“If you want to retain those who are present, be loyal to those who are absent.” -- Dr. Stephen Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

“Learning cannot be disassociated from action.” -- Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

“The most important measures are both unknown and unknowable.” -- W. Edwards Deming, Out of the Crisis

What hinders high performance?

Systems failure is the leading cause of low performance. Over time, I have discovered ten key systems that must work well in order for levels of high performance to be realized. Systems provide you with what they are designed to provide you with. Your personal process for selecting food determines to some degree the performance of your body, at least from an appearance perspective. The compensation system you employ at work determines to some degree the level of motivation, ownership, and commitment your people feel towards your organization.

This is not an 'either - or' argument. Organizational performance is both constrained and aided by systems performance. The positive performance of one system can offset the negative impact that a different system is having. For example, a strong leadership system can overcome some of the negatives resulting from a poorly designed compensation system. The goal of course is to get all ten systems spinning in a positive direction, in a sustainable manner. That is how you optimize your performance.

Think of poor systems performance as being similar to a dog that is leashed up in the back yard. The length of the leash is the constraint to the dog's ability to explore the yard. If the leash is lengthened, the dog can increase his territory, but he still cannot optimize his ability to explore until the leash is removed. As your key systems improve, your performance will improve. Certain systems will contribute more than others, but they all need to be spinning in a positive direction.

The Ten Barriers to High Performance in Organizations

Copyright © 2004, Great Systems!

Keep in mind that each of these systems interface with the other nine. Each of these systems is having either a positive or negative spin on your organization at any given time. The speed of this system rotation can be increased or decreased quite easily, but it is often much more difficult to reverse the spin of a system because of the momentum that has been created over time. Improving the above systems by beginning at the top of the list, you can attack the high leverage factors that hold back performance improvements in your organization.

To change behaviors, you need to change systems - asking for, let alone demanding, behavior change will not work. Click on the above barriers, systems, and opponents if a link is indicated to learn more.

Would You Like to Learn More?

Click on one of the following links to learn even more about Great Systems! and the types of systems improvements I can help you make:

	More systems and articles via the Great Systems! home page
	Systems Change: The Key to Getting Better Results
	Do You Need Great Systems!
	Types of Systems I Can Help You Improve

“The only thing I know is that I do not know it all.” -- Socrates