Description
When Charles Garfield worked at Grumman Aerospace in the late 1960s, he was struck by the phenomenon of average executives and managers, when faced with the challenge of putting a man on the moon, performing to extraordinary levels. When the mission ended, performance slumped. What characterized the work of these peak performers? After all, they could not all be geniuses, and yet each was far outstripping the level of achievement he or she had previously reached.
From this experience was born Garfield's mission- to learn the secrets of peak performance. In an 18-year study of over 1,500 peak performers, including such business giants as Lee lacocca, Ted Turner and Victor Kiam, he has distilled the six key attributes that distinguish all superachievers:
*Missions that motivate-a sense of mission that acts as a call to action
* Results in real time-peak performers do not seek perfection, but real, achievable goals that contribute to the mission
*Self-management through self-mastery- the capacity for self-observation and effective action
* Team building/team playing-the ability to motivate and form part of an effective team
* Course correction-the mental agility and concentration to follow the 'critical path'
* Change management - the ability to anticipate and react to major change, while maintaining momentum in the overall mission.
Most importantly, Garfield has discovered as a result of his study that the qualities of peak performance are not God-given, but can be learned. Here he sets out the critical steps in learning to achieve peak performance.
The qualities of peak performance are not confined to the rich and powerful-many of the peak performers interviewed by Garfield are employed in relatively mundane jobs, but the qualities they have learned enable them to excel where others are merely mediocre.
