Page 290 - The extraordinary leader

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THE IMPORTANCE OF

FOLLOW-THROUGH

“In golf as in life it is the follow through that makes the difference.” (Anon.)

“I can give you a six-word formula for success: “Think things through—then
follow through.”
—Sir Walter Scott

Modern medicine has enjoyed periodic breakthroughs of enormous signifi-
cance. Sulfa drugs, penicillin, antibiotics, chemotherapy, CAT scans, and the
recent advent of statin drugs that lower blood pressure are examples of impor-
tant pharmaceutical advances that transformed the practice of medicine.
Is it possible that leadership development might enjoy such dramatic
advancements? What could happen that would catapult us to an entirely new
plateau of results? And where is that breakthrough most likely to occur? Talk
to any group of laymen or professionals about what’s broken in the current
learning and development process, and most will tell you it’s the lack of seri-
ous posttraining follow-through. Depending on how and what you count,
there’s approximately US$50 billion spent in the United States each year on
learning and development and related programs. Those expenditures result
in a range of beneficial improvements.
But what if those results could be significantly greater by reallocating our
efforts and resources to better align with the obvious need for additional
follow-up activities?

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