Top Performance

by Zig Ziglar

  To motivate these people, give them time to socialize and talk. Let them express their opinions and ideas, especially those regarding people. Help them by being supportive of them in relationships.

  These people are turned off by work with long periods of intense concentration, record keeping, and criticism of their friends. Put them in a nonparticipative environment (computer terminal, accounting tasks) and you won’t be able to keep them for long. These “people” people are trusting, sociable, generous, popular promoters. But if you go too far in extending these strengths, it may result in more concern with popularity than results, overselling, problem avoidance, and heart-over-mind decisions.

  A Measure of Patience

  The next container is our patience container. If the container is below the midline, the person is usually actively involved and prefers an unstructured environment. He or she is frustrated by the status quo and invites change. Impulsive, ready to move about, and good at initiation, he is excitable and anxious to get the job done.

  You motivate this individual by giving him a variety of activities and the freedom to move about on the job. The nervous energy he brings to the workforce can be very positive when channeled; however, if left undirected, anxiety, nervousness, and tension will result. The strength of this person lies in the initiative he is willing to take. This becomes a weakness when he initiates so many projects that none are completed.

  People who have their patience containers filled above the midline are very stable and have “sit ability.” They are recognized for being kind, patient, quiet, disciplined, and service oriented. You recognize these people by their willingness to listen to others and by their friendly countenances. They appear to be relaxed; body movement is smooth and effortless. To motivate these people, give them time to adjust, few changes, and no surprises. If you show sincere appreciation for tasks completed, these folks will be extremely loyal to you. Create a secure environment and allow them to develop work patterns for maximum productivity.

  These people will be turned off by pressure placed upon them. New tasks and new people presented on a regular basis will produce diminished productivity. These people are loyal, deliberate, sincere, hardworking, consistent, and dependable. They are team players. Their strengths become weaknesses when they procrastinate or are asked to initiate projects. They may have trouble meeting deadlines. They always finish the project—they just like to do it on their own time schedule.

  Quality, Not Quantity

  The last container is our quality container. If the quality container is below the midline, people may be perceived by others as being strong willed (that’s a nice way of saying stubborn). People who are low in this container are normally very independent and couldn’t care less about details. Quantity wins out over quality with these folks.

  You motivate these people by letting them do a job their own way and granting autonomy. They are persistent and will stick to a chosen course of action. This strength becomes a weakness when they stick to a project that would be better off given up.

  The people who have their quality container filled above the midline are known for conscientiousness and concern for detail. They are intuitive and sensitive to the environment. These cautious individuals insist on competence and accuracy. You recognize them as thinkers who are seeking facts. They are not highly animated in gestures and are uncomfortable with those who easily show emotions.

  To motivate this person, give him personal attention, exact job descriptions, and a controlled work environment. If you allow him to be part of a group or team and provide solid, tangible evidence for your position in discussions, you can win a friend. He is turned off by those who demand quick decisions on important matters and don’t allow him enough time to check for accuracy. If you place him in an unstructured environment where no performance guidelines exist, he will find somewhere else to work.

  These quality-conscious people are normally mature, accurate, logical, precise folks with high standards. If they take their strengths to the lengths that they become weaknesses, they may overanalyze and get “paralysis of analysis” and become inflexible and bound by procedures and methods. They may have a tendency to get bogged down in details and hesitate to act without precedent.

  How Are You Doing?

  I hope that as we’ve been looking at each of these containers you’ve been doing a little self-evaluation. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very little and 10 being ready to overflow, how would you rate your aggression, people, patience, and quality containers on the chart below? How would your parents rate you? How would you be rated by your employees, and so on down the list? Let me remind you of something I said earlier. We all have some of each of these qualities. There are times when our containers seem almost empty and other times when they are almost full. However, I think you can see that each of us has dominant characteristics.

  Aggression People Patience Quality

  * * *

  I say___ I say___ I say___ I say___

  Parents___ Parents___ Parents___ Parents___

  Employees___ Employees___ Employees___ Employees___

  Spouse___ Spouse___ Spouse___ Spouse___

  Children___ Children___ Children___ Children___

  Boss___ Boss___ Boss___ Boss___

  * * *

  Another Method for Comparison

  If we take each of these containers and line them up next to one another, we can get a comparison of how we stand in each area. Remember that the farther away from the midline, the stronger the characteristics are perceived by others.

  Aggression People Patience Quality

  * * *

  10 Direct Enthusiastic Predictable Perfectionist

  9 Daring Persuasive Relaxed Accurate

  8 Risk Taking Emotional Nondemonstrative Systematic

  7 Decisive Trusting Deliberate Conscientious

  6 Competitive Sociable Stable High Standards

  ————————————— Midline —————————————

  5 Calculated Risk Taking Reflective Outgoing Opinionated

  4 Self-critical Factual Eager Persistent

  3 Weighs +/- Controlled Fidgety Independent

  2 Peaceful Self-conscious Restless Rigid

  1 Quiet Suspicious Active Firm

  * * *

  Some of you (those in the upper half of the quality container and lower half of the people container) have noticed the overlapping characteristics. These feed each other. In other words, the person rating himself a 3 in people and an 8 in quality has the ability to analyze and should excel in positions allowing him to use his strengths. To place him in a public relations role might not be advisable for long-term consideration. It is not that he could not perform in this position. The question is, for how long and at what cost could he do that job?

  The beauty of these tools when they are applied in a scientific manner is that for hiring purposes you get the round pegs in the round holes and the square pegs in the square holes. When they are used after people are already in position, they allow you to help the employee take advantage of his strengths by working in a position he not only enjoys but in which he can also excel.

  One idea must be reinforced: There are no right or wrong characteristics, no good or bad characteristics. We are where we are and what we are because of what has gone into our minds. We change where we are and what we are by changing what goes into our minds. Don’t be satisfied with the broad generalities we are forced to work with in this book. If this area of personality characteristics interests you, contact us for more information on how to implement personality profiles.[3]

  Let me emphasize again: There is no wrong character for management and no wrong type for achievement and Top Performance. Every profession seems to have its stereotypes—hard-driving, goal-oriented stockbrokers; laid-back, people-oriented social workers, etc.—and you may want to take those stereotypes into consideration when making career or employment choices. Yet even though different industries
or companies may tend to breed a particular type of personality, you will find variations and degrees everywhere. Remind yourself that different management styles are appropriate to different times and situations. If you are directing the fire drill, don’t call for a consensus vote on exit plans. But don’t grimly demand that people be creative in a brainstorming session, either. Their ideas will simply dry up.

  One of the men who best exemplifies the correct combination of all the characteristics we have been sharing in this chapter is the late Robert W. Woodruff of Coca-Cola. He was nicknamed “Mr. Anonymous” despite being the CEO of the Coca-Cola Company. Here is the text of a leaflet he carried in his pocket that summarizes a solid business and personal philosophy.

  Life is pretty much a selling job. Whether we succeed or fail is largely a matter of how well we motivate the human beings with whom we deal to buy us and what we have to offer.

  Success or failure in this job is thus essentially a matter of human relationships.

  It is a matter of the kind of reaction to us by our family members, customers, employers, employees, and fellow workers and associates. If this reaction is favorable we are quite likely to succeed. If the reaction is unfavorable we are doomed.

  The deadly sin in our relationships with people is that we take them for granted. We do not make an active and continuous effort to do and say the things that will make them like us, and believe in us, and trust us, and that will create in them the desire to work with us in the attainment of our desires and purposes. Again and again we see both individuals and organizations perform only to a small degree of their potential success, or to fail entirely, simply because of their neglect of the human element in business and life. They take people and their reactions for granted. Yet it is these people and their responses that make or break them.

  It is believed that these words are those of Mr. Woodruff’s friend Bernard F. Gimbel, the late chairman of Gimbel Brothers, Inc. So greatly was he impressed by the message in these words that he had the pamphlet reprinted to pass out among the key people in his organization. You might say that over the years these words have almost become the spirit of Coca-Cola. These are words that all Top Performers would do well to live by.

  PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES

  * * *

  The more I understand myself, the more effectively I can work with others.

  Personality profiles are valuable tools for getting the round pegs into the round holes and the square pegs into the square holes.

  Self-evaluation (with a scientific tool) is more valuable than self-condemnation.

  Our weaknesses are often extensions of our strengths.

  There are no good/bad, right/wrong profiles—they simply help us evaluate where we are so we can determine where we want to go.

  You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind; you change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.

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  Management Gems

  Find the essence of each situation, like a logger clearing a logjam. The pro climbs a tall tree and locates the key log, blows it, and lets the stream do the rest. An amateur would start at the edge of the jam and move all the logs, eventually moving the key log. Both approaches work, but the “essence” concept saves time and effort. Almost all problems have a “key” log if we learn to find it.

  Fred Smith

  Throughout Top Performance we have made every effort to give credit where credit is due. We have painstakingly traced down every traceable bit of information to keep from claiming originality when there was none. In this final chapter in “The Science of Top Performance,” we want to share with you some management gems that frankly are difficult to credit. These are timeless truths that have really been shared by most, if not all, effective managers. We are hopeful that you will find some “key logs” in these concepts and formulas that will answer your “opportunities” to solve problems more efficiently and effectively.

  Formula for Top Performance Management

  Show honest and sincere appreciation at every opportunity—make the other person feel important.

  Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.

  Make your cause bigger than your ego.

  Work for progress, not perfection.

  Be solution conscious, not problem oriented.

  Invest time in the activity that brings the highest return on investment according to the priority list of responsibilities—effort alone doesn’t count; results are the reasons for activity.

  Fulfilling responsibility is a good reason for work; discipline is the method.

  Recognize and accept your own weaknesses.

  Make checklists and constantly refer to them.

  Always show the people in your life the humility of gratitude.

  Six Action Steps for Performance-Oriented Managers

  Give regular, specific, and observable behavior feedback on performance.

  Respect the lines of communication and authority.

  Make timely decisions.

  Be accessible.

  Encourage creative ideas.

  Provide personal support.

  The Ten “Double Win” Rules That Lead to Top Team Performance

  When dealing with others:

  Remember that a smile is the most powerful social tool we have at our disposal.

  Listening is the most neglected skill in business (or home) today. The person who listens controls the final outcome of the discussion. Encourage others to talk, and then consciously remove any barriers to your good listening skills.

  Talk in terms of the other person’s interests. You will find a “uniqueness” and “specialness” in every individual you meet. Others are interesting when discovered; check out the other person’s point of view.

  Ask questions you already know the answer to and you will get to see the other person’s perspective. Most ideas are more palatable if we “discover” them ourselves. People who truly care about others lead them down the “discovery path.”

  “What you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.” Remember to model the behavior and attitude you want the other person to have.

  Give assignments that allow you to express faith and confidence that the other person can successfully perform in the task assigned.

  Always make requests; never give orders.

  Develop your ability to use the narrative story and the meaningful analogy—these are powerful teaching tools.

  Always be respectful of others. Show your respect by being on time for meetings or letting others know why you must be late.

  Return phone calls, e-mails, and letters immediately—there is no excuse for not doing so.

  Exploding Some “Management Myths”

  Manipulation and motivation are often the same thing. Absolutely not! Manipulation is getting people to act for you in ways that may not necessarily be for their own good. Motivation is helping people recognize mutual interests and getting them to join the “cause” because there is a benefit for them as well as you.

  Making your best effort is all that really counts. No! Too many people substitute effort for accomplishment. The reason for working is to get results. The person who gets the most results with less effort is working smarter and harder. Fatigue is not an indicator of success.

  Delegation is the key to management success. Wrong again! Delegation is not telling someone what you want, when you want it, and how it is to be done. This is direction. Delegation means assigning the results you expect and designing a follow-up system that allows you to inspect what you expect. New employees get direction; experienced employees get delegation. Determining which employees need direction, giving it to them, and delegating results and the authority to get those results is an important key to management success.

  Managers are normally superior physically, mentally, and spiritually. Nope! Very few managers are “normal”! And, there is nothing in the books that says a manager is a “superior.” Very simply
put, managers are people willing to take responsibility and work through others to achieve results. Are you trying to be a “supervisor” or “superworker”?

  Managers must control all circumstances. No way! Managers deal with problems and situations, and there is a distinct difference between the two. A situation exists because you cannot control it—people get ulcers trying to control the uncontrollable. A problem is something you can take action on. Excellent managers learn the difference between the two, take action on problems, and stop worrying about situations.

  Your Challenge

  There really are no “great revelations” in this brief summary chapter. However, professionals don’t need to be told, but they are glad to be reminded. If you will read these few pages every day for twenty-one days, your career will be greatly enhanced by the principles you will be putting into action.

  PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES

  * * *

  Reread the principles listed in this chapter daily for twenty-one days!

  PART 3

  Motivating the Top Performer

  It is motive alone that gives character to the actions of men.

  Bruyere

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