My Seven P’s of Performance
What drives performance? I recently had the opportunity to spend the day at the BMW Performance Driving School in Greer, SC with my brother, Steve.
This is the second time we’ve made the trip for the one day Car Control School. As I think back to our most recent visit, it occurred to me that there are lessons which extend beyond driving (whether on a closed track or in a real world environment) to business. Let’s review what I learned.
Physics – The day starts with learning about the physics of what the car can do! This includes how driver inputs (throttle, steering and braking) impact how the tire contact patches grip the road surface. For your business, this means understanding how far you can stretch the current boundaries and what their breaking points might be. Elon Musk is known to ask people to focus on the physics of the problem.
Practice – This is the next step. Taking what you have learned in the classroom and putting it into practice in a real world environment. It’s one thing to have book knowledge, it’s quite another to put that knowledge to work in a real world situation. A college degree is one thing, but it’s combining it with experience that has an impact.
Persistence — Beyond practice is persistence which means continuing to develop and improve despite the fact that you didn’t get it right or achieve success the first time. In business, success is rarely achieved on the first attempt.
Patience – There are certain things you can’t rush. While it may be uncomfortable to wait for a skidding car to come back into control after some subtle driver inputs that is exactly what is necessary to continue forward momentum. Rushing it will only make matters worse. Whether it is a normal customer sale or an acquisition, there are times when business requires patience for things to evolve naturally.
Position – Where you position the car on the track sets you up for the next move just as where you position your company in the marketplace sets up the next opportunity. Be aware of how your positioning today impacts the future.
Program – The BMW computer programs override driver input at times and made it virtually impossible to skid the car under practice conditions. I suggest you make full use of software programs and maximize the use of technology which can be amazing when we take advantage of it (OK, I admit I stretched a bit to turn this into a “P”).
Passion – Whatever you are doing, you need to have a passion for it otherwise it will be drudgery. The instructors at the BMW Performance Driving School have a passion for both driving and the BMW brand. I have a passion for improving business performance which I do through my fractional CFO leadership programs. Do you have passion for what you do?
I hope you will use my seven P’s of performance to think about your business differently. If you do, I assure you that you will see improved profitability. And you might just go undefeated in the rat races like I did!
If your business could benefit from fractional CFO services, I would welcome the chance to speak with you. Please give me a call at (314) 863-6637 or send an email to [email protected]
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your cash is flowing. know where.®
Ken Homza
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