The meetings where action strategies were discussed. Where plans were made. Where excitement spread among meeting attendees. Where the next meeting was scheduled for two or three weeks later. Where that meeting date arrived and there was no change, no action to report. Where doing nothing was making a choice. Do you relate to this scenario? When I ask program participants if they do, if the outcome of these meetings rings a bell, almost every hand goes up.

Who's responsible? Who's in charge? While we expect a leader to lead, to take action, we realize full well that no leader runs alone. Getting it done requires motivated employees working together for the good of the organization. A team of leaders.

Each of us is responsible for our own success. And that success can come only if we recognize the benefits of taking action and the consequences of doing nothing. Doing nothing is scary. Taking action is absolutely necessary. Business is all about taking action. Period. Here are five ways to take ensure action is taken.

Engagement matters

Research has found that often disengagement occurs as soon as six months after a new employee has been hired. Employees need to feel valuable, they need to feel that they are an important element of the organization. They are more certain to remain engaged when they are listened to, coached, trained and thanked regularly.

Responsibility matters

It's necessary to change the outdated terminology of job description to job responsibility. We must all lose that 'It's not my job. I don't have the authority' mentality and adopt an attitude of accountability. Only when everyone in the organization is responsible does it become a company of leaders.

Urgency matters

Recognize real priorities. Excite your people about their work. Give them realistic, specific objectives to achieve. Add short-term goals employees can achieve on their own and show them how their achievements relate to the company as a whole – to its success. Motivate yourself to take action in a timely manner and instill in your staff the sense of urgency and focus to do the same.

Eighteen minutes more matters

Take advantage of the benefits to be derived from getting extra productivity from yourself and your team. Garner 18 minutes more of output from yourself and every team member every day by using and teaching these strategies: Have your plan ready, set, go. Avoid distractions. Lose the time wasters. Stay focused.

Taking action matters

A $2 ignition switch offers us a lot to learn. The significance of this ignition switch relates to you, your job, your company, your promise and your brand. It reminds us very clearly that specific outcomes require specific actions. Create an action plan. Make it attainable with practical, viable, measurable, focused goals.

Taking action matters. The best time to start was last year. The second best time is right now. Ask yourself what action you can take today, tomorrow, every day.

Sam Geist (@samgeist) is a professional speaker, author and facilitator who specializes in strategy, marketing and leadership. E-mail: samgeist@geistgroup.com Website: www.samgeist.com.

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General Motors Company
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