From the President
Welcome to the first edition of Peak Performance. This is a monthly newsletter for leaders, executives, and managers who want to dramatically elevate their effectiveness and results with time and energy left to enjoy their success.
This month's lead article uses a golf metaphor to
illustrate a significant business principle:
clarity increases impact.
I've talked with many "strategically oriented"
people who don't stop to consider whether their strategies and goals
actually move them towards a high-value result. I invite you to
get into the habit of asking yourself what's actually worth doing and then focusing your energy there. The first
article below will help you with that process.
Sincerely, Pam Pound
In this issue
Lessons Learned on the Golf Course: See Your Target
15 Tips for Building Bench Strength
Disaster Recovery Planning
Pinnacle and TTI(TM) Partner Up to Help Non-Profits
"Live in your imagination, not in your memory"
-- Stephen Covey
Lessons Learned on the Golf Course:
LESSON ONE: See YOUR TARGET
My
husband and I were vacationing in Solvang, CA, and had reserved a very
early tee time at La Purisima Golf Course. Our plan was to get on the
course before a scheduled professional tournament and also leave time
for wine tasting in the afternoon. What we hadn't bargained for was
dense fog in the Santa Ynez Valley. It was so thick that we could
barely see our hotel as we pulled out of the parking lot.
Driving at about 10 miles per hour, we managed to find the golf course and then checked in at the pro shop. The
golf pros had delayed their tournament due to the fog, so we decided to
wait as well. After an hour or so, the pros decided to proceed in spite of the weather. We had
the choice to head out before them or come back later in the day.
I didn't want to give up our afternoon wine tasting, so I convinced
my husband that the fog would soon burn off. We headed for the first
tee.
Where's the Green?
Visibility
from the tee box was about 30 yards. The starter wished us luck and my
husband teed up his ball. As his shot sailed into the fog, the
absurdity
of the situation became crystal clear: We had no idea where the ball
was headed or where it might land. And even if the ball turned out to
be playable, we would not know where to aim the next shot! We returned
to the pro shop and re-scheduled for mid-afternoon.
When
we returned at 2 p.m., the sky was clear. We could see the
fairway, the greens, the boundaries, the hazards, and our balls. We
knew where we were headed and planned out shots accordingly.
The Problem with "Ready, Shoot, Aim"
The
same impatience that had made me determined to play golf under
absurd conditions shows up every day in business situations. Under
perceived pressure to get something done, we jump on the bus, the
bandwagon, or the golf cart without having a clear picture of where we
want to go.
It's not enough just to know (or believe) that
there's a worthy destination out there somewhere. If you can't see it,
you won't know what it takes to get there. And you'll waste time and
resources on shots that miss their mark or take you off course.
"Seeing" your business target means that you define the issue, problem, or
opportunity that you want to address before you take action.
Clarity Increases Impact
When
the question "how" precedes "who, what, where, and why?" you're
probably hitting into the fog. Take, for example, the common strategic
question: "How do we attract customers?" Until you know precisely what customers
you want to attract, there is no reasonable way to prioritize or
evaluate the hundreds of available strategies, systems, processes and
tools. If you land a shot on the green, it will only be by chance.
When you clearly identify what customers
that you're going after--when you see the green and the pin
placement--you can choose your club and your shot for maximum impact.
In the following illustrations, we've transformed each foggy "Shoot Blind" question into a focused strategic target:
| Shoot Blind | See the Target |
|
How do we find the right person for this position? |
What skills, attributes, and experience are needed to succeed in this position? |
|
How do we make this acquisition happen? |
What do we want to gain--and why?
|
|
How should we communicate with our customers? |
What do our customers want and need to know? |
|
How can we use this great new technology? |
What do we need to change--and why? |
|
How do we move this project forward? |
What business objective does it need to address? |
|
How do we build a great organization? |
What would make this organization great? |
While the sample questions are similar from company to company, the
answers are not. Your definition of a "great" company may be based on
size, while a competitor's is based on reputation. The attributes that you want in a salesperson may differ from what I want.
It
follows, then, that what works for someone else may not be appropriate
for you. Avoid the temptation to copy strategies that were successful
for someone else unless or until you validate their value for you. To
make the best business decisions and produce the most valuable results
for YOUR organization, see YOUR target.
Pinnacle
Success Partners, Inc. offers a complimentary initial consultation to
help you uncover and address the opportunities and challenges that will
have the greatest impact on YOUR success. Call 708-651-2483 to
request an appointment or send us a message.
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15 Tips for Building Bench Strength
If
you find yourself clinging to tasks and responsibilities that you've mastered, you're inhibiting your own professional development and short-changing
your company. Delegating or transferring
projects may occasionally seem "inefficient" in the short-run.
But long-term, there's no question of its value in creating opportunity
for both you and your company to play a bigger game.
Here are 15 tips for building up your team's bench strength.
- Hand off projects that matter, not just routine work that no one wants
- Let people know and feel that others are counting on them
- Ask staff what they'd like to take on
- Match up talent and interest with projects that you want to delegate
- Make sure your expectations are clear--that people know exactly what they must deliver
- Position yourself as a sounding-board and resource
- Focus on the results, not the process
- Stand behind your people
- Don't change the game in the middle of the project
- Don't kibbutz
- If you're concerned that someone won't step up, set up progress report meetings
- When there are breakdowns, use them as a learning opportunity--for both of you
- Reinforce forward progress
- Give credit where credit is due
- Don't bail people out unless it is absolutely necessary.
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DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING
If
Katrina has raised your level of concern around disaster planning,
follow this link to the Disaster Recovery Journal website where you will find an excellent outline of the key elements in creating a disaster
recovery plan.
The principles apply to any size organization. For offices with a
single location, it's valuable to develop a reciprocal "buddy" system
with a "friendly competitor," strategic partner, vendor or supplier.
While it's important to have a plan, it's even more important
to regularly update and test it. Until you actually try to follow the
procedures that you've put together, you won't know what you have
overlooked.
Back to top
Pinnacle and TTI(TM) Partner Up to Help Non-Profits
Pinnacle
Success Partners, Inc., and Target Training International (TTI) teamed
up this spring to provide resources and training for volunteers at the
Executive Service Corps of Chicago.
The Executive Service Corps (ESC) helps non-profits, schools, and
governments improve their performance, so that they can provide more
value to the community. Coaching for Executive Directors and key
staff members is one of ESC's fastest growing service offerings.
Pinnacle Success Partners, Inc. and TTI jointly donated a turnkey
training program to help ESC coaches become more effective in
connecting and communicating with their clients. Pam Pound,
President of Pinnacle and a Certified Behavioral Analyst, delivered a
seminar on "Communicating with Style." TTI donated individual
computer-generated behavioral assessments for each participant as well
as written materials.
Meg Herman, Manager of the ESC Coaching Practice, noted that "Over 20
of our volunteer coaches have used the assessment to determine their
styles and those of others. This awareness will increase their
sensitivity to how they approach others and how others present to them.
In turn, they will be able to be of greater service to our clients. By
reaching out to them in compassionate, understanding ways and keeping
relationships strong, they more fully understand how the differences in
relating can make or break a buildup of trust."
Target Training International is a leading developer and marketer of
research-based, validated assessment tools to help businesses and
organizations effectively meet their human resource needs. Its
products are used in more than 50 countries and are available in 23
languages.
As a TTI distributor, Pinnacle Success Partners offers a variety
assessment options and related training -- all ultimately designed to
help clients find and develop the very best employees, managers, and
leaders.
Pinnacle
Success Partners, Inc., offers a complimentary "test drive" of TTI's
outstanding assessments, including a customized de-briefing. Call 708-651-2483 to
request your sample assessment or send us a message.
