We recently received some great news that our Director of Leadership and High Performance, Manley Hopkinson is to carry the Torch. Lloyds Banking Group bestowed the honour on Manley in recognition of him holding the team record for skiing to the Magnetic North Pole, skippering a BT Round the World boat and for his charity work with Young People.
On the 7th June Manley will carry the Torch between Bolton and Liverpool. Manley is thrilled and honoured and will share the day with family, colleagues and clients.
Well Done Manley!
January 11, 2012 – 3:46 pm
A few years ago I was very honoured to be asked to work with a professional golfer called Jamie Donaldson. At that time Jamie was 31 and playing on the European Tour albeit with a reduced category and limited starts. He has since gone on to earn over £3m in the past four years on the European Tour.
At first I found the whole situation fascinating, intriguing and exciting. Latterly I found it very humbling. In this sport players only get paid if they perform. If cuts are missed there are no cheques; it’s as simple as that. I started life in the IBM world as a salesman and at least we got a base salary! Golfers get nothing and the pressure that creates is therefore immense.
So how do they do it? How do they lift themselves from moments of despair (for the golfers reading this you’ll know what I mean!) and how do they prepare for the intense pressure of competition? Furthermore, what relevance is this if any to business?
Professional golfers on the European Tour are bred from intense competition for many years at the Elite Amateur level followed by a period of time establishing themselves as professionals. They learn very quickly that one shot can make the difference between getting paid and not getting paid. As young pro’s they play for tiny amounts of money on junior Tours where winning keeps them in pocket for a month, coming in the top 10 gets them their entry fees back and anything else whilst good experience is ultimately, a financial loss. This harshness very quickly sorts the weak from the chaff, the pretenders from the fighters and the talented from the overly ambitious. The mindset of these players is one of fierce determined calmness calibrated to perform at their peak.
Quite often events occur that means goals are missed whether that be a cut missed, a top 10 missed or worse still a tournament victory snatched away from them on the 18th green. They of course all react externally in different ways but internally they are incredibly disappointed and angry with themselves for missing golden opportunities. The great players like great people do not let it fester, they dust themselves down and get on with it. Others let it rule their mind and if that happens they take into the following week and find it hard to perform.
So preparation is key. By allowing themselves the appropriate rest and recuperation both mentally and physically (golf at this level drains people) they look to find that relaxed state of mind and body. You can see it in them when they arrive on a Tuesday for an event starting on a Thursday. They are excited to play, keen to excel and determined to succeed. Rest is therefore key. Some players plainly ignore this and “go through the pain barrier” and invariably fail. Only experience and time allows them to learn what works for them.
In business we have to handle failure, we have to strive for greatness and we have to prepare to perform at our best. I have learned much from these tough minded nomadic types who every week get on a plane with the hope of glory, with the sadness of leaving home and the pressure of having to come at least half way up the field to make any money at all.
What do the great ones do? Know their strengths, play to those strengths and only show up to work if they are 150% determined to perform at the highest level.
There is much we can learn from them
January 5, 2012 – 12:44 pm
Georgia Group offers the High Performance Organisation diagnostic to provide a benchmarked assessment of your organisations status as a High Performance Organisation (HPO) and clear developmental focus for becoming an HPO.
The HPO diagnostic is based on internationally acclaimed research by Dr. André de Waal and the HPO Center based in the Netherlands, who define an HPO as ‘a High Performance Organisation achieves better results than comparable organisations over a period of at least 5 to 10 years’. After many years of scientific and practical research, the team identified characteristics that are directly linked to sustainably strong financial and non-financial performance. Follow up case studies and research has provided further evidence that focusing in these areas improves results.
The diagnostic assesses the factors identified in the research such as leadership and workforce quality, long-term focus and continuous improvement. It is a great catalyst to improve employee engagement as the views of all employees are vital to gain an accurate assessment of the organisation. All staff are invited to participate in a survey which is followed up with interviews and workshops to help tell the story behind the statistics.
The outcome of the diagnostic provides focus on your current strengths and where to concentrate development efforts across the organisation. Profiles can also be created by department, team, organisation level or office location to provide more specific focus for improvement. The link between the HPO factors and financial performance provides added reassurance that development and investment in the areas highlighted will produce results.
Research at the HPO Center is ongoing with over 3,500 companies involved to date. The results of your diagnostic can contribute to the ongoing research and you will benefit from further advances in research as well as case studies from other organisations. HPO benchmarks are available by country and industry.
October 31, 2011 – 3:14 pm
This is the number of people The Georgia Group has taken through the various programmes we offer since we formed in 2004. Staggering when you think about it. Back in the early days we operated out of an Army camp in Leek, Staffordshire running low level leadership programmes and team building sessions for retailers. I remember it well, it was hard core stuff and actually achieved some massive results for clients and individuals. I recently met up with some people who seven years on never forget the time they spent with us up there in the Peak District. They looked on those times with fond memories. It was nice to hear and great to see how they had all been promoted ahead of the game.
How life has changed over the years, in 2011 we now have blossomed into a HR consultancy working with some great companies and delivering some fantastic services in the areas of Reward, Talent, ER and Engagement. Only last week Jelf Group and Jack Wills placed their trust in The Georgia Group for Exec Coaching and People Strategy respectively. Every time we win new clients it makes us all feel very lucky to be a part of Georgia Group.
Next week we take The Georgia Group to the Far East and in December to Dubai but we will never forget our humble beginnings and clients like Matalan, Lafarge and Lloyds Pharmacy that helped us along our way.
John C Fay, MBE
CEO
