Goal
Clear and quantifiable. The destination, in numbers.
You’ve finally found it. A systematic process for getting EVERY member of your team working in alignment, inspired to hold themselves accountable, and fully engaged to perform at their best to achieve your vision.
Whether you are in growth, turnaround, or exit mode, your objective is the same: sustainable increase in profitability. That means optimal performance from EVERY member of your team.
According to Gallup, however, engagement among U.S. workers is holding steady at a scant 31%. Seven out of ten people are either checked out or actively hostile toward their employer. Seven out of ten. You’ve felt it. And you already know it isn’t something you can simply hire your way out of, because you’ve tried.
The truth is, all business owners and managers are at various levels of STUCK. At this level it is no longer about DOING things. It is about GETTING THINGS DONE through other people. And there is a great deal to consider when you need to get things done through people who have a mind of their own.
But you don’t have to stay stuck.
There is a 7-step process to master this performance improvement work on a company-wide level. We call it THE Performance Improvement Plan.
No one knows your business better than you. You conceived of it. You gave birth to it. You have nurtured it into something real.
But to reach your full potential, you have to rely on people to execute your vision. Every business strategy is executed through people. And nearly seven out of ten of them are disengaged.
If your success depends on inspiring the best from your people and optimizing their productivity, you need a consistent, structured process.
THE PIP is that process.
In fact, it is at the heart of every winning sports team. We have applied it in every kind of company imaginable: consumer products, consumer services, aerospace, health care, manufacturing, restaurants, business services, and more.
THE Performance Improvement Plan (THE PIP) is a systematic process for getting EVERY member of your team working in alignment, inspired to hold themselves accountable, and fully engaged to perform at their best to achieve your vision.
This process works for small and enterprise level businesses. It works for mom-and-pop shops and billion-dollar retailers. It works whether you sell services or widgets.
This process works because it incorporates but goes beyond strategy… can work with but does not require software… works within but can unify disparate corporate cultures…
It is a systematic process that:
A simple three-word sentence is the basis for everything that follows.
It is the foundation for success in any endeavor, business or personal.
A simple thought before you say or do anything.
The value of any strategy, however brilliant, is a function of how well it is executed.
And every business strategy is executed through people.
Start with What’s the Goal? Then go one level deeper and ask WHY. A clear goal tells you where to go. A clear WHY gives you PURPOSE. Purpose is what separates companies that push through obstacles from ones that fold when things get hard.
It is not enough, for instance, to want to dominate your industry. The deeper question is this: WHY are you in business in the first place?
Think about it this way: who do you think will lead a more successful company, the playboy who inherits the family business, or the founder of a startup driven by the belief that their product or service will make a real difference?
When your WHY is out of alignment with your customers’ WHY, sales decrease. When your WHY is out of alignment with your vendors’ WHY, quality diminishes. When your WHY is out of alignment with your employees’ WHY, execution declines. Your WHY is your MISSION: the reason your company exists.
Generally speaking, there are three differentiators in business: quality, speed, and cost. Choose two. You can’t achieve all three.
This client made components for aircraft and spacecraft. It’s frightening to think there are companies in that industry that compete on price. Management was focused on quality and on-time delivery. When I interviewed the head of sales, however, I realized they were selling on price. The sales team’s WHY and the company’s WHY were completely out of alignment.
We fixed the alignment. It took two months to land a phrase the whole team could rally around, one with a real emotional tie: “On-Time Quality Without Compromise.” It became their mantra.
The result? On-time delivery climbed from 58% to 83%. Pride took over. Workstations became cleaner. Machinery was better maintained. And the sales team now had the confidence to sell on value rather than price. Profits soared.
If you don’t know the goal, how can you possibly achieve it? And, perhaps more importantly, what do you rally your team around?
Goals must be quantifiable: specific numbers in terms of revenue ($), units sold (#), or market share (%), and timeframes.
“We seek to be the market leader” or “we will dominate our market” are fine aspirations, but they are not goals. You cannot align resources, inspire engagement, or drive accountability around aspirations.
Alignment, engagement and accountability require specific, measurable goals.
It’s better, but not perfect. The more granular the goal, the more measurable it is. The more measurable the goal, the better it is understood. The better understood the goal, the more likely it will be executed. And the better the execution, the more successful the company.
Engagement among US workers is holding steady at a scant 31%. Seven out of ten people are either checked out or actively hostile toward their employer.
If 69% of your team is disengaged, you are operating at a fraction of your potential. What is that costing you?
Most managers reach for one of two motivation levers. The carrot, which coddles. The stick, which threatens. Neither is effective. The stick only works while you are watching. The carrot often just pays a bonus for performance you already bought with a salary.
A WRITTEN business strategy is critical to the success of EVERY company. Without one, a business runs like a rudderless ship, going in circles or crashing into any obstacle in its path.
How many companies pride themselves on overcoming problems? How about not encountering them in the first place? That takes planning. That requires a written strategy.
Does your team know what to do in any given situation? Could you relax and leave for two weeks on vacation without your phone or laptop?
It is the efficiency of execution that determines profitability. And every strategy is executed through people.
Picture it. The quarterback calls a pass, takes the snap, and sees his receiver wide open. As he steps into the throw for an easy touchdown, he gets creamed, because the guard missed his block.
You won’t see the owner storm down from the box, run onto the field and scream at the guard who missed his block.
You won’t see the coach run off the sideline to scream at him.
Nine times out of ten, you won’t even see the quarterback scream either.
No one SAYS anything. Why? Because they don’t need to.
Everyone on the team knows who blew the assignment. The guard knows he let everyone down. And he knows everyone else knows. He’s already screaming at himself on the inside.
You have done the hard part. The goals are clear and the team has bought in because you developed the goals as well as the strategy together. Now you need a way to monitor performance.
Much like the scoreboard at a game, everyone on the team needs to know how close you are to achieving your goals, what is holding you back, and what you need to do to get back on course. You need a system that is:
Depending upon the industry, companies have a wide range of resources. All companies, however, of every size, in every industry, have three resources in common: people, money, and time.
People are a valuable resource that require a substantial investment in hiring, training, and development. But they are replaceable.
Money is a critical resource as well. It is ideally earned but can, at varying costs, be borrowed or raised. It is replenishable.
Time, however, is your most precious resource. It is the only resource you cannot manufacture, buy, barter, borrow, replace, or even store. The only thing you can do with time is manage it.
Thus, your PIP must have a time element ascribed to every goal. You must objectively and transparently monitor performance on a consistent basis in order to ensure timely course correction. Because once it’s gone, you can never get that time back.
A performance improvement plan is usually aimed at improving the performance of a struggling employee. THE PIP does the same thing for your company as a whole. It is not a fad, a flavor of the month, or an overnight fix.
The PIP is a systematic process for getting EVERY member of your team working in alignment, inspired to hold themselves accountable, and fully engaged to perform at their best to create sustainable increase in profitability.
“The systematic approach allowed us a way of bringing out everyone’s unique and hidden talents. It helped us to create a clear and unified vision for executing optimal profitability.”
Don’t simply take my word for it. Get the checklist and see for yourself the impact the Performance Improvement Plan can have on productivity in your company.
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