Discipline - Are you going for the long haul?

Are you going for the long haul? by Paul Lemberg

Are you in it for the short term, or the long haul?

I’m going to go a little bit out on a limb here. I’m going to suggest that very little which is worth leading a group to accomplish is going to be accomplished without discipline.

Not in the trivial things. I’m talking about the things that matter. The things that take the concerted effort of a team working together.

What kind of discipline? How about a working definition:

Doing what you know you need to do, for as long as you need to do it.

The kind of discipline which lets people hone their skills and become proficient at their jobs. The kind of discipline which enables us to adhere to standards even when it might be uncomfortable.
The kind of discipline which enables us as leaders to hold our people to account. No matter what.
There’s an alternative to discipline, and it’s not pretty.

It’s called regret.

Regret is what you get when you knew what needed to be done and you didn’t do it. Regret is what’s left when you look back on your unfulfilled intentions and know you just didn’t have the nerve or the commitment to bring them to life.

So there’s a choice.

You can have the pain of discipline – because discipline isn’t easy (that’s why it’s called discipline) and sometimes it hurts.

Or you can have the pain of regret, which never hurts in the present, but sure will feel terrible later. And you have it for the rest of your life.

Copyright Paul Lemberg