The Difference Between Success and Excellence

Most people believe success and excellence are interchangeable terms. After all, if I’m successful I’m excellent, right? Not so fast… Results Versus Potential Success is an absolute term. If you are the highest producing salesperson, win the game, or beat the earnings forecast, you are successful. Success in the performance world is about achieving outcomes […]

Why Aren’t More People Excellent?

The Bell Curve Theory of Life Most of us are familiar with the bell curve. Statistically, on many characteristics (such as height) people fall along a continuum. Most are near the average and very few are exceptional at both ends. There are lots of 5’9″ males and not very many 5’1″ or 7’1″ men in […]

Understanding Process and Outcome

If I had to choose a single concept most important to achieving sustainable excellence, it would be understanding the relationship between process and outcome. This principle is key to professional excellence but also to realizing your full potential in any area of life. Master this concept and life becomes simpler, more productive, and more focused. […]

Sustainable Excellence Through Process, Discipline & Focus (Part 3)

I’ve presented the process and discipline components of sustainable excellence in the last two posts. The final piece of the performance equation is focus. Your goal plan provides the process you follow to achieve your ultimate vision. Determining whether goals are met along the way lets you know if you have the necessary discipline to […]

Do You Have The Discipline For Excellence (Part 2)?

In my last post I described the first of a three-step process for achieving sustainable excellence: Your individual, team, relationship, or organizational goal plan is the process you follow to achieve sustainable excellence. It is the roadmap and guide for accomplishing your ultimate vision. The second step is discipline. Simply said, did you honor the […]

Sustainable Excellence Through Process, Discipline & Focus (Part 1)

Don’t rely on the latest tip of the day or fad of the month to achieve your personal or collective best. There will always be another leadership or self-help book, infomercial, exercise program, diet, etc., proclaiming to take you to the Promised Land. Truth be told, many techniques are helpful for temporarily improving some aspect […]

5 Steps To Avoid Complacency

Remember the fire in the belly you felt on the way to achieving a goal? The goal might have involved a project execution, career advancement, or a sports championship. You came to work each day focused and energized. Yet as you reached your goal, it’s likely that a subtle process began to take hold, one […]

5 Steps to Self-Discipline

Think about the last time you decided to improve something about yourself, your team, or a relationship. If you’re like most people, you started strongly, then faded slightly, then faded more, and eventually slipped back into the same pattern that motivated you to make the change initially. It bothers you when you think about it, […]

High-Performance Culture: Cliché or Reality?

I often grow weary of the clichés and jargon I encounter in sports and corporations. Yet every once in a while, I embrace a term that falls under the “cliché” or “jargon” category because the phrase captures the essence of something special in a way that no other words can. That’s why I’ve come to […]

Three Rookie Leadership Mistakes

You’ve taken your first head coaching job, executive position or perhaps even become a CEO. You are simultaneously excited and overwhelmed. You look forward to the challenge and the opportunity. In order to capitalize on your success, you’ll need to avoid these common pitfalls that frequently occur with the big promotion. Mistake #1: Managing Versus […]