Bill Nelson

Well, here we are for the last time in 2009. It is always difficult for me to come up with what I believe is an appropriate topic or direction to bring the year to a close. In either this blog posting, our podcast (Potential To Performance) or our newsletter (The Full Nelson) I have attempted to zero in on the idea and philosophy of bringing his year to a close and taking understanding from this year to allow you to better understand how good 2010 can be for you. Basically I want to identify some strong conclusions from 2009 and then use them to create an even better 2010.

Throughout this year I have used the blog to answer many of the questions that have been asked of me.



However I am the first to admit that when attempting to do this I probably asked you more questions than what I had answered. This was done and will continue to be done this way so that you have to challenge yourself by using the answers I have given and then working out how they relate to you and your situation, as opposed to just taking what I have outlined and applying them and hoping they will work for you.

The reason for this is quite simple. For 20 years of my professional coaching career my philosophy has been based around the following:

"That each individual has a certain amount of ability/potential. It is my job to get them to acknowledge, to understand and to respect that ability/potential. And to help them do what they can each and everyday to maximise that ability/potential without compromise."

So that carries over into my view of what this Blog is all about. In my opinion, Bill's Blog is about introducing ideas, insights and experiences.



It is about giving help and direction where appropriate, but more than anything, from my perspective anyway it is about raising in you an appreciation of the ability, the knowledge and the opportunities that you have available to you and for me to do what I can to see you maximise these opportunities, skills and knowledge at every opportunity.

However in saying that, I am a realist and I understand that the content of Bill's Blog, Potential to Performance or The Full Nelson is not always ground breaking insight. However I also understand that what some might see as weakness I see as our greatest strength.

It may well be that some of the information and content I provide is simple, basic everyday common sense information. But it is simple, basic everyday common sense information that can be applied to the majority of people, situations and opportunities that you will encounter.

But I would warn you not to confuse simplicity of approach and complexity of result. Many are and I warn you not to be one of them. As we all know the common catch cry for when things slow down is ....Go back to basics.

My questions is why wait until things slow down. Why not use the basics effectively everyday so that you are proactive with their use, rather than reactive.

If I can continue to convey this type of information, then I will be achieving what I have set out to do. That is to provide real world advice, tried and true strategies and real life examples of information, insight and experience that I have personally used over the years. But the reality is that the content or answers I provide in this blog is not about me or for me, my goal, and my one and only goal and purpose for Bill's Blog, simply put is to help you and to serve your needs.

So with all that said, lets take a quick trip through some of the content we have provided to you throughout 2009?

From and organisational perspective we started off by looking at the DNA of organisational mediocrity.



Here are a few tell tale signs that your organisation or the people within it, more than likely is heading in the wrong direction:

• Unwillingness to change


• Inconsistency


• The preparedness to compromise


• Ineffective communication


• Leadership by title alone


• Selection by psychological profiling


• Doing it in a way you are familiar with rather than doing it the best way


• Relying on talent alone


• Short term fix


• You use a window instead of a mirror to explain lack of performance


• Creativity and innovation are best pursued by others


• Mistaking training for development

We then explored some ideas for what should you do as a leader when things get tough:

• Be visible


• Control outer emotions and deal with inner emotions


• Maintain correct body language


• Be relentless in going back to the basics


• Don't over react to adversity


• Go to the experience that has been there before


• Don't let pride get in the way of making the right decisions


• Increase your exposure to positive influences


• Understand the position and thinking of those around you

And then late in the year we looked at the question of: If things are getting better economically in the world what are the things we should be looking at?

A few key points that I though you could start to explore and expand were:

• Collaboration


• Focus


• Morale


• Enjoyment


• Creativity and Innovation


• Communication


• Confidence

And then finally in November we looked at the question of: Are you paying too much for performance? where we explored some of the key considerations you should focus on in regard to how you construct and implement an incentives program:

• Need to make sure whatever you are incentivising is something they have control over


• Need to make sure the incentive keeps their focus on the primary objective


• Make sure the incentive compliments the standards and culture of those involved, individual, team and organisation


• Make sure the incentive isn't just paying them for doing what they should be doing already


• Make sure the incentive helps utilise the combined skills of everyone


• Know that in some cases there are probably things more important than an incentive


• Make sure incentives are not used to replace the element of leadership


• Make sure everyone knows everything


• Horses for courses


• Make sure what you are incentivising is what you really want

On the personal performance front we started the year off by looking at the question of:

Can you give me some of the lessons you have shared with your children as you have prepared them for life?



As part of my answer to this question I shared some of the lessons that my father gave to me, including some of the lessons Joanne and I have endeavored to pass onto our children:

• Allow yourself to look in the mirror and be open and honest with what it is you see


• You are bound by the element of truth in all you do and say


• Stand up for what you believe in, firstly with yourself and secondly with others


• Give credit where credit is due; don't take responsibility or accolades for something that is not truly yours


• Understand that the ongoing development of you as a person is dependent upon firstly recognising that you do not know everything


• Judge your behaviour against your standards and your performance against your potential


• Truly believe that you possess the potential to do and to be anything that you desire. That is if you are prepared to work hard enough at it


• If you are truly committed to the essence of your character, you will continually strengthen it from your continued commitment towards it


• Reputation is what others think you are. Character is what you know you are


• Life rewards action

We also took some time out to look at some of the things you should include in your everyday life:

• Take a genuine interest in those around you


• Take the time to participate in and enjoy the things that make you happy


• Do little activities that take you out of your comfort zone


• Have a kind word to say to someone each and everyday


• Whatever you do make sure it is your best effort


• When you are wrong admit it and take responsibility in the situation


• Give praise


• Accept constructive criticism


• Have a true sense of fair play

We then delved into the concept that change does not always mean progress:



a. Quality v Convenience
I'm not about making things harder, and at the same time, I am not about compromising quality either, but the quick fix formula seems to have filtered into so many aspects of modern day life and the convenience factor is not too far behind it.

b. Rights v Responsibility
Think about how many instances in today's society where someone will trot out the old - I have rights' line (and they would be right) when they are being questioned as to why something that is their responsibility, has either not been done or has not been done to the standard required.

c. Learning v Education
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying learning is bad, but I am saying that there needs to be a mixture of learning and education to fully prepare someone to the full gamete of exams that life is going to throw their way.

I then endeavored to answer the questions of do successful people sometimes loose their way? My response to this question included three simple but very important questions:

• What would it take for you to lose sight of your own professional identity?


• What would it take for you to move away from your true purpose?


• What would it take for you to move away from why you do, what you do?

I then outlined my ideas on how you prepare for success and that "Your levels of success will be a direct reflection of your levels of preparation."

We then went into why personal values will sometimes be compromised. At the time I said it is easy to say this is what I stand for but what I really want to see is what is it that you are prepared to stand up against?

We then went into the two main reason why values get compromised are:

1. Personal loss
2. Personal gain



So as we bring this post and the year to a close, I hope I have been able to answer the questions that you have asked of me and that the content within those answers has helped you in some way have an exciting and rewarding 2009? And that the topics, experience and insight you have gained through this blog will allow you to go onto even bigger and better things in 2010.

But before we get into 2010, let me just take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support of Total Performance Concepts in 2009. We will be back in 2010 with some new ideas and a slightly different approach to Bill's Blog.

I will continue to answer your questions, but will do this through our newsletter - The Full Nelson'. We will be orientating Bill's Blog more around my day to day observations of what is going on in the world of leadership, culture teamwork and performance.

We will also continue to do our Potential to Performance podcast, but our approach to that will also change slightly. We will continue the idea of Jae running the show and doing what he can to challenge me to come up with ideas and answers to his dilemmas and questions. We will also be looking to do the podcast more frequently than once per month.

So once again thank you for your questions and feedback and let me take this opportunity to wish you all the very best for the upcoming holiday season and for a very safe, enjoyable and successful 2010.

The Journey Continues!

Regards
Bill Nelson