Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings is one of the best at his position in football. One of the things that makes him so good is that he is always looking to improve.
In the January 9th edition of Sports Illustrated, writer Tim Newcomb takes us into part of his training regimine at the Nike training facility. Using state of the art sensory performance tools to improve reaction time, Jennings has gone from eight dropped passes in 2008 to only three this year.
Sensory tools primarily do two things:
1. They quantify everything. Nike’s Paul Winsper says, “We want to quantify everything. Every step and every drop of sweat.”
2. They simplify everything. Nike’s lead sensory performance researcher Dr. Alan Reichow says, “By giving them less information (during the training), we force athletes to utilize what we give them more efficiently.”
Quantify and Simplify.
Quantify – Whether you are a church, business, or non-profit, numbers matter. They tell a story. They shine light on performance. They tell us about progress and if we are going in the right direction and advancing as an organization. They help us know best how to leverage resources. They provide accountability.
Simplify – It is counter-intuitive but leaders accomplish more when they do less. The Pareto Principle teaches us that we should spend 80% of our time doing the 20% we are best at. Simplifying helps us prioritize. It tells us what to say “Yes” to and more importantly, what to say “No” to. Simplifying allows us to play to our strengths.Â
Leaders, are you quantifying your organization’s progress or are you making a mistake and either discounting or rationalizing the numbers? Do you understand the story they are telling?
At the same time, do you have too many plates spinning? Are you constantly on the leadership and activity treadmill?
If this describes you and you want to improve personal and team performance, I along with the team at Nike and the world champion Green Bay Packers have two words of advice for you – Quantify. Simply.
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