The 5 Ps of Peak Performance
Hey All! Coach Woody here.
I’ve never been able to get behind the saying “Proper planning prevents poor performance,” attributed to former SoS James Baker. This may help you avoid a poor outcome, but behavior psychology is pretty strongly in favor of approach motivation vs. avoidance motivation. So instead, what are we striving for?
My personal favorite version of this statement:
“Proper planning promotes Peak Performance.”
If you know me, you know I love systems. And since helping other’s perform is kind of my thing, having a system to peak performance is a must have for any decent Performance Coach. What’s mine?
Purpose > Presence > Positivity > Preparedness > Productivity
Yes, in that order. Until you clarify and master the first stages, you won’t be able to master the latter. So let’s take a look at each of the stages, in order, starting with Purpose.
(Be sure to make it to the end of this post for methods to begin implementing the 5 Ps in your own life.)
Purpose
“Why am I sitting through this meeting? We’re getting absolutely nothing done, and I have so much other work to do!” One of my biggest peeves (and I’m sure I’m not alone) is a meeting without an agenda. I value time being used well, for all involved, and a meeting without an agenda shows that not much effort was put into determining the purpose of the meeting.
While you cannot always choose what meetings you have to be in, you CAN choose what you do with your time. And if you’re the one calling a meeting, you owe it to your team to give them a reason why.
Purpose is the first step in the 5 Ps to Performance, because until you identify the true reason for the activity you are about to participate in, you run the risk of two issues: 1) you may be in the wrong place all together, or 2) you (and others involved) may not get the most out of your time together.
How do you ensure you’re doing the right thing? Ask yourself: What outcome am I hoping to get from this activity or chunk of time? How does it align with my bigger goals?
Perhaps it’s more connection with your family, or a small piece of a larger project, or your team’s better understanding of their tasks.
If you regularly struggle to come up with a strong reason, it may be time to start questioning that recurring meeting, or whether you’re on the right track with a project. It may even be a sign that you’re on the wrong path all together.
Whatever the outcome, it is your responsibility to know WHY you’re about to devote your time to the upcoming endeavor.
For more on Purpose and how to optimize it, check out this post (coming soon).
Presence
There was a small, red card on my grand-mother-in-law’s fridge for decades that we “inherited” when she passed, that now resides on our fridge. It proclaims:
“Man daily crucifies himself Between two thieves: The regret of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.”
It spoke to me long before I started my own journey into presence, mindfulness, and performance well-being. And while it may seem a bit sentimental, science confirms it.
The average human has 60,000 thoughts in a day. Of those thoughts, 90% of those thoughts are the same thoughts we had yesterday. And a resounding 85% are negative. If you practice mindfulness (being aware of your thoughts and the effects they have on you), you’d likely realize that much of the source (if not all) of anxiety, stress, and worry is a result of your fear or uncertainty of the future. Rarely do we find ourselves in the only place that it is truly possible to make a change in our lives: the present.
Whether it is from the distraction of our screens, a daydreaming desire to dip our toes in the sand, or a discomfort in the present conflict, we rarely find ourselves in the present. But we cannot change our past, and our future is undetermined. The power lies in the now.
There are many ways in which you can find yourself more present. Mindful transitions from work to home, “ mental resets” before sitting down to a power hour of work, and mindfulness practices and meditation are all great ways to get started. But to truly perform at a higher level, you must find the means to be engaged in the work that you find yourself in at that very moment.
At the end of the day, if it’s on your calendar, and you were purposeful in putting it there, it’s worthy of your attention.
For more on Presence and how to optimize it, check out this post (coming soon).
Positivity
“Positivity isn’t being happy all the time. It’s actively searching for the good.” - Coach Woody
So I’m sure someone else has uttered those words before (over 100 Billion people have ever lived, so it’s likely). But as a self-identified (and often labelled) optimist, others can easily assume I might suggest “just put a smile on your face!”. And this couldn’t further from the truth.
Positivity is not faking it until you make it. The world is full of troubles, trials, tribulations, heartache and tough breaks. But to be capable of achieving at a high level, you must believe that there is a positive and productive result from your upcoming endeavor(s).
Whether it’s knowing that you can move forward on the acquisition of the new company, or you can mend the riff between you and your sibling, or that getting up an hour earlier will allow you more time to prepare and less time to stress; you have to believe that the effort is worth it. Otherwise, what’s the point?
For more on Positivity and how to optimize it, check out this post (coming soon).
Preparedness
"So what is it we are talking about again?” The era of back-to-back Zoom meetings gave us a false sense of productivity by allowing us to hop from one meeting to another, virtually across the world, in an instant. But as we become more mindful of our time with others, we find that while we may be in more meetings, we’re not always getting “more” done.
If you’ve had the experience of multiple meetings in an hour, you might find that the first 5-10 minutes is focused on simply reminding everyone what the topic of the meeting is, and trying to determine what objective (purpose) of the gathering is for. More likely, the unfortunate reality is the topic of outcomes and purpose doesn’t even come up.
Once you take on the responsibility of having a Purpose, the Positivity, and the Presence in all that you do, you’ll find that the investment of time you’re going to make MATTERS. It matters so much in fact, that you don’t want to waste it with a lack of preparedness. Meetings without agendas, coffee networking chats without knowing how you can help each other, or joining a volunteer group without realizing the level or commitment or focus of the mission… they all become an underutilized opportunity at best, and a complete waste of time at worst.
When you understand the Purpose of what you are about to do, and you begin to clarify the desired outcomes or direction you wish to go, you find that preparedness isn’t just a nicety, it’s required for success. The requisite skills, the preliminary research, the right people in the right seats, the agenda development, all forms of preparedness become vital to ensuring higher performance.
For more on Preparedness and how to optimize it, check out this post (coming soon).
Productivity
Many people that are interested in high performance but still missing the mark think “If I just grind it out, put my head down, and do the work, I’ll become successful.” But if previous sections resonated with you at all, you are starting to realize that it takes a lot more than just “grinding though” to be productive. In fact, productivity is the last step on the way to high performance.
Productivity is the outcome from the simple, yet challenging work it takes to know your goals (Purpose), be in the moment (Presence) believe you can make progress (Positivity), and have the skills and resources necessary to move forward (Preparedness). Once those stars are aligned, the best version of yourself can shine through.
The good news? Once you’re successful in the first 4 Ps, this is the easiest step of all. Getting that project across the finish line, growing your network of referral partners, managing your Board and leadership team, making your work and life more harmonious….it all becomes seamless.
For more on Productivity and how to optimize it, check out this post (coming soon).
How to Implement the 5 Ps
If I could explain to you how to implement all 5 Ps in a couple of paragraphs, I would be laying on a beach somewhere, soaking up rays, wondering what to do with all my money (okay, honestly I’d still be coaching and thriving, with maybe a few more exotic trips on the schedule!).
But while I cannot condense everything you personally need to execute the 5 Ps in your life, here are a few ways that my clients have found success in using this framework. (For more specifics on each of the Ps, click the link at the bottom of the corresponding section above).
The 5 Ps In Meetings
Before every meeting (personal or professional), spend 10 minutes answering the following questions:
Purpose: What is most likely best outcome for everyone involved? Does the meeting still serve us, or have things changed?
Presence: Show up a few minutes early, and focus your mind on what you’re about to do. Silence your phone, remove screens and distractions, face away from windows if you’re a “people person” who likes to watch passer-bys.
Positivity: Consider one or two good things that can happen from this interaction. Ask yourself “how do I ensure that happens?”
Preparedness: Send out an agenda (preferably days before), and review it right before. Consider what everyone else would want from the meeting, and how you can provide that. Bring/request any supporting documents, evidence, stats, etc. Ensure the right people will be there.
Productivity: Execute. Stay on task. Discuss ultimate outcomes at the beginning. Make sure there are actionable steps at the end.
The 5 Ps In Creating Content
Before you sit down to “create” (develop software, make a social media post, write a blog, etc.), spend 3 minutes answering the following questions:
Purpose: How does this help me in the pursuit of my personal/professional goals?
Presence: Remove all unaligned distractions (phones, screens, etc.). Be somewhere that you can do your best work. Take 1 minute to do a breathing exercise, and focus on what you’re about to accomplish. Imagine a successful conclusion (or for larger projects, a great step in the right direction).
Positivity: Consider the best possible outcome, and ask yourself “what can I do NOW to get as close as possible to that?”
Preparedness: Be sure to have set up the right tools, brought in the right resources, and developed the right skills to accomplish success. If you don’t have those things, now may be the wrong time.
Productivity: Execute. Stay on task. Give yourself appropriate brain/body breaks. Move forward through the fear of failure or judgement. Avoid perfectionism. Create for a better family, workplace, community, world.
These steps have been a potent addition in my life and the lives of my clients. Whether it’s implementing new physical health routines, overcoming challenging relationships at work, or building stronger bonds in the home, the 5 Ps is a powerful framework to develop higher performance and a fulfilling life.
Bring the 5 Ps to Your Performance
If high(er) performance is on your list but you keep finding yourself stuck or unsure of how to progress, and this article resonated with you, let’s chat. Perhaps I can bring some clarity to the Next Better step you can take to performing higher, and living better.
