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The High Performance Company requires three specific characteristics to set itself apart from the average and from just being “good.” A great company must have the following three elements: 

•Clear Vision 
•High Performing Teams 
•A Disciplined Culture 

This blog discusses high performing teams in more detail. We all hear that a company’s biggest asset is its people; and that is an absolutely, unequivocally true statement. Yet most companies fail to capture the exact notion of what that statement means, and do not know how to maximize the efficiency of their human capital in a productive and balanced way. Thomas Jefferson said, “If I had a universe to choose from, I could not change one of my associates to my better satisfaction.” He definitely had a high performing team!


A high performing team is one where its members are passionate about what they do. They have clarity in their roles, there is a great amount of cohesiveness between the members, and there is an understanding of the need to live a balanced life. When all these characteristics are blended together, the outcomes of their decisions propel the company to a higher level. This type of team arrives at decisions more quickly; they debate passionately, trust each other deeply and hold each other accountable for performance.

Passion. Clarity. Cohesiveness. Balance. 


People that are passionate have a powerful enthusiasm about what they do. They love what they do and are very good at it; they are energized and will do their job and not get tired. These individuals operate with unconscious competence and are working in their area of expertise where they are uniquely qualified and are experts in their field. People who are passionate about their job wake up every morning excited about the new opportunities their day will bring. 

Only when individuals have a crystal clear understanding of their roles, their expectations and their goals can they be held accountable for performance. In order to hold someone to a certain level and measure their achievement, we must have metrics in place against which we can benchmark their performance. For an individual to succeed, exceed preset goals, and consistently operate at a superior level, he or she must have “job comfort.” This happens when the natural behavioral tendencies of that individual match the behavioral requirements of the job. In other words, the person has the right amount of assertiveness, sociability, calmness and conformity required by the job. 

Individuals of cohesive teams like each other, trust each other and hold each other accountable. They discuss passionately their ideological differences and they challenge each other, always keeping the company’s ultimate success in mind. Once a decision is made by the team, they support the decision wholeheartedly and align themselves like iron filings to a magnet. It is clear to the members of this team that egotism, sarcasm and cynicism are not allowed. Period. 

Living a balanced life means having all the things that matter in perspective, in balance, and that would be your work, your family and yourself. As corny as it sounds, we only live once, and we should live to the fullest. We should be relational with our spouse, we should spend quality time with our kids, we should share time with our parents and siblings, and enjoy the company of friends. We have to make time for ourselves and take care of our mind, body, soul and community. We need to have intellectual curiosity, to exercise and eat healthy, to connect with our Higher Power, and we need to give back to the community. In order to have the time to do all this, we need to work efficiently and effectively with a tremendous amount of discipline. 

Discipline is the third requirement of a high performance company, and I will cover that next. 



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