Bring Your A Game

This phrase has such widespread use that there is at least one movie with it as the title. Typically, it is applied as a challenge or as encouragement. The implication is that you would heighten your focus and tightly manage known inhibitors of your best performance. The context is usually when things are being tightly contested, with a lot at stake. The movies: “Tap” and “Bring Your A Game”, give some exciting examples of how this concept plays out.

If you are a teammate, it means, “no foolishness”;

Performance Readiness

The media today are filled with many stories about jobs. I am struck by the fact that there are few references to job performance. Sometimes the term productivity is broadly used to suggest optimal performance but with little detail. All jobs are made up of key tasks that must be performed to a specified standard. When these standards are met consistently; the organization, its customers and workers should prosper.

In the course of working with executives and managers, I found that key tasks are not clearly understood and consequently, performance standards are not well articulated. This becomes a major issue in job evaluations, performance management and employee engagement. When asked about recurring performance problems,

Service Economy

For the past two weeks I have been moving my residence and business offices. While I had hoped to minimize business disruptions, almost every “worst case scenario” happened. As a precaution, I provided LIME with more than a month’s notice, regularly checked on the progress and intentionally avoided the end of the month bulge. When the transfer of service date arrived, I was left with a complete loss of land line and broadband services.

Telephone tag: global style

Not that long ago, telephone conversations, email messages, fax messages, couriered packages and of course, “snail mail” were the principal means of communications in business. I remember being impressed when a major transnational client placed me on their intranet. Even then, the most important meetings took place face-to-face, which involved extensive travel on everyone’s part.