Performance Rules!

Where Does Success Come From?

What makes some people successful, and others not so? I’m mostly talking about in the business world, although it could be in any activity. What makes some people perform so much better than others? This is a question I’ve spent a lot of time – years, in fact – thinking about, and studying. I get excited just thinking about it, I’m so passionate about human performance. Okay, I may not be “normal,” but that’s just who I am.

So, what makes some people perform better than others?

Feedback Sucks!

Get your attention? Then listen up. Your employees are begging for feedback. They’re craving it. They’re practically screaming for it.

Give it to them.

The Invisible Coach

In his book, Sacred Hoops (one of my favorites), Phil Jackson, perhaps that greatest basketball coach of all time, talks about control. He relates the story of Bobby Knight, the college basketball coach who commented about how he could never coach in the NBA “because the coaches don’t have any control over the players.” Jackson’s response to this is, “How much control do you need?”

Mind Mapping a Book

Over the past couple of months I’ve been writing my latest book, and there are a few differences to the past eight books that I’ve written (well, published – I’ve written a few others that have not been published yet, but that’s a whole other story).

How Important Is Management?

Within a one a week period of time I spoke to two different people who had worked as a store manager for Starbucks. Interestingly, one said it was one of the best jobs he had ever had, and the other said it was the worst. What do you think was the difference?

Blogging About Blogs

I don’t know about you, but there are days… no, make that weeks when it seems I can’t keep up with all the reading I want and/or need to do. I suppose “want” is the most accurate word here, as no one is forcing me to do all the reading I do. But, on second thought, “need” really is the word that describes how I feel about what I read. It’s kinda like an addiction, this reading, this thirst for more knowledge that I have.

Problem Identifiers vs. Problem Solvers

Which do you want to be, a problem identifier or a problem solver?

I’ve been reading No Magic Bullet by Joe Willmore, and it’s a good book… if you want to be a problem identifier. But if you you’re looking for a book that will actually help you improve the performance of your organization, or the people in it – if you want to solve a problem - look elsewhere. With a subtitle like “7 Steps to Better Performance” I eagerly dug into this book looking to take away specific tools and techniques that I could use. I was disappointed.

The Myth About Natural Talent

I’ve recently read two books that talk about similar subjects: Outlier, by Malcolm Gladwell (author of the best-selling Blink and The Tipping Point), and Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin. Both books back up what I’ve been saying for years, and what I wrote about in my Speed Secrets books. Great performers in any activity, whether sport, music, arts, business or whatever are not born with more talent than average performers.

Neuroplasticity

I’ve told my wife that if I ever have a stroke, or something else happens to me that affects my brain performance, make me read (or read to me if I can’t read) the book, The Brain That Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge.

Mindset

One of my many favorite books is Mindset, by Dr. Carol Dweck. I highly recommend you read it. In the book, Dweck suggests that people have two different mindsets: a fixed mindset, or a growth mindset.