Be A Hot Dog!

High Performance Driving Factors

High performance cars do it. High performance boats and motorcycles do the same. High performance is showing off. It isn’t about bragging or arrogance. Showing off is simply bringing your best to everything you do. It’s being focused. It’s working with the intention of creating results that benefit the stakeholders for every situation. It’s about creating value through accomplishment.

Here’s a list of four keys to “showing off” through high performance:

1. Stupidities, Braveries and Innovation

Interestingly, top performers are those who seem to act with incredible stupidity and the bravery that rivals that little dog going up against a mad grizzly bear. They are the ones making choices other’s fear to even consider. They’ll try things without knowing the outcome. They don’t settle for safety, doing that which seems ridiculous and just outside of sane.

This is the flagship of an innovator. To put it out there, making the bold and brash decisions. If you were to ask anyone about the importance of innovation for an organization to stay competitive, the answer will always be positive. That’s generally where it ends – lip service to innovation.

Innovation is not about waiting to see someone else test the waters for safety. It’s about trying things out without knowing success is sure. You’ve got to let go of what used to work, or the “it’s always been this way” attitude. It’s letting go of those things that have made you successful up to this point and striking out into unknown territory. It’s acting with an attitude of grand stupidity – your mantra: “Let’s find out if this will work.”

Mark Twain posited, “I knew a man who picked a cat up by the tail. He learned 40 percent more about cats than the man who didn’t.” Although you might get a little scratched up, sometimes you’ve got to pick the cat up by the tail. That extra bit of information might by your edge in a competitive environment.

2. High Performance: The Need For Speed

Customer loyalty used to be all about the “what have you done for me lately.” It’s not about that so much anymore. The interest in “lately” has moved to an fascination with what’s going to happen next. The advent of faxes, email, instant messaging and texting has brought with it the attitude of “I want it yesterday”. It’s about getting it now – instant gratification.

I’ve seen it happen more often. The corporate world is about having meetings about the new ideas. We’ll study the ideas, have more meetings about the ideas, table the ideas in favor of newer ideas. We’ll talk about it until they’re not relevant anymore. Our meetings are the death of innovation. Top performers do it now. Innovation requires it.

The most effective organizations are set up around speed. Action. Do it now. If it’s a good idea, the responsibility for implementation is assigned, guidelines for accountability set, funding arranged, GO! There’s no dillydallying around on this one, baby.

The top performer fears being stuck in the mud on the road – indecision. They do not fear making a wrong turn. Indecision is the mud holding back the organization. Wrong turns can be corrected, standing still in the constantly moving traffic of the marketplace can be fatal.

Action meet speed. You’ll get back to me tomorrow? That gives me plenty of opportunity to find someone else to do the job now – you’re out. Returning that call within 24 hours just doesn’t cut it anymore. Your customers, co-workers, or vendors are more interested in the speed of their second hand than the open spaces on your calendar.

3. The Relentless Pursuit Of Improvement

Who’s the greatest boxer of all time? OK, that question is one that will cause many boxing fans to start debating about this guy or that guy. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Sugar Ray Robinson. Henry Armstrong. Joe Louis. Some might even suggest Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield. The arguments are plenty with strong supporting facts.

Who’s the greatest professional golfer in the world over the past ten years? I bet almost anyone reading that would answer Tiger Woods.

What commonality do all these boxers and Tiger Woods have? They all have a coach. Although they were all considered at one time in their careers to be the best – not just one of the best – they all had someone to help them improve. This is the fact we should all come to understand. No one should ever be as good as they’re going to be. Inside every top performer is a higher performer trying to break free.

Every company I know of has something, some policy about constant improvement. They all have given the lip service. What they know to be true about the competitive nature of innovation and what they put into practice aren’t necessarily the same. What steps did you take today to make things better tomorrow?

I’ve attended more than one continuous improvement meeting that started off with some kind of attention-getter with the intent of getting every attendee to “think outside the box.” There’s a good reason for that kind of innovation. Do not ignore what’s inside the box while you’re focusing on the outside. Some of the best innovation can be focused on the basics of your business. Some of the greatest returns are realized when investing in improving the customers’ basic expectations.

Think about the hamburger stand that sells the best tasting hamburger. The menu will probably be rather scant. The frills aren’t there. Hamburger, fries and a drink or two. They aren’t interested in inventing a new, outrageous fad. It’s about making that hamburger the best it can be. Simply serve a better hamburger fast so it’s hot. Basic.

4. Next Stop, Normal.

Yeah, I know. That is a name of a book but I lived in Normal, Illinois for 10 years, where the Texas Eagle stops on its way to San Antonio. What is normal? Here’s the essence of normal: We don’t always know what’s going to happen next. Show offs thrive on the unexpected. They perform well when under pressure. They plan carefully. They research, forecast and consider every contingency. They are completely at ease with the reality that something totally unexpected will happen. That’s normal. Embrace the unknown.

Although making the right choice was once the way to succeed, today it’s about making that choice quickly enough. It’s about ignoring what that choice will do to your world right now, being ready to switch gears because the situation just changed. If you can’t perform under those circumstances, you’re in trouble. There’s not enough time to understand everything that might happen.

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was something of a poet when he told the Whitehouse press core the following:

As we know,
There are known knowns.
There are things we know we know.
We also know
There are known unknowns.
That is to say
We know there are some things
We do not know.
But there are also unknown unknowns,
The ones we don't know
We don't know.

Too much analysis impedes innovation. We’re just not going to know everything. The difference between the person who easily and gracefully handles the unexpected and the person who crawls under the desk and assumes the fetal position: The Normal Factor. Whatever happens is normal. Although it may not be acceptable, it’s still normal.

Stuff happens and the top performer understands. However carefully you plan your work and work your plan, the unexpected will happen. The proverbial wrench will drop into your well-constructed plan. The one thing we need to remember when creating opportunity from change – always expect change. What happens might not meet exactly with your expectations, but it is normal. Respond appropriately.

Show Off

It’s a good thing. It’s a mindset. The true show off is often the quiet one who consistently performs with a sense of style. Remember the old saying about the duck: Above the surface, be calm and elegant. Below the surface, paddle like hell.

Executives and managers rate “consistency of performance,” “performing under pressure,” and “delivering results” as the top three employee attributes. Achieving these attributes is not a matter of rocket science. Choose how to respond to each and every situation, challenge and opportunity.