Practice Follow Through

I've been reflecting on Disciplined Initiative and noticed a common failure. When discipline is lacking, disorganization often appears, especially when actions resemble a game of tag.

Here’s how it plays out: someone owns a problem, decision, or situation. They recognize it needs attention, but progress depends on input from someone else. At that moment, the game begins.

The owner tells themselves, “I’ll check back in once so‑and‑so gets back to me.”

But so‑and‑so doesn’t.

The ball hits the ground. The window in which the problem could have been solved closes. Pressure builds. Eventually, people are disappointed — or everything blows up.

This failure is avoidable. We cannot play tag.

If you own a thing, passing the ball is not an acceptable reason for inaction. Ownership does not pause just because the next step sits with someone else. Ownership requires follow‑through.

Follow‑through means it is your responsibility to check back in, to nudge, to escalate, and to keep the issue alive until it is resolved — even when the work itself belongs elsewhere.

If you own it, you carry it across the finish line.