Center for High Performance
CFHP Center for High Performance
Issue No. 11 June 13, 2011
Susan_Annunzio

Greetings!

Everyone has heard the expression "practice makes perfect." Most of us associate it with activities such as playing an instrument or improving a golf swing. We rarely think of this phrase in the context of leading an organization. However, if you want to win in business, you need to practice leadership skills.

As author Malcolm Gladwell writes in Outliers, "The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again…In fact, researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours." There's no question that leadership is a complex task. It's surprising, then, how many top executives rely on instinct rather than practice to perfect it.

Our new educational experience, "Leading Through Uncertainty," will teach participants how, with practice, they can build winning teams. You'll find more information below about the course, which will be held on Oct. 25, 2011, at the Fortnightly Club in Chicago.

With kindest regards,

The 10,000 hour Rule

Watch Malcolm Gladwell discuss the importance of practice.

What do the Navy SEALs know that senior leaders need to know? The Importance of Practice

Six weeks before Navy SEAL Team Six descended on the Pakistani compound where they shot and killed Osama Bin Laden, they began trial runs to practice every detail of the high-stakes raid. Using a replica of the one-acre compound, they prepared for every contingency, and after each rehearsal they discussed how they could perform better.

The Navy SEALs understand something that many leaders do not: It's not enough to have a strategy and a plan to execute it; to win, you need a strategy and a plan, and then you have to practice, practice, practice. This applies not only to sports and military operations, but also to dealing effectively with people. Read on to learn why.

QUICK LINKS

Leading Through Uncertainty

The global economy is just beginning to emerge from the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression. Since 2008, the Center for High Performance has seen evidence that hard times are a fertile breeding ground for fear-based behavior. We have often seen leaders obsess about what they have to lose, rather than thinking rationally about what steps they need to take to win.

It is time for senior leaders to get past fear-based, emotionally driven behavior and focus on the proven factors that accelerate high performance, even in times of uncertainty: valuing people, optimizing critical thinking and seizing opportunities. It is time for executives to move beyond short-term thinking and concentrate on achieving long-term results.

Leading Through Uncertainty helps leaders confront harsh realities, adapt quickly to change and seize opportunities in the face of ambiguity.

Date: October 25, 2011

Location: Fortnightly Club, Chicago, IL

Early-bird Price: $825/attendee

Click here to visit our event page to obtain more information and register for the course.

CFHP Center for High Performance

440 West Superior • Chicago, Illinois 60654 • T 312.595.9104 • F 312.276.4256
www.centerforhighperformance.com