Performance Rules!

When The Levee Breaks

Stop for a moment and picture this: It’s sometime in the next year or so, and the economy really starts rolling again (okay, it could happen). The company you work for, while not back to where it once was, is doing well. Sales have picked up, and everywhere you look things are looking like a near-full recovery is imminent. The hiring freeze is no longer; you’re looking at hiring new people. Pay raises are even back.

Big problem.

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.

Corporate Values & Culture

A company’s values and its culture are interlinked. Some would say they are the same thing, but I disagree. Values are what you begin with; culture is what you end up with.

The Learning Formula

A number of years ago I came across a very interesting factor in the learning process. I was coaching a young race driver who, no matter how many times I told him what to do, he just couldn’t get it. So, relying on my knowledge of the “mental game” and on my study of sports psychology tactics, I felt he must not have a strong and clear mental image of what he was supposed to do.

Are You At-Stake, or At-Risk?

Organizations are either in an at-stake or an at-risk state. Which is your organization in?

Being in an at-stake state, the focus – and even the culture – within the organization is on what’s at stake to be gained. It’s forward-focused. It’s on the offensive.

Performance Versus Results

Which is more important to you: how you perform, or the results you achieve? Tough question, isn’t it? Sure, at the end of the day, it’s the results that people remember, especially in business. But, what leads to the results? Performance, right? Without a great performance, great results are unlikely.

Performance Leads To Results

Because of some work I’ve been doing lately, I’ve been thinking about how many executives, managers and business owners approach their careers. Or, specifically in the case of business owners, what their approach is to making their companies successful.

Commitment and Training

I just returned from another trip to Australia where I was doing some coaching work. While I was there. I met and had dinner with a fascinating couple. He had won the US masters downhill ski championships a few years ago, so you can imagine how good a skier he must be. He and his wife had moved from their homeland of Austria to Australia in the 70’s to start a business, one focused on servicing the ski industry. Along the way, he has become one of the most knowledgeable people in the world regarding the biomechanics of skiers and their equipment (he has consulted to the Austrian national ski team for years).

Don’t Think About a Pink Elephant

What image do you have in your mind right now? A pink elephant, right? But I told you not to think about a pink elephant!

The human brain cannot NOT think about something...

Does Education Lead to Learning?

A good friend of mine makes the differentiation between education and training with a thought-provoking question: Would you like your daughter to attend a sex education or a sex training class? Points out the difference between education and training, doesn’t it?!