When I first moved to Colorado more than 20 years ago I was introduced to one of the most productive people I have ever had the privilege of working with and who I believe still has one of the strongest work ethics of anyone I have ever met or worked with in the past.

Her name is JoAnn and at the time she was our office manager, finance manager, and basically manager and keeper of all things in the company. I was the vice president of sales at the time, so I had a lot of reasons to interact with JoAnn throughout each day. What always amazed me was that at the end of every day she was always the last person to leave, and always the first person into the office the next morning. And no matter how much work we created or tasks that needed to get accomplished, it seemed like the more work that we gave to JoAnn, the more she thrived and produced. She never missed a deadline and always exceeded expectations with an excellent work product. Needless to say, I recruited her to come with me as I started my own company.

And then there are the other people I have worked with over the years who just didn't have that same work ethic. It seemed like they never had enough to do and they always seem to be behind in what they were doing.

What I have found to be true is that those people with the most to do are the people who get the most done. And that the people with the least amount to do can never seem to rise to the occasion and complete what needs to get done. Accomplishment is the watchword for those that do, where procrastination seems to be the belief system of those who are challenged with work ethic.

We see this at work and we see it in our own families, don't we? We may even see it within our circle of friends too. And we certainly see it at work amongst our associates. Is it just pure drive and ambition compared to complacency and laziness? Or is it a lack of direction and leadership? Could it also be the way the person sees themselves? Meaning that the person full of drive and ambition may have a healthy self-image and see themselves performing at a higher level than most. Where someone with a low self-esteem may not be as focused on performing or functioning at that same level.

Whether you are looking to be a person who gets things done, or you are looking to work with people who have a strong work ethic, look at the behaviors that are currently taking place in your own life or look at the behaviors of the people you are looking to hire or work with. Many times we want to manage results for ourselves and others, and that really cannot be done. We can only measure our results, not really manage them. But we can manage behaviors to drive productivity and accomplishment for ourselves and others.

Here are just a few behaviors that can turn inaction into productive action: Wake up earlier; create and work from an organized to-do list; prioritize tasks; set goals; set completion dates and time; schedule time to review progress and results; have an accountability partner; keep a journal of activities, thoughts, goals and progress; and work on a healthy self-image with a focus on mind, body, and spirit.

Now how about you? Are you someone who gets things done regardless of how many things are on your plate? Or do you or someone you know need some help with ambition and drive? Either way I would love to hear all about it at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can move from inaction to action to increase our productivity, it really will be a better than good week.

Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the former president of the Zig Ziglar Corporation, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.