How do we really measure Performance?
At the moment Performance seems to be a buzz word when it comes to assessing levels of achievement in a personal, business or sporting context.
About 10 years ago, a friend of mine shared a book with me by Timothy Gallwey - The Inner Game of Tennis.
He demonstrated the role of the mind in learning and playing tennis and how in most cases it is our biggest obstacle in reaching our peak performance. Whilst there are many different concepts discussed throughout the book one idea in particular jumped out at me.
He proposed that performance (P) is equal to potential (P) minus interference (I), or P = P - I. Without interference performance would equal potential but as we all know that’s not always possible.
There is always going to be a certain amount of interference in everything that we do. We can often refer to this interference as the "noise" that prevents us from achieving our full potential.
Identifying the interferences in a particular situation can be hugely beneficial in gaining a clearer understanding of our behaviours but also of the subconscious thoughts that drive them.
It also allows us as individuals to take responsibility in making conscious choices in thoughts that would drive desired behaviours.
Gallwey clearly saw that fears, imagination, and self-doubt get in the way of performance. Yet, underneath all of this interference, we all have the skills and ability to succeed.
To realize our potential, we must minimize the interfering thoughts in our mind.
Similarly, in business, Interference will prevent us from achieving full potential.
We can use this Formula in a Business Context:
Performance = Potential minus Interference
If we form the viewpoint that Company A has unlimited potential, we would rate it at 10/10.
For the purpose of this exercise, we identify Company A as having a large amount of interference taking place in the business - On a scale of 1 to 10 - (4/10)
Performance = Potential (10) Minus Interference (4)
6 = 10 - 4
We can infer Company A is performing at 6/10.
Imagine the frustration Business Owners experience when they realise they are only running at 60% of their capacity!
In order to overcome this issue, quite often they make the decision to work even harder and longer.
Perspiration over Inspiration!!
Working harder and longer towards burnout.
The next step is to create an awareness around the Interference within Company A.
For all intensive purposes, we would need to shine a light on these problematic areas.
Within Company A, some of the more common interference's may include inadequate sales system, CRM system, lack of organisational structure, communication issues, lack of clarity or purpose of the organisation.
Once step 1 is completed, we can move on to create the appropriate action to minimise the interference within the Company.
From my own experience, I have seen the performances of companies greatly improve with the appropriate plan and strategy. Really working to reduce the blockages.
By reducing the interferences's we will see a marked improvement in the level of performance.
i.e Reducing the level of Interference from 4 to 2 will see an increase in the level of performance from 6 to 8!
That is a 20% increase in the level of the companies performance. One can only speculate the positive financial implications this may have for Business owners.
Performance = Potential (10) Minus Interference (2)
8 = 10 - 2
At North Star Solutions we work with our clients to identify the Interference in their business and partner with them to bring about an increased level of Performance to create a more efficient & productive business.
