How can you do great work? Peak performers often focus on clarity, concentration and concrete results. Let’s assume you have the attitude and ability to succeed in a specific activity. You can then take the following steps.

1) Clarity.

Imagine you are tackling a specific task. You may be writing an article, mentoring a person, playing a sport, running a meeting, leading a business or whatever. You can establish clarity by saying, for example: “The real results I want to achieve are: a) To ______ b) To ______ c) To ______” You will then organise things to give yourself the best possible chance of success. If you are competing in sport, for example, you will eat the right food, get enough rest, achieve peak fitness, mentally rehearse the potential scenarios, prepare for every eventuality and ensure you are ‘fully present’ during the event. You will take the equivalent steps in your chosen activity.

Try tackling the exercise on this theme. Looking to the future, do two things. First, describe the specific activity where you want to do great work. Second, describe the specific results you want to achieve when doing this activity. Try completing the following sentences.

The specific activity where I want to do great work is:

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The specific results I want to achieve when doing this activity are:

*

*

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2) Concentration.

Peak performers pay 100% attention to the task in hand. They concentrate fully – whether they are listening to a person, putting a golf ball, leading a meeting or whatever. Poorer performers split their energy. Some potentially fine athletes, for example, fail to take care of their bodies, visit night clubs rather than rest or make elementary mistakes in competitions. They ‘take their eyes off the ball’, get angry with officials or lose the lead because they ‘celebrate victory too early’. Peak performers are fully present and focus on the task – be it mentoring, kicking a ball or whatever. One person’s list of ‘Dos’ for concentrating fully included.

* Do plan ahead and set aside blocks of time to focus on each specific activity.

* Do be crystal-clear on the results to achieve from each activity.

* Do put yourself in a place where you can fully concentrate on the activity. For example, in a quiet place – not an open plan office.

* Do make clear contracts with any other people involved about them also concentrating on the activity. For example, people taking part in a meeting should focus on the task. If appropriate, they can have email and telephone breaks every hour – rather than doing emails in the meeting.

* Do pay 100% attention to the task in hand.

How can you concentrate? Looking at the specific activity where you want to focus in the future, try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to concentrate when doing this activity are:

*

*

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3) Concrete results.

“Once I am absorbed in an activity I develop a creative rhythm,” said one person. “Then I keep going until I deliver the goods.” How can you do this in your own way? How can you continue to concentrate? How can you find creative solutions to challenges? How can you encourage yourself on the journey? How can you be a good finisher? If appropriate, how can you encourage your colleagues to keep working until they achieve success? Looking at the specific activity where you want to focus, try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to deliver concrete results are:

*

*

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Peak performers demonstrate many different qualities. But they all have one characteristic in common - the ability to concentrate. They then utilise this ability to deliver great results.

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