Procrastination is a common problem in life. We all put off doing something. One common cause is simple old-fashioned laziness. The other? Well, the task in question may appear to lie way out of our comfort zone.

Actually, more often than not, the project turns out to be the perfectly doable. Only last week, a CFO told me how three subjects had been waiting in their in-box for weeks. Fortunately, the employer did not suffer, as the issues were of a mainly personal nature. In fact, a few days after our discussion, everything was completed……with no noticeable pain or trips to a doctor.

But what happens to the CEO who just refuses to deal with something and keep up this position for the long-term? This is a common problem faced by business coaches and mentors.

For example, I know somebody near Jerusalem, who hates technical problems. At home, they always leave do-it-yourself jobs to their spouse. However, in a commercial climate of globalisation, we have to be savvy with ever-changing technology in the work environment. Unfortunately, this business owner is not and will not change readily.

Now my CEO has a ‘super wow’ mobile phone, but barely knows how to use it; very few downloads, little music and minimal extra content. In fact, they have refused to learn how to receive e-mails on the phone.

This means that they can only keep up with important messages once they return to their office. By definition, that is slow. When people often require an immediate response, our friend keeps them waiting for hours or more. It would an interesting exercise for an economist to calculate how much work has been delayed by this procrastination – the deliberate avoidance to find out how to receive messages in real-ime.

Today, the CEO called me. They read a book on the weekend on the importance of mobile marketing and the technology of apps. BINGO, as they realised how they are missing out big time. Apparently, it took them ten minutes to tackle what had been put off for two years!