As a boy, I was prone to putting off things that shouldn't be put off, and when they couldn't be put off any longer, I would reluctantly get to them. Then my mother would say, “Aren’t you glad – don’t you feel better.”

Years ago, an intelligent, educated, likable, and incorrigible young man working for me would put off projects until the last minute. He said he was programmed that way—in the Stone Age, humans only survived because they weren’t distracted by what wasn’t urgent. Sometimes, it almost made sense.

I'm a lot older and a little wiser, and I have finally learned (the hard way) to address what could become very important before it becomes urgent whenever possible.

I have spoken with and corresponded with more than 30 nonprofit and small business leaders who will regret not implementing an effective notification program for the rest of their lives when it was just important. Instead, they were consumed and changed by dealing with the urgent and important consequences of not complying with compelling federal requirements, the recommendations of the American Bar Association and virtually all organization experts, and consumer and workforce expectations that organizations have at least a system required by federal law to protect them - and those they love.

They went from We’re already doing more than enough; it won’t happen here, we’ll know, we’ll deal with it, we’ll get to it… To an endless nightmare. Several said they’d rather their organization had burned down. But don’t have any sympathy for them, save that for the victims.

If you’re an organization leader, you are first accountable for protecting people and the organization. Get an effective notification system now. The reasons are irrefutable. Contact me, and for as little as 50₵ a day, I’ll set up the account for you.

The rest of us should demand that at least the organizations to which we entrust those we love have an effective notification system.