Dimensions of Performance
- Capability (Mental)
- History
- Fitness
- Attitude
- Technique
- Technical Knowledge
There it is, number three on the list. When I think about “performance,” and the things that impact performance, I always come back to this list. It makes for interesting thinking. You can guess at most of this stuff, but I get some sideways glances when I start talking about fitness.
Fitness comes at several levels, but the obvious is physical fitness and mental fitness. A team can have all the elements, but if they don’t have fitness, they will not be able to pull off the strategy. So, class members get that blank stare when I start talking physical fitness. The eyes glance from side to side. “He’s not talking about… being fat, is he?”
If the project calls for a ten hour day, can you work it and then go home with enough energy to be with your family? No way, unless you are in shape. Yes, I am talking about physical fitness, exercise and nutrition.
And mental fitness. What exactly is mental fitness? Is it:
- Creating four alternative solutions to every question, to make sure we include unlikely possibilities.
- Creating an argument for the other side when this side seems so obvious.
- Pulling the team together for fifteen minutes to make sure we “check-in” before we make a major decision.
- The discipline of using a consistent mental process for problem solving and decision making.
- The discipline of concentration on a task until it is complete.
- The discipline of follow-up on due date projects.
- The discipline of have the difficult conversation when it is easy to avoid the confrontation.
Physical discipline and mental discipline go together and are critical for successful execution. Most companies do a fair job of planning and organizing. But if you want to crush your competition, get great at execution. To be great at execution, you need physical and mental discipline. I will take a mediocre plan well executed, anytime, over a great plan that is poorly executed. Where does your team stand on the fitness scale? —TF