NOVEMBER 2010 - Association of Marina Industries

Courage And The Performance 20 Group MethodIt takes courage to ask for help with a problem. It takes courage to show my financial numbers to my peers when I knowthat my bottom line is the worst in the room. It takes courage to sit and listen to six or seven respected peers tell me thatwhat I am doing is wrong.It takes courage to accept the fact that I am the reason my business is not maximizing its potential. It is not the economyor my staff. It is what I am doing every day when I come to work.Welcome to the world of Performance 20 Groups…The place where profit hangs out…The place where we find out howgood we are…The place where WE are the solutions to our problems…Performance 20 Groups: The place where bad ideas come to die. The place where good ideas are born. The place wherebehavior changes.Performance 20 Groups have been around for at least 35 years. For the first time, they are being made available to individualswho have earned the distinction of CMM.The Performance 20 Group MethodEveryone has problems doing the best they can with what they have. Performance Inc. has been helping people maximizetheir profit opportunities for more than 30 years. Those using the Performance 20 Group Method to improve theeffectiveness and efficiency of their operations vary from the car and truck industry to the recreational vehicle industryto the marine industry to the outdoor sports industry to the photographic industry, to the building supply industry.The Performance 20 Group Method rests on three pillars:• The first is that no one is more likely to have experienced the types of problems an owner/operator has faced—and tohave found a solution that works—than someone who is has walked the walk.The facilitators from Performance Incorporated are there to make sure that the meetings move smoothly and everyonestays on task. The attendees supply the expertise and drive the meetings.• The second pillar requires a rigorous collection and review of selected metrics. The Performance 20 Group Methodrequires the use of hard numbers to reveal the strong, identify shortfalls, and to track progress toward a goal.A review of the metrics quickly uncovers who should be presenting their best practices. Everyone should want to findout exactly what they are doing to achieve their results.• The final pillar requires that targets be set (usually with input from the group) and progress tracked. It could be athree month, a six month, or a one year goal. No matter the length, the person with the goal must be prepared toreport to the group during regularly scheduled meetings.Goals and targets are number driven. We want to know what someone is going to do and how they are going to do it.Success is usually indicated by hitting a pre-determined number.Every time the Performance 20 Group Method brings together highly motivated and intelligent people with commonprofessional backgrounds, we get results. The total is truly greater than the sum of its parts.Robert SchwartzPerformance Incorporated, Suite 5003855 Centerview DriveChantilly, VA 20151-3232Cell Phone: 202-271-8975Fax: (703) 481-0900E-mail: Bob_Schwartz@adp.com22