The X-Factor: Amping Up Your Performance
As the former CEO of both Data Domain and ServiceNow – two highly successful tech companies – I’ve often been asked: “What’s the secret sauce? How did you do it?” The truth is, there’s no silver bullet. But there is a playbook for elevating your performance and elevating your act as a modern performer.
It all comes down to three key vectors: velocity, standards, and focus. By amping up your organization (or your personal performance) in these three areas, you can create a compound effect that is truly electrifying. Just look at the transformation we drove at Data Domain and ServiceNow – taking them from relative obscurity to industry dominance.
Increasing Velocity: Changing the Pace of Your Act
In any organization, the default mode is for things to settle into a lethargic pace. People get comfortable in their routines, meetings drag on, and a general sense of sluggishness sets in. But as a leader, your job is to disrupt that status quo and crank up the tempo.
I remember when one of our new hires at ServiceNow confessed they couldn’t handle the pace and intensity – it was just too much of a shock to their system. But that’s exactly the kind of reaction we were going for. We wanted an energetic cast that was willing to let it rip, even if it meant some people couldn’t keep up.
Because when you increase the velocity, something magical happens. People start doing things differently – they become more demanding, more innovative, and more focused. That cycle time compression forces them to think outside the box and find new ways to get things done.
It’s like the old saying goes: “If you want something done quickly, ask a busy person.” By elevating the pace, you’re lighting a fire under your team and helping them unlock their true potential.
Raising the Standards: Shooting for “Insanely Great”
Of course, increasing velocity without a corresponding rise in standards is a recipe for disaster. That’s why the second vector in our performance framework is all about elevating your quality benchmarks.
As Steve Jobs famously said, there are only two classifications: “insanely great” or “total shit.” No middle ground. At our companies, we embraced that mentality wholeheartedly. We wanted our people to feel passionately about their work – to love it, not just like it.
That meant being relentless in our pursuit of excellence, both in terms of our products/services and our customer experience. We wanted our customers to not just be satisfied, but to actively sing our praises. Our Net Promoter Scores were a point of pride because they were a direct reflection of our commitment to quality.
But raising standards isn’t easy. It’s confrontational by nature, and it requires you to have tough conversations with your team. You have to be willing to under-bonus your average performers to properly reward your superstars. It’s not about being popular – it’s about driving results.
Narrowing the Focus: Doing Less, Better
The final piece of the puzzle is focus. In my experience, most organizations suffer from a classic case of “boiling the ocean” – they have far too many priorities and end up making minimal progress on all of them.
As a leader, your job is to ruthlessly prioritize and create laser-like clarity around your objectives. At Data Domain and ServiceNow, we were singleminded in our pursuit of growth. That was the North Star that guided every decision, every resource allocation, and every performance metric.
By narrowing our focus, we were able to supercharge our velocity and standards in service of that overarching goal. There was no room for distractions or pet projects – everything had to ladder up to increasing the value of the franchise.
This kind of disciplined focus isn’t easy, and it often requires making tough trade-offs. But the payoff is immense. When you un-clutter your priorities and relentlessly pursue a singular objective, you start to see the log jams break and progress accelerate in ways you never thought possible.
Putting It All Together: Creating a Performance Culture
Ultimately, the secret to elevating your act as a modern performer comes down to this: you have to be willing to challenge the status quo and push your organization (or yourself) out of its comfort zone.
It’s not about being the most popular leader – it’s about having the courage to make the tough calls and drive change. Because when you combine increased velocity, elevated standards, and laser-like focus, the compound effect can be truly breathtaking.
Just look at the transformation we drove at Musical Theater Center. By applying this performance framework, we were able to take a sleepy, underperforming organization and turn it into a vibrant hub of creativity and excellence.
The key is to remember that leadership can come from anywhere – it’s not just about the people with the fancy titles. Anyone can decide to be a driver, not a passenger. And when you start to see that kind of energy and initiative bubbling up from all levels of the organization, that’s when the real magic happens.
So if you’re looking to elevate your act and take your performance to new heights, don’t be afraid to rock the boat. Crank up the pace, raise the bar, and laser in on what truly matters. Because when you do, the results will speak for themselves.
