Champions = Fit in AND perform – Tip 43
True champions combine high focus with high energy – not one or t'other. They should be programmed not only to fit in but to perform as well. Like missiles, they need to be charged up with fuel, pointed in the right direction, launched and allowed to fly. But, to get the best out of your launches, make sure they don't go off half-cocked. That's the gist of this Mario Pretorius tip on getting the best out of your human capital. GK
Develop your halfway-there Warriors to both or send them off. Jack Welsh popularised the matrix that defined the best ones as fitting the corporate ethos and performing to the corporate standard.
Life can be a little trickier than that. The gradients in either complicate this.
The true champion combines high focus with high energy. No focus means energetic isometrics (getting tired but going nowhere); no energy means potential effort (all ready, but no go).
Many of your Elites vacillate between the targets. They're human after all – unlike you, the emotionally controlled, stainless steel ego'd demigod in their midst.
How do you charge them up? That's a real job, Mr Missile Launcher. You need to fuel them up, point them well and let them fly. This is a daily job – watching for the signs of a flagging spirit and a flaccid approach. Like golf, they have played perfect shots from many angles, but how to play a beauty every time a club swings?
Too often their interpretation is not your message. Their 'elevator speech' of what we're doing is off-message, off the cuff and inconsistent. The message (destination) must be clear, repeatable, and ring true. Repetition should become second nature. There is inherently little wrong if a missile is set up properly. You must get the best out of your launches; you need to check and double check against half-cockedness.
This tip is an extract from the manuscript of "The Unconventional CEO: Common sense outside of conventional Management thinking" (by Mario Pretorius).