ABSTRACT
All companies have ups and downs in various facets of their business, from production to profit margin challenges. The causes of these challenges may vary, but the ability of a company to identify and adapt to change will determine if the company is able to drive improved sustainable performance. The difference between a company that performs marginally and a company that achieves and sustains Peak Performance is the ability of a company to analyze their performance issues and develop a comprehensive improvement plan. Both the management team and employees must understand the issues, be involved in the analysis, and, most importantly, be involved with the development and implementation of an improvement plan. Everyone must own the issues and work in concert to resolve them. The team must be able to recognize the importance of resolving issues quickly, but with care, to ensure that corrective actions are effective and sustainable. If the team has a strong safety culture and trust each other, the tough times will not seem insurmountable.
The Peak Performance Model is key in assisting companies in evaluating and sustaining optimal performance. The model consists of four functional elements, of which three are focused on the continuous improvement processes that many industries use individually to achieve improved performance. These processes are:
Lean
Human Performance Improvement
Organizations Excellence
Organizational Culture is the fourth functional element of the model.
In a company functioning in the Peak Performance realm, workers and the leadership team have shared visions and values, workers feel free to openly share issues and express their points of view, they trust the message delivered by the leadership team, and believe Management will follow through with commitments. In addition, leaders are concerned about the wellbeing of the employees, and workers are engaged and support the goals of the company because they feel a sense of ownership and partnership with the company.
