Identify the Deliberate Practices for Your Team

Now that we know about deliberate practice, the question becomes what should I be practicing in the deliberate practice sort of way?  Only you and your team know what would be a stretch past your current capacity.  Think about that and decide.

Let’s take a page out of  Bill Shover’s coaching book and consider focusing on fundamentals.  Having worked with some of the most respected companies in America, I still see the need for building skill in the fundamentals.  To me the fundamentals in business are:

  • Interpersonal communication
  • Collaboration and being open-minded
  • Conflict resolution
  • Time management
  • Task management
  • Commitments management
  • E-mail management
  • Self-management
  • Emotional intelligence

This list gives you a comprehensive set of skills to work on; when you finish you can start right back at the top again.

Bill Shover’s Routine

Bill Shover, my Little League baseball coach, had a practice plan that was regimented and the same every time.  As I look back now, I can see it was deliberate practice.  We warmed up, threw balls back and forth, played “situation” (a mock game of baseball) which helped us be more prepared, had batting practice and then we ran.

That routine was the basis for learning the fundamentals and becoming very good at what we did.  Dean Smith, the North Carolina basketball coach, and John Wooden, the UCLA basketball coach were both legendary for their commitment to practice.

Never Stop Practicing

In his book, Mastery, George Leonard shares one of my all time favorite quotes.  Leonard says the Buddhist masters had a saying, “Before enlightenment you chop wood and carry water.”  The beauty of this message is that if you are to achieve and maintain greatness, it will require a lifelong commitment to practice.

In his book, Leonard teaches us to take joy in the very art of practicing.  In the business world I believe there is a common belief that as a twenty year veteran you’ve got it all figured out and you’ve arrived.  I think when you look at Vladimir Horowitz, you should think about what Leonard is teaching in his book, you should actually see practice as the destination.

  • Posted by Coach Pete
  • Thursday, June 7th, 2012
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Equal pay in a family business?

Nothing creates heartburn and heartache quicker than realizing you’re working 50 percent harder and producing more results, yet getting paid the same as the family member next to you!  One of the common problems I see in family businesses is equal pay or unfair pay.  I get it.  It’s easy to see why moms and dads fall back on the safe route of paying their children equally in the family business.  It’s a short-term fix but it will cause long-term problems.  Great family businesses design compensation systems that reward performance and results. Giving equal compensation to people who have different levels of responsibilities, producing different levels of results will build serious tension, dissatisfaction and ultimately cause long-term strife.

Here’s a short video that highlights a simple five-step process to getting away from the equal pay dilemma.  I realize getting away from this equal pay problem seems insurmountable, but trust me it can be done and it needs to be done for the long-term health of your family business!

Should I Join the Family Business?

The decision of whether or not to join your family business could be one of the biggest decisions of your life!

The problem is, so often, people either get caught up in the emotions of it all, or they don’t take enough time to thoroughly think about all of the possibilities and ramifications of this kind of decision. 

I’ve put together a short set of questions you should ask yourself and ask your family before you take the plunge into your family business.  What happens so often is that you join the family business either in haste or without taking the long term view, and the next thing you know you look up and you have serious reservations, heartburn, or worse yet you feel like you squandered away so much of your life.  Take a few minutes and watch this video and send it on to anyone you know who’s contemplating entering the family business.

Phelps, Nash and Horowitz III

Valdimir Horowitz was one of the greatest piano players of all time, and was quoted as saying, “If I stop practicing for a day, I notice it.  Two days, my wife notices it.  Three days, the critics notice.”

If one of the best piano players on the planet had to keep practicing daily to stay at that level, what does that tell us about business and leaders?  We have to keep practicing!

  • Posted by Coach Pete
  • Thursday, May 31st, 2012
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Phelps, Nash and Horowitz II

Two time NBA All-Star, Steve Nash, is another example of the power of practice.  Nash has one of the most reliable and smooth jump shots in the history of the NBA.  Upon further investigation you learn that he is extremely regimented in both his off-season practice and his pregame routine.  Before every game, Nash shoots the ball from the same locations all over the court.  During the game it looks easy, but his accuracy is the result of an unwavering commitment to disciplined practice.

  • Posted by Coach Pete
  • Tuesday, May 29th, 2012
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Phelps, Nash and Horowitz

These three men are great examples of practice at work.  Most of us know about Michael Phelps, the Olympic gold medalist.  His coach appeared on Good Morning America and reported that Michael practiced 365 days a year.  The news reporter asked the coach, “Did Michael practice on Christmas day?” 

“Absolutely,” his coach replied. 

“On his birthday?” the interviewer asked.

“For sure, twice on his birthday.”

Can you imagine?  So if you wanted to win a gold medal, you would learn from this conversation that you might have to commit to that level of practice.  Now, not everyone has Michael Phelps’ body type and not everyone has his muscle makeup, but the point is, of all the other swimmers who have similar body types and muscle makeup, his intensity and his commitment to deliberate practice obviously put him over the top.

  • Posted by Coach Pete
  • Thursday, May 24th, 2012
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Let’s Better Understand Deliberate Practice

Let’s talk about regular practice versus deliberate practice.   Let me describe my two different practices in golf and see if you can discern the difference.

In regular practice, I hit a large bucket of balls every week, thinking that this will make me a better golfer.  In deliberate practice, I hit 100 golf balls with my nine iron, with the goal of hitting at least 80 of them with a ten foot circle of a flag stick that is 125 yards from where I am standing.  Do you hear the difference?

Do not forget my golf deliberate practice example as you help your coachees commit to new practice.  Specific, detailed, and highly focused intended results are the very essence of both deliberate practice and greatness!

  • Posted by Coach Pete
  • Monday, May 21st, 2012
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Research Studies Prove Practice is the Key to Greatness

Since Professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University’s groundbreaking research in 1993, many scientists have been able to prove that practice is what makes some people better performers and produce the highest results.  Research indicates that across a board spectrum of activities, from medicine to performing arts to sports, people who are the very best at what they do practice more and practice differently than anyone else.

The research focused on something called deliberate practice.  Deliberate practice has a few key characteristics:

  • The practice is detailed about specific techniques
  • The practice was designed to produce a very specific result
  • The practice involved stretching past your current capacity

When I first read about the idea of deliberate practice, I thought it scientifically and empirically validated the very essence of coaching.  As an Executive Coach, I have been focused on helping business leaders identify and practice the specific skills and attitudes they must master to become the best leaders they can be.

The deliberate practice idea also supported the notion that if these leaders could learn how to effectively coach their teams using deliberate practice, they would have a proven recipe for competitive success.  The coaching leader idea now had the statistical support and evidence I needed to sway the logical, numbers-driven CEOs.

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