Have you met people who talk a good game, but never produce results?
(They often have numerous excuses for not producing.)
It really doesn´t matter what the conditions or reasons might be. Results are what really matter, in work and in our personal lives.
Professional sports provide the perfect environment to measure results.
Hockey is one of our major sports. In the past 3 years, the NHL´s Vancouver Canucks have missed the playoffs in 2 of 3 seasons. The new owners are clear: No playoffs is a result of poor performance. The owners recently fired the general manager. The GM argued he had built a contender team for the future, but his results did not reflect his intentions.
Golf performance reflects direct results. In their sport, golf professionals get paid for what they do each week (not including endorsements). They cannot take low scores from their previous wins into a new round.
We have witnessed highly paid sports professionals who can no longer perform at the level they did when they negotiated their current contract. In that case, they are being paid today for what they did—past tense—not for what they are doing.
As a society, we have strong norms to support nonperformance behavior. Quite frankly, those values should be abandoned.
One example is the concept of seniority and tenure.
Unions and universities exercise this dysfunctional norm. Imagine that the main reason I get a raise or keep my job is because I have been here longer than you have. Tenure rarely has anything to do with performance standards, except in extraordinary cases. Time served should never be compared to the level of experience an individual brings to the table. Many people are incompetent even after a decade in a job.
Some people have an attitude of entitlement—I should get paid just because I show up and put in time, not because I produce results.
In a recent interview, a potential CRG employee asked if annual raises were part of CRG´s policy. We said No.
- Where was his concept of performance and results? If you underperform, should you receive a decrease in pay?
- Could you imagine if everyone operated from an intentions and entitlement position?! Nothing would ever be achieved.
People who continue in career paths or jobs because of entitlement—not because of passion for their work—have sold their soul and compromised their ability to contribute.
No matter the context, value is created when results are produced.
When there are no results, there is no sustainable societal model.
My son´s previous music teacher operated under the busy-ness model, not the results model. For an entire year, Tim made no noticeable progress in his keyboarding skills, yet we still had to pay the instructor each week. We have since switched to a new teacher—with amazing results!
We must abandon the concept that just being busy is valuable. Unless busy-ness produces results, what value has been created?
For a few years, mainstream education tried the nonperformance model—students were no longer assigned "grades." That method failed. Why? Human beings need to be On Purpose. At their core, they want to succeed and accomplish something with their lives. No grades for the students meant no measure of their results—and thus no feelings of fulfillment for them.
As the owner of several businesses over the years, my greatest frustrations have been with suppliers and team members whose intentions and busy-ness did not produce results.
I must take responsibility for not being as clear as I could have been about the results I expected. I also have committed the sin of omission by permitting people with great intentions,and who acted busy instead of focusing on results, to stay with the company. For a time, my inaction set a policy that lack of results was okay, if you were well intended.
The principle of focusing on results—not intentions or entitlement—applies to work, business (profit and not-for-profit), government, and every other part of our lives.
What about you and your organization?
- Do some individuals and teams talk a good game (intent) but don´t produce results?
- Do you have team members who expect to be paid because they show up, not because they get results?
Finally, don´t underestimate the negative effects that entitlement mentality from just one individual can have on an entire team. It will cause resentment and feelings of perceived favoritism. Your best performers will leave first because they are getting results and others are allowed to stay when they are not getting results!
In the end, the only measurements that prove you performed are your results.
This equally applies to Tiger Woods.
Don´t settle for less! |
Adrien comes to CRG with 5 years of Web design and programming experience, with an emphasis on data-driven Web applications. He is proficient with end-user support and has excellent troubleshooting skills with hardware and software.
For the past 6 years, Ken has been rebuilding CRG while focusing on the revision of each of CRG´s 12 core assessments. Now that the initial assessment project is complete, Ken has more time for speaking, training, and media events. Since 1989, Ken has conducted over 2000 presentations and written over 2 million words of content. He recently spoke at several career, HR, and leadership conferences across North America. 
To find out more about Ken´s topics and availability, please contact Theresa at 
