Top Performance Page 7

  Unfortunately, there are very few workers today who know when they are successful on the job. Oh, they have quotas and some guidelines as to what their activities are supposed to be, but how will they know when they are successful?

  What about the manager? If we are supposed to give regular feedback to our people, keep them apprised of how they are doing, and paint the “big picture” for them, how can we determine what information to pass along?

  The Performance Value Package

  I believe the answer is in the three-step performance value package. Step 1 is foundational performance. This is the level of performance the person must achieve to continue to work with the organization (or in the case of children, to avoid punishment). I call it “foundational performance” rather than “minimum standard” because I don’t want people even thinking minimum, much less working toward a minimum. With foundational performance thinking, not only do people maintain their positions, but they also build a foundation upon which they can build future successes. We will discuss the specific “how-tos” of each step in the performance value package in “The Science of Top Performance,” but for now let’s simply say that the foundational performance is determined by mutual agreement of the manager and employee. The employee shares ownership in the ideas and does not feel “put upon,” and the manager can lead the employee to better understand the big picture during the discussion.

  Good news: Rather than having to encourage employees to “reach” for objectives and standards, you will often have to work to get them to be realistic about their foundational performance.

  Step 2 in the performance value package is successful performance. The successful performance is the level of performance that might reasonably and realistically be expected by both manager and employee. Again, the manager and employee determine this level of performance by working together and, through discussion, get a reasonable understanding of what each is looking for as far as a successful performance is concerned. Again, let me remind you that the specific “how-tos” are in chapter 8 in “The Science of Top Performance.”

  Step 3 in the performance value package is value performance. The value performance is the level of performance that might be expected if everything goes according to plan and the employee excels in all areas. This level provides Top Performers with a target. Again, value performance is determined through sharing and discussion. The manager must be sure value performance objectives cause the individual to really “stretch.”

  One of the most difficult but most important things any manager ever has to do is terminate an employee, and to think this will seldom, if ever, happen again is a real boon! If you will combine the value performance package with what I call due process, firings will be dramatically reduced. Due process leads us to:

  D. Generate Desirable and Rewarding Consequences for Others (Remember that 75 to 85 percent of behavior is determined by consequences.)

  To me, due process means “three strikes and you’re out.” When an employee makes a mistake, we should be really pleased! Why? Simply because we learn much more from mistakes than we do from victories. We should do everything we can to congratulate people when they make an error … we should be delighted (well, almost) with ourselves when we make an error. Once we get over this initial euphoria, we need to analyze why the mistake was made, and what we can do to avoid making that mistake again. And everyone must understand that making the same mistake a third time means termination.

  The person repeating errors is making a value statement about his feelings and his ability level. The statement he is making is one of two things: (1) “What happens on the job is really not a high priority in my life. My enthusiasm and commitment levels are just not very high,” or (2) “I do not have the ability necessary to handle this position.” Our responsibility in helping ourselves and others to become Top Performers is to discover which of these statements is being made and take the appropriate action. In the case of the first statement, the proper action for employee and organization is to help the individual relocate for his own good and for the good of the company. It may be a tough decision, as retired management consultant Fred Smith says, but the earlier the decision is made, the less the actual waste.

  If the second statement is the case, then our responsibility is to help him get the training needed to handle the position. If the skill level needed is beyond the capacity of the employee, you don’t have an employee problem, you have a hiring procedures problem.

  You can best help the employee by helping him find a position in which he can use the skills and abilities he already possesses—or be trained to more fully develop these skills so he can be successful.

  Does That Stuff Really Work?

  Let’s look at a specific incident where this concept was applied. Jim Savage once spoke to a group of dentists, their spouses, and entire office staffs, and they taught him this system really does work. According to Jim, they were a delightful group—very professional, very receptive, and anxious to find ideas that would help them become even more successful in their chosen profession. After the program, they were having lunch together and Jim sat with the doctors at a large round table and had one of the most interesting luncheon conversations ever.

  One dentist said, “I cannot get my receptionist to make ‘tension’ calls,” which are the daily calls to confirm appointments and/or remind people it was time to have their teeth cleaned. Jim “innocently” asked, “Then why is she still working for you?” Obviously, Jim had touched a sore spot, because the dentist responded with a touch of heat, “Well, good employees are not that easy to come by!”

  Then Jim asked, “How good an employee is she?” After spending several minutes rationalizing and justifying, the dentist stopped in midsentence and said, “I am being silly … she really is a good employee, but I haven’t given her the proper direction.” Jim said it was exciting to see him come to the conclusion on his own. By answering questions, this man was able to discover that:

  He must establish and sell the concept of the importance of making these calls.

  He must train the people to meet his expectations.

  He must inspect to make sure he gets what he expects.

  The good doctor went back to his office and called a conference with his office manager and receptionist. He started the meeting by saying, “It is my goal to pay each of you more money! Would you be interested in discussing how this might happen?” He definitely had their attention! After their enthusiastic nods of approval, he continued, “As both of you know, our office handles 60 to 75 percent of our capacity [based on hours of the day and potential clients] each month. To give you both a substantial raise, we need more clients. One very good way to get additional clients is through appointment confirmation, which will cut down on our cancellations and no-shows. Another way is to make ‘business-building’ [that’s a much better name] calls. In the past, these have been called ‘tension’ calls, because the emphasis has been on the one making the call. From now on they are ‘business-building’ or ‘helping’ calls, because the emphasis will be on the one we are calling. We have services these people desperately need, and it is our responsibility to help them by letting them know when they should be in our office.” He went on to say, “Now I know these are demanding calls, and I don’t want you to make them all day, so let’s start by figuring how many helping calls it takes to encourage a client to visit our office.”

  The conversation continued, and by drawing out the ideas of both the office manager and the receptionist (by asking questions), the following resulted:

  The receptionist would make sure that 100 percent of all appointments were confirmed by starting seven days ahead on calls. She would make calls in the morning, afternoon, and even one call from home each evening, if necessary.

  The office manager and the receptionist divided the “helping” or “business-building” calls into two equal segments. Five calls each day was foundational performance; eight calls each day was success
ful performance; ten calls each day was value performance level. A single sheet record report was developed by the office manager that enabled everyone involved to gather and compute the information they needed to see how the program was working. The report was submitted to the dentist weekly.

  In only sixty days, appointment no-shows were almost entirely eliminated (a side benefit was the excellent public relations created); the office was operating at 85 to 90 percent capacity, and the office manager and receptionist had received their substantial raises. Note: The dentist got what he wanted (more clients) because he helped his assistants get what they wanted (a raise). The assistants got what they wanted (the raise) because they helped the clients get what they wanted (more beautiful, healthier teeth and gums).

  When we break our goals into bite-size pieces and set foundational performance levels, successful performance levels, and value performance levels, we know when we are successful and how to get to our Top Performance level. One excellent manager stated: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

  “I Hate My Job”

  One day just before I was scheduled to speak in Birmingham, Alabama, a lady came backstage for a brief visit. She was attractively dressed, but she had completely forgotten to put on a smile before she left home. She walked in and started her little talk—which was apparently well rehearsed. “Oh, Mr. Ziglar, I’m so glad to see you! I hate my job and everybody there, and they treat me terribly.” (She was the kind of lady who could brighten up a whole room—by leaving it.) As the late Cavett Robert would say, “She looked like the cruise director of the Titanic!”

  She obviously had a lot of experience in dumping a full load of garbage on anyone who would sit still. I got the impression that she expected me to sit there and let her dump all that garbage on me.

  I even have an idea that in her mind she expected to leave our interview wiping the corners of her eyes with a little handkerchief, saying, “Oh, you’ve just helped me so much! I’m so glad you had time to share this with me!” But if I had taken that approach, I would have betrayed everything in which I believe. The last thing she needed was sympathy. She needed empathy, not sympathy. She needed someone who was not part of the problem but who could help her find a solution.

  Unfortunately, It Will Get Worse

  When she finally took a breath of air so I could slip in a quick word edgewise, I looked at her and said (firmly but not unkindly), “Yes, your situation doesn’t sound very good, and it’s probably going to get worse!” If I’d hit her in the face with a bucket of ice water, she could not have been more surprised.

  She obviously expected that “nice Mr. Ziglar” to be entirely different. She reacted by jumping back and asking, “What do you mean?” Zig: “It’s very simple: Your situation’s going to get worse because there is a good chance you might lose this job; and jobs, even bad ones, aren’t that easy to find.” Lady: “What are you talking about?” Zig: “Ma’am, there’s not a company anywhere that can have that much negativism in one concentrated spot and survive.”

  A few tears started to form, and she asked, “Well, what can I do?” Zig: “I’ve got an idea, if you’re really interested in solving the problem.” Lady: “Please tell me what it is, because I’m definitely interested.”

  REMEMBER: YOU FIND

  WHAT YOU LOOK FOR IN LIFE.

  Start Looking for the Good

  Zig: “The first thing I want you to do tonight when you go home is to take a sheet of paper and list everything you like about your job and your company.” Lady: “That will be easy, because I don’t like anything about it!” Zig: “Now hold the phone and let me ask you a question.” Lady: “All right.” Zig: “Do they pay you for working there, or do you work there for benevolent reasons?” Lady: “Certainly they pay me for the work I do!” Zig: “Well, the number one thing you like about your job, then, is that they pay you for doing it, so go ahead and write it down. We’ll start our list right now.”

  Before we finished we had flushed out twenty-two things she liked about her work: three weeks paid vacation, health and life insurance, five days annual sick leave, all the national holidays, a profit-sharing plan that vested upon retirement, only a ten-minute drive from her home to the office, a full hour for lunch, participation in employee/employer relations, a beautiful building to work in with protected private parking spaces, and so on.

  You can take the most outstanding man or woman, husband or wife, boy or girl imaginable, nitpick them to death, and manage to find some fault with them. Or you can take the average man or woman and start looking for the good qualities, and you will find them in abundance. It depends on what you’re looking for.

  Husband, if you treat your wife like a thoroughbred, you will never end up with a nag. Wife, if you treat your husband like a champ, you won’t end up with a chump.

  You can take your job or your company and find many good things you like or a number of things you don’t like. It depends on what you want out of life, because you are going to find what you are looking for. Significantly, the more good or bad you find in yourself, your mate, your job, your kids, your country, or your future, the more good or bad there will be to find.

  LOOK FOR WHAT YOU WANT—

  NOT FOR WHAT YOU DON’T WANT.

  Accentuate the Positive

  I encouraged the lady to take her list of twenty-two positive things about her job and, just before she went to bed, get in front of the mirror and enthusiastically say aloud, “I love my job,” and add each of the twenty-two listed reasons to the statement. I pointed out that every time she said, “I love my job,” she was really saying, “I’m grateful for my job.” Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. I assured her that she would sleep better that night. I encouraged her to do this every morning and every night for twenty-one days. During that day and in the days ahead, she was to add more positives to that list.

  That lady left in an entirely different frame of mind. She was no longer a beaten and defeated person. When she walked out, she was actually striding. Don’t misunderstand. I’m not implying that in a few minutes we were able to overcome a lifetime of her making an overdraft on the bank of right mental attitude. However, we did give her some hope and a plan, and those are two powerful ingredients. As a matter of fact, winning managers never make promises to their people unless they give them a plan to make the promise possible. And when managers make demands on anyone, they extract a plan from that person as to how he or she can realistically meet that demand.

  Six weeks later I was back in Birmingham doing a follow-up sales training session. The woman was seated right in the front row, grinning so wide she could have eaten a banana sideways. I chatted with her briefly and asked her how she was doing. She responded, “Wonderful, Mr. Ziglar. You can’t believe how much the company and the people who work there have changed!”

  She changed because she had enrolled in Automobile University and started listening to my audiotape series on her way to and from work.

  This change of input in her mind changed her self-talk.

  She became a goodfinder—not a faultfinder.

  EXPECT THE BEST FROM YOURSELF

  AND OTHERS!

  PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES

  * * *

  We generally get from others what we expect.

  The difference between good and excellent companies is training.

  You find what you look for in life.

  Never make a promise without a plan.

  Happiness, joy, and gratitude are universal if we know what to look for.

  “Wait for Me, I’m Your Leader!”

  An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.

  Elbert Hubbard

  Goodfinders

  Expect the Best

  Loyalty

  The L in our GEL formula stands for Loyalty. Loyalty, for managers, is remembering that while you don’t work twenty-four hours a day for your company, you do represent your company twenty-four hours a day. If you
are going to be a Top Performer, there can be no question about your loyalty in three areas. You must be loyal to yourself, to those with whom you live and work, and to your organization.

  Be Loyal to Yourself

  To be loyal to yourself, you must work to maintain a healthy self-image. This is not an overinflated ego or the kind of self-confidence that the wit says “generally occurs just before we really understand the situation.” Loyalty to yourself means looking for the evidence that supports why you should believe in you.

  Dr. Laura Schlesinger says the best way to feel good about yourself is to do things you are proud of. Obviously, your self-image will play a major role in how high you go in your company, because it plays a major role in your ability to develop leaders who will follow you on the ladder of success.

  This list is not a “brag” list. As a matter of fact, no one should see it but you. This list has nothing to do with conceit. As I often say, “Conceit is a weird disease that makes everyone sick except the one who has it!” This list is to help you remember you are a person of worth.

  Remember, success is not measured by how you perform compared with how others perform. You might have twice their ability—or half their ability. Success—real success—is measured by how you do compared with what you could be doing with the ability God gave you. This means success can also be defined as “not who you are but Whose you are.”