Introduction to TRM

Early in my career, I attributed my successes to my ability.

I was reasonably smart. And I had the drive to complete tasks. That shaped my view of how success is achieved. Success is about me - my skills, my experience, my brains, my drive.

I was wrong.

At some point (I don’t remember exactly when) I started seeing that skills, experience, brains, and drive weren’t enough.

I met great accountants, for example, who had these things. And I met great sales people who also had these things. Smart, skilled people were everywhere. But they often hit a plateau. Or, more accurately, they advanced to greater and greater responsibilities where their skills, experience, brains and drive stopped being enough.

They couldn’t scale.

But there were others who could comfortably handle any challenge.

They seemingly operated at a different level. It wasn’t deeper role-specific skills. It wasn’t greater intellectual brilliance, although they were all really smart. It wasn’t breadth of experience, although they always seemed to know what to do when an unexpected challenge arose. And it wasn’t superhuman effort; they actually seemed relaxed.

They didn’t have ‘more’ skills, brains, experience and drive.

They understood performance at a different level.

And because they understood, they were never out of their depth.

Even when these high performers ventured into unfamiliar waters, they had a process that led to results without drama. When you back away and look at the big picture, their general approach was no mystery. It was actually surprisingly consistent.

But they also integrated their own unique traits into this consistent process. Some were natural relationship builders. Some were intensely analytical. Others were intuitive teachers. They leaned on these traits to supplement a simple approach that they either learned, or stumbled upon. And it all worked regardless of the situation.

When we study their consistent ability to deliver great results, we wrongly focus on their individual traits. We see what makes them different. But the real key is the consistency that sits beneath their unique strengths. What matters is the things that make them the same.

You just have to step back to see it.

And that led to my deeper revelation; when you step back and simplify, there’s a straight-forward process that drives performance. Successful people do a few, key things. They do them effortlessly. And they do them consistently. These things have become comfortable habits.

Early on, I thought it was about me. And early on, my skills, experience, brains and drive were enough. But these couldn't scale beyond a certain point. I needed the process; one that I could comfortably apply in any situation, at any level.

That’s the next level I was glimpsing.