Top Performance

by Zig Ziglar

  Top Performers in leadership/management positions recognize they have teams within teams. For example, the people with whom I work most closely are my wife, my executive assistant, and my youngest daughter, who is the editor of my books and newspaper columns. The three of them work beautifully together, love and respect each other, and definitely make my efficiency and effectiveness much greater. The burden they relieve from my shoulders is incredible.

  Every team member in our company is important, and each one does a better than good job. However, just as in football, we have “special teams” like the kicking team, the defensive team, the offensive team, etc. Those special teams make a big difference. I believe everyone in our company is a difference maker, but the three who work the closest to me make the biggest difference in my own personal performance.

  Tom Ziglar, our president and CEO; Richard Oates, our chief operating officer; Kayla Mitchell, our accounting manager; and Scott Hayes, our national sales manager, represent the second intimate and internal team at our company. It’s critical that this team work closely together—and they do; that they communicate regularly and effectively—and they do. It’s also important, particularly in the creation of our customized training programs, that they coordinate activities with Bert Newman, the manager of our audio/visual services, who does all of our recording and sees projects through to completion. It’s vital that all special teams work within the framework of the company policies and objectives.

  I suspect that most leaders/managers have their own special teams, and biblically speaking, Moses, David, and even Christ had their special teams.

  I can assure you that every individual Mr. Ziglar recognized above understands that he or she is considered a vital pillar of their team.

  Values

  Sam Walton was a legend in his own time. He shared his values of simplicity and hard work until his very end. This created a culture of values-based performance within an entire organization. People did not feel that they worked for a discount store; they performed with the belief that they were change agents. The greeter’s values were allowed to coexist with the manager’s values, and the result is the largest corporation in the world with gross revenues in excess of $59.694 billion.

  Vision

  The belief that one person can do something great is a myth.

  John Maxwell

  Vision is one of the greatest treasures that a person can hold. In most organizations, within the confines of everyday productivity, an individual’s vision is not allowed to thrive alongside an organization’s vision. Most performers in a team are always told about the collective end that is the goal of the team, the key point being they are never asked their opinion as it relates to the organization’s vision. The constant painting of the big picture is important so that the individual performers will know that the people they follow do have a plan and a goal. However, not stopping to find out the individual vision of the contributing team players will make the pillar weak. If any person has to constantly search for his identity and his dreams, his effectiveness to the cause entrusted to him is weakened. Successful leaders ensure Top Performance in their people by encouraging the individual vision and mission of everyone on the team.

  In 1994 Bryan Flanagan and I were in the Philippines conducting some training seminars. I reminded Bryan of how lucky I was to be enjoying the good life. I then thanked Bryan for believing in me when I was just a rookie salesman. Bryan told me that he believed in my potential contribution to the Ziglar team, and hence he did what he did. Believing in someone else’s vision will go a long way toward ensuring his effectiveness to your team. We have since done a lot of things together, but I will always be indebted to Bryan for his belief in me. At that point in my life, his belief in me was far greater than the belief I had in myself. Bryan is a Top Performer because his vision for the team was very clear and precise.

  Victories

  No one of us is more important than the rest of us.

  Ray Kroc

  No team can ever be successful if the individual victories are not celebrated. The most important acknowledgment a team player can get is that he is valuable to the team and winning without him would be impossible. Recognition was discussed at great length in another chapter, so here we will deal with the need for every team member to know that he or she is a part of an organization’s victory list. By putting victories under the belt of the team player at periodic intervals, you strengthen his contribution to the organization. This is more than an “atta boy” or a “well done.” It is sincere praise for his work. More people leave an organization because they are not allowed to be a part of the celebration. By the same token, not all celebrations need to be monetary.

  Process Improvement

  Dr. W. Edwards Deming, who is considered the father of the quality movement that swept global enterprises in the late ’80s and through the ’90s, once remarked that a good percentage of all productivity problems is due to systems problems. An inverted organization designed to enhance the value provided to its internal and external customers in most cases comes up short because of systemic deficiencies in the processes that are in place. Systems issues tend to be chronic in nature. A chronic problem is defined as one that just won’t go away. It is deep-seated in the system and has been there a long time. Management that operates without awareness of the situation tends to dislike chronic problems because they feel there is nothing they can do to solve these chronic issues.

  Sometimes managers and leaders who don’t focus on process improvement prefer acute problems to chronic problems. Acute problems are short-term flare ups that can be made to go away with the Band-Aid approach but will return, because the solution treated the symptom and not the cause. Top performing organizations focus on having constant process improvements that address both the chronic problems and the acute problems. Process improvement is an important ingredient because it ensures that effectiveness is maintained through the rank and file.

  A simple motto to follow to ensure that all processes are considered important to an organization’s financial health is:

  Do the right thing.

  Do it right the first time.

  Do it right now.

  Do it at the right price.

  But every company claims to be doing these four things. In order to establish yourself as an organization that is a Top Performer, you need to add these six additional criteria to your system to give you the value edge in today’s marketplace.

  Identify what’s important to your internal and external customers.

  a. Ask your internal customers how you can improve.

  b. Ask your external customers what they want through focus group methodologies.

  Take time out of your schedule to really understand the components of every process in your organization. The consulting firm of Rath and Strong estimates that only 1 percent of the total process time is spent on steps that are important to the customer.

  Assign the cost component or value of each of the steps of a given process to an organization’s bottom line. Fortunately, studies have suggested that as much as 75 percent of the lost time can be reclaimed.

  Mandate the need for and the importance of internal process management champions. Experience has shown that at least 75 percent of the steps making up any process are not beneficial from the customer’s perspective. As such they are costly steps and need to be reduced or eliminated.

  Reduce or eliminate unnecessary steps and processes.

  Serve your customer’s customer.

  What do you suppose would happen to your market share if you were able to take 10 percent of your customers and provide your organization’s products and services so well, so seamlessly, in such a synchronized manner, that your customer’s customers clamored to do business with you? If you were able to engineer this, would your company’s stock go through the roof? Would your own personal performance and productivity get noticed for the innovation you showed in eliminating unnecessary steps? The simpl
est thing any manager or leader can do is to identify which steps are important to an organization. Get rid of those that are the cause of both the acute and the chronic problems.

  “Have You Joined the Team?”

  Most of us work in departments as part of a network of people who make up our company’s team. If our company’s service or product is good, there are others to share the credit. If it’s poor, there are people to share the blame. But if we believe the old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, we know that our company’s performance is only as good as ours.

  Each of us makes a choice as to the role we’ll play on the team. We either join it as an actively caring member, or we go through the motions from the sidelines. When we choose to join the team, we have a better, surer shot at work that brings us satisfaction. The choice is ours. Here are the key attitudes that take us off the sideline.

  I make a difference here. I know that what I do makes it possible for my office to run smoothly. The effort I put into my job shows up in the quality of my office’s services and in my company’s earnings.

  I’m a part of what outsiders see when they judge my organization. With every letter, every phone conversation, every personal contact, I make a statement about the caliber of service we offer. In the course of a year, I make hundreds of valuable business contacts for us.

  How I feel on a given day affects the people I work with. I help to set the tone here. I know that when I bring real enthusiasm to the job, I make a contribution few others can equal.

  I take responsibility for what bothers me. When a situation is causing me trouble at work, I approach it as my problem. Whether it’s a procedure that isn’t working, a practice I feel is unfair, or a person I’m having difficulty working with, I do what I can to change the situation. Sometimes it takes patience. More often than not, it takes knowing when to speak up and when to wait, and how to coolly and rationally use my powers of persuasion.

  When I can’t get a situation changed, I look for ways to minimize its effect on me. Most important, I remember that I’ve chosen to work here, and so long as I’m here, I’ll give my best.

  I take an interest in my company. I know that an organization is greater than the sum of its parts; it has a life and personality of its own. I’m interested in how this company got to be what it is today, and how the people in it have grown as they have.

  My knowledge of the workings of the company not only helps me in my work, but also makes the work more interesting. It’s part of what makes me a valuable employee here; and it helps me set my own career goals and plan my future.

  I try to see the big picture—to think beyond my particular job to the kind of product or service I’d like to receive as a customer or client. Because I’m interested in what makes us successful, I notice what’s happening in business, politics, or technology that’s going to affect us.

  I’m proud to be a strong, reliable member of my company’s team. I know that my success, as well as my company’s, depends on it.[4]

  TOP PERFORMERS ANTICIPATE CHANGE AND EMBRACE

  THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHANGE.

  Take a few minutes every day to remind yourself of the positive affirmations listed above. And keep reading … Krish has more information on what it takes to be a Top Performer.

  What Makes a Top Performer?

  The timid performers in this world are threatened by change. The aggressive are comfortable, but the Top Performers in this world look at change as an opportunity. They understand that all meaningful change to combat the external forces comes from within. Top Performers understand that no one except a baby in wet diapers really welcomes change. Change is difficult, but Top Performers make excellence a habit to combat the tides of societal and organizational change. Just as knowledge “out of order” creates chaos, knowledge “in order” creates and formulates the expertise necessary to survive change. The ways that Top Performers get knowledge “in order” include:

  1. Understanding Why You Work

  Every day, Top Performers remind themselves of the reason behind their decision to work. It is relatively easy to get caught up in the negative ramblings of a mediocre society’s below-average expectations. However, clarifying one’s thought process to arrive at the primary motivation behind the choices we make is paramount for us to enjoy the choice. I remember when a couple of years ago I hit the wall. My work was demanding time away from home, and the travel intensified. I came to a point of acute misery when I realized that my motives were not in tune with my understanding of what I did. Like most people at that time, I would announce to my family that what I did, I did for them. This forced me to work harder each time to provide for them.

  I was earning money to pay the bills of guilt that my travels were costing. When I changed my vocabulary, my understanding changed and the job became easier. I now tell my family that what I do I am able to do because of them. It is because of the power and energy derived from their place in my life that I am able to function. Now home is my well of knowledge, where I must return after each trip to quench my thirst. The guilt has gone, and in its place I have an inner peace that validates my role, responsibility, dignity, sacrifice, and pride.

  2. Working with Unconditional Loyalty

  A couple of years ago, I suffered some embarrassment because a project that I was responsible for came up short on returns. There was a lot of dissent among my superiors, and their actions toward me were difficult at that moment in my life. I was on the receiving end of a stiff reprimand and did contemplate some retribution of my own. But cooler heads prevailed, and I called my father in India for his advice. He reminded me that human beings are prone to mistakes, and accepting responsibility for those mistakes is the right thing to do. However, he then asked me if I had been disloyal at any point. I replied that I had always been loyal and had never bad-mouthed my organization. He then told me that he was prouder of me because of that than any accolade I had ever received. In retrospect, it is the dignity that was shown through unconditional loyalty that allowed me to survive that rough period in my career. Zig Ziglar himself told me that my attitude toward the company during a time of adversity said more about my work ethic than any of the other contributions I had made.

  In the struggle to free nations, many of the fighters of the various freedom movements had unconditional loyalty. They were prepared to set aside their own reasoning for the betterment of their respective causes. The question is, Do you have this quality as a foundation in all you do?

  3. Doing More Than You Are Asked to Do

  America as a country has moved toward becoming a country of rights and gravitated slowly away from being a society of responsibility. One of the strange rituals practiced every day all across this country is the debate between the people who have to do the job and those who set the expectations. The popular belief is that we all are overworked and underpaid. This leads to a mind-set that says, “If you want me to excel, you have to pay me more.” Organization leaders lodge a daily protest about the ineptitude of their workers. “Why can’t these people do more than they are asked to? Don’t they realize that people who perform without reward are the ones who will finish first?” It is a proven testimony from those who have excelled in their professional careers that a good work ethic guarantees your stability, whereas a poor work ethic assures your mediocrity.

  The story is told about Mahatma Gandhi’s letter to the inmates of the prison where he was being held captive. Amid the turmoil of the movement and the punishment he was receiving for his supposed treason against the imperial armies of the queen, he found time to do more. He wrote to the inmates about the benefits of staying healthy and the ways in which these benefits could be derived. How many people do we know who think of doing more than they are asked to do and definitely more than they are paid to do? Going the extra mile is becoming obsolete as we have embraced the notion that doing something for the joy of others is not beneficial. Contrary to this belief, helping others and doing more than
you are paid to do will get you abundance.

  4. Be Patient and You Will Be Rewarded

  Early in my career with the Zig Ziglar Corporation, I often complained about the time that it took to accomplish the smallest of victories. Bryan Flanagan reminded me that most people come up short because they expect the end of the process while still in the middle of the process. So true! The adage that Rome was not built in a day is one that gives us the formula for sustained excellence. In the long run, those who pace themselves with patience are the ones who will stand in the victory lane to drink the milk of success.

  5. The Corner Office Is Not Something You Deserve

  The archaic notion that your physical place in an office is based on your deserving it is a mentality that will guarantee your failure. Many of my business colleagues constantly remind me of how they wish they had a corner office. My personal productivity is not tied into how many windows I have. That is a false prestige that convinces you that who you are is determined by where you sit.

  6. Lifting Someone Up Causes You to Rise

  The Ziglar Training Systems philosophy is, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” This paraphrasing of the Golden Rule has been expressed in many languages and has survived many cultural interpretations. In an increasingly competitive computerized generation, men and women have decided that selfishness is the only way to go because doing good lands you in trouble. It is no wonder that a good majority of those needing help do not ask for it, and those capable of giving it do not volunteer their assistance.