Jet aircraft pilots know that a certain deadly combination of airspeed, glide angle, and throttle is a recipe for a crash landing. When they’re in this position, just a little more power brings down the nose and accelerates their rate of descent. The pilot’s position is called ‘behind the (power) curve’ because a marginal increase in power does not create the expected uplifting effect.
A number of companies these days find themselves somehow ‘behind the power curve’. Short-term operating results are not adequate, nor is the long-term competitive position. More pressure on people does not improve the company’s performance; instead, the rate of descent accelerates. Interestingly, in that case, companies usually focus on mediocre performers and attempt to bring them up to a certain ‘acceptable’ level.
They should take a different approach. The best individual performers are generally the most strongly motivated. Singling them out should reinforce their efforts to excel and motivate others to aim for excellence, too. In other words, pick out the stars and inspire them to achieve even greater things. Set challenging improvement goals for ‘great’ performers. Usually, ‘good’ performers are inspired by the improvement goals of the best of the best, and, as a result, their performance will also improve. But whatever the response, it must be selective and more than incremental. Pouring on a little more power won’t work.
Productivity can best be improved not by striving to bring mediocre players up to speed, but by pushing the best, for example, highly talented youngsters, to raise their standards of excellence. Enter: mentoring — a highly effective motivator. As a young and ambitious Ph.D. student and already a serious equity trader, I was in awe when I met some of my mentors, Nobel laureates like Bob Solow and John Nash. There’s nothing quite like meeting and being challenged by ‘living libraries’, the peak of the pyramid. It’s like putting a jet engine in an already fast Porsche 911.
Apart from mentoring, three other core factors influence the productivity of the best of the best, and, consequently, the rest:
1. Always challenge the status quo. Any company that does not continuously and systematically challenge long-held assumptions about its people — too often ‘sacred cows’ — is probably missing an opportunity to improve productivity.
2. A clear definition of what ‘extraordinary employees’ truly are. Without a clear statement that defines ‘excellent’ people, chances are the company’s main assets will be underutilized.
3. A strong linkage between the company and its clients. It’s always difficult to ensure high asset utilization if the linkage is weak. Alignment between the company’s capabilities — essentially, the talent of people — and the needs, priorities, and expectations of clients is crucial.
More details are available at www.pieterklaasjagersma.com/on-becoming-extraordinary.