As we wrap up the outgoing year, we tend to promise to better ourselves next year.

And there are a ton of things we can promise ourselves about: exercise, meditation, nutrition, social life..etc. And when it comes to work, there are many must-have skills touted by different people. Sometimes, the list contains resourcefulness, adaptability, resilience, openness..blah blah blah.

All of that means little when people can’t follow through.

“I’m a very resilient man, but hey sorry, I missed meeting the deadline I had committed to you.”

Did you follow through on the work that you had suggested you’d finish?

Did you show up for the meeting that you had confirmed a week back?

Did you call for a follow-up after you had said you’d call for a follow-up?

These seemingly insignificant actions are not-so-insignificant when you notice that there’s something common among most of the people who get work done. All of them follow through. No exceptions. No excuses.

And on the other hand, the people who don’t get work done, they share the opposite of the same quality: not following through. Not doing what they said they’d do.

This is no surprise. Almost all cultures around the world figured out this important quality over millennia. They distilled this virtue in as “keeping your word.”

Marriage? Keep your word about in sickness and death.

Allegiance to your tribe? Keep your word on protecting their interest.

Parenting your kids? Keep your word about protecting and nurturing them.

Selling a bread? Keep your word about quality of ingredients.

You won’t find a culture that celebrates not keeping a word as a virtue.

And there’s a reason.

If you think about it, not keeping a word is equal to lying with your action. Generally, we limit the meaning of a lie to only verbal sphere. But in reality, the meaning of a lie is anything that deviates from reality. So, by not keeping one’s word, people deviate themselves and others from the reality they had promised. And no culture is going to embrace a liar. Not because of some high ethical grounds. But because of the threat it creates for survival. Lying doesn’t help survival. At least, that is what used to be the case before the dawn of the civilization.

In any case, why is it so tough to keep one’s word? To follow through?

I don’t know exactly and it is tough to make a case for everyone in all settings. But still, if we narrow down to the circle of the modern workplace, we can make some statements that may apply to the majority of people.

I look at it in this manner: why would someone intentionally not follow through? Why would they say one thing and do a completely opposite thing? One of the things that explains things is their inability to manage their time and model effects of their actions in their work and world. In one word, it shows the lack of “sound judgement”.

Unfortunately, in modern world, there is rarely any existential penalty for not exhibiting sound judgement. The world of work silently suffers from such individuals’ lack of follow through and there really, is no consequences for anyone.

Though there is no real punishment for those who break their word, there is some good news.

The world recognizes the ones who follow through. The ones who keep their word. And the rewards are beyond recognition. They’re translated into reputation.

Though I began this piece by mentioning “must-have skills”, I have to say that following through is not a skill. It is a quality. It cannot be learned, it has to be cultivated.

Drip by drip.

Probably it is one of the toughest things to develop, but following through on follow through is a hell of a thing you can do for yourself next year.

Or probably today?