How To Achieve High Performance Using An Eight-Step Approach

“Higher performance comes from doing many things well—but some of those things are not in your power to change,” says author Marc Effron. Therefore, he recommends in his book, 8 Steps to High Performance, that you focus on what you can change and ignore the rest.

Effron reveals in his book the eight key factors you do control and provides practical advice for improving yourself on each one.

“A high performer is someone who consistently delivers better results and behaviors, on an absolute and relative basis, than 75 percent of their peers,” explains Effron. Key words in the previous sentence are “consistently” and “relative,” where relative means that your performance must be better than others’, not just better than the goal.

You’ll want to read the book to fully learn the eight steps, however in short, they are:

1. Set big goals

2. Behave to perform.

3. Grow yourself faster.

4. Connect.

5. Maximize your fit.

6. Fake it (this is a particularly interesting step and chapter in the book)

7. Commit your body.

8. Avoid distractions.

“The eight steps are the product of years of research by smart scientists around the world who’ve proven beyond a doubt that each step works,” says Effron.

Still not sure you want to invest time and effort in the steps to become a high performer? Effron says, “High performance will get you more of what you value, whether that’s flexibility, power, opportunity, pay, or recognition. It gives you access to parts of your company that you wouldn’t otherwise see.”

Effron shares that companies give high performers (their outstanding employees) more:

Time
Attention
Development
Compensation

Assisting you in your learning the eight steps, the book closes each Chapter with a Remember and Apply section, summarizing the key learnings and recommending action steps to put what you learn into play.

Effron is the found and President of the Talent Strategy Group where he leads the firm’s global consulting, education, executive search, and publishing businesses.

Thank you to the book's publisher for sending me a copy of the book.

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