Written by: David Campbell, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I want you to think about potential versus performance. There Is a saying that the quality of your current results is directly related to the quality of your current thinking.
I was inspired when I first read this quote:
‘2% of people think, 3% of people think they think and 95% of people would rather die than think.’ George Bernard Shaw
It is so true for our third key.
Focus on potential not performance.
Are you in the 2% that focus on potential?
Performance is a review of history.
For a long time, I’ve been really mulling this over ‒ potential versus performance. We do a review of our business performance every month, every quarter, every six months, every year. We look at Business Activity Statements; we look at tax returns, cash flow and more. All this is about performance. And the interesting thing about performance is, you can only see it by looking backwards.
As you run your business, it’s interesting to think about it from the point of view of a sailing ship. From the perspective of a ship, to look at performance is to always watch the wake. You can never properly see what’s ahead. You can’t plan for what’s coming next. What is your business doing as you move forward?
The way you move forward in your business, just as with the ship, depends on the way you view performance and potential. As you may choose a particular passage, your business will leave a wake behind. You will easily see the path you have taken. In looking back, you can easily see where you’ve been. It can be either a wake-up call – you’ve been all over the place with your journey, or it can be of great assurance – a really constructive confirmation of your successful manoeuvring forwards.
So, focus that is totally absorbed in the performance can affect the potential direction and progress. Equally, a total focus on potential ignores the reality of the performance. As a mariner or a business owner, understand the difference between potential and performance.
David Campbell, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
David is an exceptionally experienced executive coach. He is an exceptional public speaker who challenges the way organisations and individuals think in relation to business and life. has led reform within a number of organisations and brings a unique understanding of the pressures in both the public and private sectors. He understands the changing requirements and time frames within the business environment and has considerable experience in leading, managing and coaching geographically dispersed (remote) teams. David brings a new insight into the way we think into our success in business to realise exceptional results.
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