The Performance Manifesto
Here is my gift to you. My thoughts on creating an attitude towards productivity. A manifesto that if you adopt, it will boost your performance, like it has done for me over the years and the awesome clients I have coached.
If there's one thing you can to do to help your performance is to read the manifesto below, enjoy:
1. Work Hard Stay Smart.
Work smarter, not harder. What a load of crap. To raise performance, you have to work hard. You have to do the reps.
You have to make sure that the work you do is the right work. This is where being smart comes in. However, it doesn't take away the hard work.
Crafting excellence demands your full focus and attention. It's tough to keep this consistent.
The good thing, doing the real work beats being busy. It feels easy once you've built the habits. Being smart is the first step. Don't be mistaken, doing the reps, day in day out is tough but glorious at the end.
Go work harder and stay smart.
2. Beat Busy
Busy feels good. We feel like we are contributing. We get a rush of feel-good chemicals! STOP!
While it feels good, it doesn't mean its good for you.
If you want to raise performance, you have to use your time wisely. You have to work on the things that truly matter.
It's easy to enjoy the dopamine hit of ticking off your to-do list, sending out emails, attending meetings and taking notes like you give a sh*t.
However, it doesn't move you or your business forward.
Beat Busy. Smash it in the face, by doing something that matters. Yes, it's tough, that's how you know it’s the right thing to do. Peak Performance isn't an easy ride.
3. Feck Purfection
Feck Perfuction: A strange statement from someone who bases their business on a methodology that is all about seeking perfection.
A book by James Victore bears this name. It's a philosophy/mindset to try and trigger more people to go out and do stuff.
To deliver a product/service that is adding value is better than waiting for that perfect product/service.
Remember, perfection is in the eyes of the customer; you'll never know unless you deliver something.
So feck it, stop perfection holding you back. HOWEVER, don't let this subtle mindset switch, allow you to provide a load of crap that no one wants.
You ALWAYS need to deliver value.
There's a balance to play here. I like to say get to 80%, if you think its 80% there, then go for it. Over time you can chew away at the remaining 20%, but be mindful the effort involved in making the difference is only subtle in the eyes of the customer, so maybe isn't worth it.
Don't make more work for yourself.
4. Get Turned On
What flicks your switch? You're not going to perform if you are not turned on.
With the best intent in the world, you're not going to do your best work if you’re not passionate about what you do. You have to have a burning desire to perform, to show the world your best work.
There's stuff I hate to do yet there's a whole world out there with people who love the things I hate. Delegate as much of this stuff as you can, don't let it be a drain on your energy. Use your power on the stuff that makes you tingle, work that you can apply all of yourself to.
It's easier said than done, a trick I have found that helps is to monitor how you feel when you do tasks.
If you are finding yourself distracted, grabbing that third cup of tea within an hour, surfing the web, answering emails you don't need to, then maybe that task you are meant to be doing is the wrong one for you at this time.
Alternatively, if you are finding you have lost all notion of time, in the zone, and you feel so elated by the task you’re doing. Work out the characteristics of that task; you'll find your golden nuggets, that turn you on.
5. Give Up Control
Give up the quest to control. The beauty of life and being human is the fact that it is unpredictable. Live in the moment, roll with it. Have the courage to live!
Everyone can die; only a few are brave enough to live.
Face the unknowns you may find you enjoy it. Learn that you can't control everything.
Today, look at a problem you've had for a while but ignored. You may not be able to solve it straight away. What you can do is an experiment to find out more about the problem or ways to overcome it.
Learn and enjoy the process itself; forget the outcomes. Once you get used to the method of experimenting, you can go out and solve lots of problems and seize those significant opportunities. Giving up the quest to control will lead to more control.
Enjoy the rollercoaster. Experiment.
6. Think Big
Think beyond yourself and your needs.
Be selfless.
Think about what is the best thing to do for the family, community or organisation, not what is right for yourself.
Today go out and do something for the good of others.
Build momentum in this way of thinking.
You'll find others will help you too.
A great tip here if you’re a business leader is to look at B Corps, corporations that have built businesses to be the best for the world, to create a positive social, economic and environmental impact. Check the B Lab assessment, which will assess your organisation and give you a steer on how to make more of an impact, so you too can think big.
7. Play The Bigger Game
You can keep playing Level 1, or you can go to level 20 and fight the bossman (not literally).
Use your competitive nature and gamify the outputs you want to achieve not the tasks of your to-do lists.
Pick a behaviour that will drive those outputs and measure how well you are keeping to it. Try the behaviour for an hour today. Then tomorrow 1hr10, add 10 minutes every day.
It will soon become a habit, and you will be unstoppable.
8. Be A Titan
Walk tall like a giant with purpose.
Inflate your chest, shoulders back, raise your chin, smile.
You are human.
You may not be able to do everything, and that's ok, its not ok not to try.
Be more you, tackle those things you feared.
Start small today, pick a task you usually dread doing and smash it out of the park.
9. Dry Your Eyes And Crack On
Being vulnerable doesn't mean crying your eyes out in front of people, getting hugs and kisses along with reassurance that it will be ok.
You need to dry your eyes and crack on.
However, being vulnerable doesn't have to be the extreme of emotional breakdown, it's just showing up and being human.
It's authentic, being more of yourself.
You want to trust; you want to feel safe in a group so you can collaborate effectively, well it starts with you.
Open up, share your thoughts, feelings, your weaknesses.
Be vulnerable; you'll be surprised by the response you receive.
It will be reciprocated, and by that, you'll have built the environment to collaborate well.
It won't be loves and hugs; however, you'll be able to build on each other's ideas together to find the right approach for the problems you’re facing.
Others will amplify your performance.
Connect, collaborate and co-create together.
10. Get Your Head Shot Off
To perform at your best sometimes means you have to tackle the things no one else tackles.
You’re the one who needs to be brave to step up and speak up.
Be prepared to get shot down.
Fight your corner because if your intent is in the right place, people will listen.
You're not going to change anything if you shirk in a corner.
Get above the parapet.
A tip would be to build some allies, join forces with people who its easier to influence first. Then as a force for good tackle the naysayers, objectors or dementors.
Do what's right.
11. Trigger Happy
Habits kick in from triggers.
We like habits as we don't have to think about them we just do them.
It’s automation for human beings.
However, our bad habits, our unproductive behaviours are set off by triggers also.
You need to find them and close them down and/or get trigger happy and give yourselves prompts/cues so you can remember to do your new behaviours, through repetition your new practices will become habits, automatic actions you just get done.
