Peak Performance

What does the U.S. Marine Corps have in common with the Marriott? McKinsey & Company consulting group with The Home Depot? Southwest Airlines with Kentucky Fried Chicken? The answer is deceptively simple they all attribute their success to the peak performance of their front-line employees. But how do these and other widely disparate industry leaders move from merely motivating their troops to igniting the kind of emotional commitment that yields consistently higher performance that their competitors

In Peak Performance, Jon Katzenbach, world-renowned expert on teams and leadership, draws from an in-depth study of twenty-five such enterprises from a range of industries to show how the best organizations harness and maximize the positive emotional energy of their work-forces. Pointing to a wealth of detailed case studies, he reveals that in spite of dramatic differences in business priorities, marketplace dynamics, and leadership philosophies, every company — whether airline, software producer, or restaurant chain — consistently pursued one or more of five distinct paths in building and sustaining exceptional levels of employee performance:

1. Mission, Values, and Pride path — characterized by a noble purpose, a rich history, value-driven leadership, and ample team opportunities (e.g., at U.S. Marines, 3M)
2. Process and Metrics path — characterized by clear measures and focused processes designed to reflect worker perspective as well as performance priorities (e.g., at Avon Manufacturing, Hill's Pet Nutrition)
3. Entrepreneurial Spirit path — characterized by an abundance of high-risk, high-reward opportunities, significant employee "ownership" potential, and a hands-off leadership philosophy (e.g., at BMC, Hambrecht & Quist)
4. Individual Achievement path — characterized by by a wide array of opportunities and incentives for personal growth and individual advancement (e.g., at The Home Depot, McKinsey & Company, Inc.)
5. Recognition and Celebration path — characterized by a high level of attention paid to nonmonetary recognition and rewards for individual and group accomplishments (e.g., at KFC, Southwest Airlines)

Essential to the success of any given path is leadership's commitment to striking a balance between overall enterprise performance and individual worker fulfillment. The book shows how managers can use the five five patterns as a framework of options for making choices about:

• where and how to generate emotional energy.
• what approaches to use in channeling that energy to improve performance, and
• how to instill the discipline required to keep energy and commitment at extraordinary levels.

Filled with practical insights and frameworks to help leaders shape their own balanced paths, Peak Performance shows how to unleash the full individual and collective potential of people — at the front line and across the broad middle. It will be an essential guide for leaders in every industry interested in achieving and sustaining higher performance levels than workers themselves think possible, than management or customers expect, and than competitors can realistically imitate.

• Part I: Maintaining the Critical Balance
  1. The Power of Emotional Commitment
  2. Introducing the Balanced Paths
• Part II: Exploring the Five Balanced Paths
  3. The Missions, Values, and Pride Path
  4. The Process and Metrics Path
  5. The Entrepreneurial Spirit Path
  6. The Individual Achievement Path
  7. The Recognition and Celebration Path
• Part III: Applying The Lessons Learned
  8. Generating and Aligning the Energy
  9. Enforcing Disciplined Behavior
  10. Choosing the Best Path(s) for You