Performance Rules!

I Said Invisible, Not Non-Existent

Last week I talked about how leaders, managers and coaches can be so subtle that they’re almost invisible to the people they’re leading, managing and coaching (The Invisible Coach). That’s not an excuse to do nothing! Not an excuse to abdicate, rather than delegate. Not an excuse to simply wish or hope that your people do a good job and produce the results you’re after. Not an excuse to be non-existent.

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?

I Want You… For a Research Project

I’m looking for participants for a research project I’m launching the week of October 5^th. The focus is on performance in the workplace, it’s at no cost to the participants, and everyone will learn from it.

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.

Performance Management is NOT Conducting a Performance Review!

Aarrrgghhh! I’m frustrated! I hate it when I hear someone say their company has a performance management plan, when all they have is a process of conducting annual – or even bi-annual – performance reviews.

Feedback on Feedback

Generally, feedback is considered a good thing, and in most cases it is – depending on how, when and where it’s given, and by whom. Contrary to popular belief, there are two kinds of feedback, and they are not positive and negative.

What’s Your Performance Strategy?

I suspect your organization has a strategic plan, the plan of how it’s going to get from here to where it wants to be. If you’re like many organizations, it also has a marketing strategy, a sales strategy, a pricing strategy, a product development strategy, a human resources strategy, an R&D strategy… all of which rolls up into your overall strategic plan.