The founder of a highly successful company was asked what it took to succeed. He answered: "The same thing it took to get started: a sense of urgency about getting things done."
The people who make things happen share the same sense of urgency. Ask any entrepreneur to list the keys to getting a company off the ground, and urgency will be among the traits listed.
No matter how intelligent or able you may be, if you don't have a sense of urgency, you'd better start developing it now. The world is full of competent people who honestly intend to do things tomorrow; however, tomorrow seldom comes for them.
John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor and author of "A Sense of Urgency," says that keeping up urgency is a challenge, because leaders must create it over and over. It must be embedded in your culture. Companies are vulnerable to complacency setting in.
He advises that the key for leaders in maintaining a sense of urgency is "to value the capacity to appreciate unexpected opportunities. This focus results in work that is highly leveraged, meaningful work, a culture that is satisfying to heart and mind, and an organization that continues to succeed in a changing world."
According to Gallup's "State of the American Workplace Report," published in 2013, only 30 percent of employees are actively committed to doing a good job. These are your engaged employees who have passion and a profound connection to their company. Unfortunately, 50 percent of employees only put in their time and are essentially "checked out." The remaining 20 percent are actively disengaged employees who are counterproductive and negatively influence others.
Another problem is false urgency, where you have a lot of activity without productive results. John Kotter explains: "False urgency is rooted in anger and anxiety ... This anger creates conflict, battles and a lot of meetings. It is often created by pressure from above, with actions that are not aimed at the root cause or real solutions."
Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, talked about urgency in his book "The Road Ahead." He said the secret to Microsoft's success was that employees always thought of themselves on the losing side, which made them strive to be No. 1.