My concept of peak performance is the following combination: drive, curiosity, positive and open mind, take care of your body and soul.

What I do: Enough sleep, dance, powerplate and healthy food. Switching between rational end emotional issues is crucial meaning go dancing after a tough day. You take distance and make your thinking more flexible. If I notice that there is negative energy in my system I go to sleep or I go dancing but leave the issue for what it is.

Recommendation: Start with the basis and build a solid one. Basis meaning here your body and soul. To move things in life you need positive energy. Negative energy is a car which is slurping lots of gasoline. First you need to love yourself for who you are in order to work on your challenges to improve. As soon you have experienced the impact of positive energy you don't want to let it go anymore.

- Georgette Boele - Global Head FX & Commodity Strategy at ABN AMRO

Peak Performance tends to indicate operation at max capabilities or max capacity. You then ask how one would sustain an Ideal Performance State. Like any high-performance platform, a person can only operate at "peak" for a specific period. Gladwell points to peak performance as a physiological state of increased respiration, circulation, and heart rate. It is an enhanced state of operation often identified with athletic performance ("in the zone"). This heightened state can only be sustained by professional athletes for a restricted period, and then the individual must be allowed to rest. Otherwise exhaustion sets in, and the athlete “burns out”, ending their ability to perform at any level.

I believe this description best provides your answer. If you want your top performers to maintain an ideal performance state, keeping their peak skills for key points, maintaining an optimum operation at other times, balance and training is the key. The business "athlete” must be trained and knowledgeable, an identified expert in their field. It is that level of confidence that allows the individual to push the boundaries toward new peaks with each project. Then balance must enter, and the individual must be allowed to recover from the exertion. It is these "down times" that the athlete can train for the next event, thus maintaining an ideal performance level throughout their career.

- Jim Sullivan, DM - Senior Technical Manager - IS at Avaya, Inc.

I'm at my best when I've taken care of myself: Slept well, eaten well, got plenty of exercise, mind free of stressful distractions. And then I try to abide by a strong work ethic, good time management skills and a desire to make a difference on the job. The desire to achieve peak performance is probably the biggest part of it. Then keeping myself healthy to deliver is the next trick.

- Tom Field - Editorial Director BankInfoSecurity.com

THE HIGHEST GOAL

The highest goal is simply to be in this experience of connection or truth (no
matter how you refer to it) all the time. That remains a goal, of course, because
this is something you spend a lifetime working toward rather than attaining. But
your commitment motivates, inspires and guides your journey, and gives you
more and more time in this state of connection.

If you live for the highest goal, you are living a life of the spirit—whether or not
you consider yourself to be on a spiritual path. If you consciously notice the
larger aspects of life, always consider whether what you are doing coincides with
these aspects, never forget the times when you were enlivened by the power of
the highest goal, use those memories in new situations, and act with the
knowledge of the support you have and the journey you are on—you will be
living for the highest goal.

[Excerpt from "The Highest Goal' by Michael Ray]

MAKE MEANING

"Meaning is not about money, power or prestige. It's not even about creating a fun place to work. Among the meanings of 'meaning' are: to Make the world a better place. Increase the quality of life. Right a terrible wrong. Prevent the end of something good.

Goals such as these are a tremendous advantage as you travel down the difficult path ahead. If you answer this question in the negative, you may still be successful, but it will be harder to become so because making meaning is the most powerful motivator there is.

It's taken me twenty years to come to this understanding."

-- Excerpted from "The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki

BRAIN STUDY ON SLEEP

A few nights without sleep can not only make people tired and emotional, but may actually put the brain into a primitive "fight or flight" state. Brain images of otherwise healthy men and women showed two full days without sleep seemed to rewire their brains, re-directing activity from the calming and rational prefrontal cortex to the "fear center" -- the amygdala.

Matthew Walker of the University of California Berkeley and colleagues at Harvard Medical School used functional magnetic resonance imaging on 26 young adult volunteers. Half were kept awake for a day, a night and another full day. The other half slept as normal.

Walker's team said they noticed profound changes in the brain activity of those volunteers who stayed up. They seemed to swing like a pendulum between the broad spectrum of emotions. They would go from being remarkably upset at one time to where they found the same thing funny. They were almost giddy -- punch drunk.

The average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. The findings may shed light on psychiatric diseases. This is the first set of experiments that demonstrate that even healthy people's brains mimic certain pathological psychiatric patterns when deprived of sleep.

– Adapted from an article by Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor, Reuters

TELL YOUR STORY

Share your peak performance story. It only takes five minutes >> Go to the Form

Do you want to print Vortex to read it during your commute or in the plane? Check the instructions in our Home Page.

From My Desk: In the Eye of the Storm

When a corporation is taken over or it's reorganizing, uncertainty looms like a cyclone gathering force over rapidly warming waters. People feel threatened by change and revert to "survival values." The level of anxiety skyrockets and leaders, pushed to their limits, must rise to the challenge, but... how?

How can a leader shift out his or her negative behavior to be able to engage the hearts and minds of the personnel?

Jeffrey Miller, author of "The Anxious Organization: Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things," points out that "anxiety is highly contagious and when unchecked will spread across an organization rapidly. Flexibility, objectivity, and creativity give way to tunnel vision, resistance to change, and faulty decision making. Fortunately, calm is equally contagious. Like a pebble that creates wide ripples in a pond, one relatively calmer person in an anxious system can have a strong positive effect for all involved."

If you are working in a shaken organization, Miller suggests you "become the change," by creating the behavioral ripples that will provide certainty within turbulent times.

Here are some of Miller's key tips:

Recognize your own personal anxiety triggers and signals. We may blame disturbing events for setting off our anxiety, but it's not so much specific events that upset us as our individual reactions to them.

Try to predict exactly how you'll behave when a particular upsetting event occurs. As you engage the thinking part of your brain in remembering how you've reacted in similar situations and analyzing how you're likely to respond this time, you'll suppress the domination of the more primitive brain structures that initiate and maintain anxiety.

Focus on facts rather than feelings. Feelings can tell us that we're anxious and experiencing an emotional reaction--feeling mad, glad, sad, confused, stuck, and so forth. But what feelings don't tell us is how to resolve the issue that led to that emotional reaction. Instead, separate the facts in compartments: "What is a plus? What is a minus? What can be an interesting opportunity?"

Shift from emphasis on the other to emphasis on the self. As long as we hold onto the illusion that others must change first, we do nothing but perpetuate the problem. When any person in a relationship makes a change in how he or she relates, the whole relationship changes.

This might be a good time to revise your personal vision, your purpose, your values and design a Performance Architecture blueprint that will help you achieve, enjoy, find meaning and lead by example. Let me know if I can help you and your organization. I look forward to receiving your feedback, ideas, referrals and suggestions. Thank you for your kind support,

[top] Carlos Salum

Vortex Events Calendar

Prof. Enrique Pisani's Body-Mind Workshop - Belgium, Nov. 26 >> See Details

The Nobels Colloquia - Trieste, Italy, Dec. 3 & 4

>> See Details

The EG in Los Angeles, Dec. 2-4 >> See Details

Sahara Team Expedition >> Download the brochure

UPCOMING - APRIL 2008: Peak Performance for Golf (Germany)

>> Request Information

[top]

Courses - Your World-Class Corporate Boosters

Are you trying to integrate your team?

Are you trying to promote a new strategy?

Do you need to introduce a new top executive and gather support?

Is the mood in the organization stale and devoid of new ideas? Do you need to change a silo mentality and foster collaboration?

Are you designing a new product and you want it to be "the I-Pod" of your industry?

Salum International Resources offers Courses on Performance Architecture and Creative Thinking that provide you with the tools to increase motivation, commitment, new ideas and productivity. They are the necessary boosters to calibrate your Focus, to help your organization manage physical and mental Energy, and to help you design your Breakthrough. These courses can be adapted to run from One to Three days, as required.

Please download the PDF Outlines of the Courses:

[Performance Architecture] [Creative Thinking]

If you require Teambuilding, please take a look at a [Sample Outline] for a customized event.

For a unique motivational boost, please consider the Performance Acceleration Speaking Program, featuring Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack (Ret.), Steve Sullivan and Carlos Salum (One-day event) [See more details]

[top]

Brainware - AssetReport Executive Coaching

The Book of You or Asset Report is a powerful psychometric tool to help you get the most out of yourself - personally, professionally and in relation to other people. It's based on the 4 Brain Technologies models - these include the BrainMap which deals with thinking styles, the Graves Spiral value systems and your preferred way of handling conflict. These superimpose to give you a really powerful way of looking at yourself. [More about AssetReport]

The process is very simple: you download a one-page questionnaire, fax it, and we do the rest.

>> Download the questionnaire

SPECIAL OFFER: Till December 31st, you can get Asset Report for $112.00 + S/H (a 25% DISCOUNT from the Regular Price). >> Purchase your Asset Report

In addition, you can get Personal Coaching on your Asset Report with Carlos Salum. You can structure the process as one or four sessions and pay with PayPal or by bank wire transfer. >>Contact us to schedule your Coaching

[top]

Video Gallery - Exclusive Performers' Interviews

As part of the "Peak Performance and the Mind" DVD project, we are offering samples of the interviews we have conducted with leaders and peak performers in a variety of disciplines, such as sports, consulting, financial, arts, military and coaching.

The project has been developed over three years, focusing on key questions that uncover the personal strategies of each individual. The full set of interviews will be posted on a separate section of this Web site to serve as a source of education and inspiration for leaders and practitioners worldwide. You can read more about the project here.

[Click to Access the Peak Performance Video Gallery]

[top]

Our Six-Degrees: Join me at Linked-In and Xing

I am currently expanding my global network of contacts through two very efficient tools, Linked-In and Xing, both based on the "six-degrees of separation" theory. Please join me so we can share contacts, ideas and opportunities. When you click on the buttons, you will see my profile and you can register as a new member if you haven't yet done so.

View Carlos Salum's profile on XING

View Carlos Salum's profile on LinkedIn

NEW at XING.com: I have recently started a group called "Beyond Tennis: Tennis for Self, Business and Lifestyle." Please click on the group's logo (image) to find out more and join. You can contribute your views on technique, peak performance and the power of tennis as a networking tool for global businesspeople. Not a tennis player? Get excited about becoming one soon. Read the postings, share your impressions. Get the vibe.

[top]

Leadership: Three Essential Questions

Joan Wright is a Master Certified Coach who enables Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial business to develop and retain the leadership strength and talent they need to achieve their goals. She has developed an audio CD program with Val Williams, also a Master Certified Coach, who specializes in helping senior corporate leaders strengthen their vision, strategic planning, team alignment, execution and people development. Their program is called "Leadership: Three Essential Questions for Executives." It zooms into the 3-C's of Leadership: Clarity, Courage and Connection, while posing three critical questions dealing with the upcoming challenges leaders must face: Setting Strategic Direction, Developing Leadership Capacity and Creating Work-Life Balance.

>> Listen to Joan Wright and Val Williams - "What leaders are up against in the future" - Windows Media Audio - 2:57 min. >> Purchase the Audio CD

[top]

Peak Performers: Robert Mazzucchelli

Robert J. Mazzucchelli is a fast-track visionary leader with over 20 years of executive level business success and accomplishment. Since 1987, he has co-founded and run three successful companies. In each case, Robert rapidly got operations up and running while leveraging his leadership skills and business development expertise.

I met Robert in 1985 at the Van der Meer Tennis Center in Hilton Head Island, SC. He was an intern; I was a tennis pro. We became fast friends and, to this day, he credits me for transforming his so-so forehand into a weapon.

Since then, he has reinvented himself several times by applying the mental toughness skills he learned while competing in tennis: operate in high, positive emotion; love the challenge; act how you want to feel, and win by playing one point at a time.

Robert founded 141 USA, which evolved into 141 Worldwide. He grew the business from 11 offices producing $11 million to 40 offices generating $115 million within two years. He also transformed Clear Channel Entertainment’s marketing group into a globally focused multi-million dollar EBITDA contributor.

Robert has demonstrated the ability to apply innovative and sound business and marketing principles in both product and service business models. Clients read like a "Who’s Who" of blue-chip corporations; Kodak, RJR Nabisco, Adolph Coors Company, Diageo, Dun & Bradstreet, Coca Cola, Perrier, Visa, BAT and Clear Channel Entertainment to name a few.

He created the industry standard from an innovative product idea in the colored gemstone industry. Robert expanded revenue opportunities for market leader Clear Channel Entertainment in Europe, producing over $15 million of revenue in 18 months. He paved the way for their expansion into Latin America. Into each business situation he brings "new thinking" and a love of "problems".

Today, he's the CEO at 2M Apparel Ventures, born of the success he harvested while running his upscale men’s clothing store in Westport, CT. He's launching his own clothing line, "Roberto di Carrara," which will be sold in select stores. Robert is an outstanding entrepreneur who has used his skills as a peak performer in sports and applied them to reinvent himself several times over. From one venture to another, he has shown his capacity to dream big and going beyond his personal best.

[top]

Training - Calculating Your Training R.O.I.

The Training ROI calculation tells you the percentage return you have made over a specified period of time as a result of investing in a training program. The evaluation period should fit well with the organization’s planning cycle, perhaps one or two years or it should correspond to the lifecycle of the benefit (how long the average student stays in a position in which they can continue to apply the tools, techniques and skills being taught).

How to calculate ROI: [ROI = (benefits/costs) X 100]

Basic Process for calculating Training ROI:

Did on-the-job application produce measurable results?
Isolate the effects of training from other factors that may have contributed to the results.
Convert the results to monetary benefits.
- Divide training results into hard data and soft data.
  - Hard data are the traditional measures of organizational performance because they're objective, easy to measure, and easy to convert to monetary values. They include output (units produced, items assembled, tasks completed); quality (scrap, waste, rework); time (equipment downtime, employee overtime, time to complete projects); and cost (overhead, accident costs, sales expenses).
  - Soft data includes such things as work habits (tardiness, absenteeism); work climate (grievances, job satisfaction); attitudes (loyalty, perceptions); and initiative (implementation of new ideas, number of employee suggestions).
Total the costs of training.
Compare the monetary benefits with the costs. The non-monetary benefits can be presented as additional - though intangible - evidence of the program's success.

Another way of looking at ROI is to calculate how many months it will take before the benefits of the training match the costs and the training pays for itself. This is called the Payback. [Payback period = costs / monthly benefits] Payback period is a powerful measure. If the figure is relatively low, then management should be that much more encouraged to make the training investment. As a measure, it also has the advantage of not requiring an arbitrary benefit period to be specified.

When looking at ROI and cost benefit analysis, it is important to remember that:

Improving efficiency means achieving the same results with lower costs.
Improving effectiveness means achieving better results with the same costs.
It is possible to get better results with lower costs, and this is called improved productivity

[top]

Book - "Comic Insights" - Lessons from Stand-Up

Franklin Ajaye has written "Comic Insights" about the art of stand-up comedy. The book features interviews with some of the most celebrated American comedians of the past two decades, such as Jay Leno, Ellen Degeneres, George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Roseanne. The book gives you advice to become a stand-up comedian while revealing clues about the art of storytelling and making a memorable impression.

Regardless of your perceived ability, you can increase your humor skills. When you study humor, you realize that it's part art and part science. Deliberate humor requires advance planning and you can learn ways to administer a dose of laughter to help you connect and communicate. There are three elements which can help you understand and structure your humor: surprise, tension and relationships (how things are related or not). Ajaye's book reveals how stand-up comedians master these three elements and teaches you how you can do it too. Buy the book and also try the exercise below as a warm-up:

Exercise: "Create a Joke" - Try to come up with punch lines for these set-ups:

1) A banker is walking on Wall Street when he finds a colleague selling bananas out of a crate. The banker asks: Why are you selling bananas? His friend’s response :____________

2) A woman hears from her doctor that she has only half a year to live. The doctor advises her to marry a shepherd and live in Switzerland. She asks: Will this cure my illness? The doctor answers: ___________

>> BUY Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy

[top]

“Must Have” Tools

“The Mother of All Minds”

“Remember This Titan”

“The Art of Possibility”

“Asset Report”

"The Power of Full Engagement"

"The mCircle Instrument"

"Mind Maker"

"Path Primer"

Our Web Store - New Book and DVD Selection

We have added new books on topics such as Leadership, Goal Setting, Executive Thinking, Creativity and Sales to help you realize and sustain your ambitious goals. Now, you can also purchase all our Brainware Tools and all our Sullivan Performance Tools as a bundle to get very substantial discounts. You can buy your selection with PayPal and get it shipped by airmail or international couriers.

>> Visit the Vortex Store

[top]

Next Issues

Leadership: Joan Wright - Master Certified Coach

Peak Performance: Trudi Lacey, fmr. WNBA Coach - Olympic Basketball player

Profiles: Dr. Edward de Bono - the world's premier teacher of thinking skills

Book Review: "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink

Contact Information

www.saluminternational.com

csalum@saluminternational.com

You have received Vortex by e-mail because you are currently in Salum International Resources’ mailing list as a professional relationship or acquaintance. If you prefer to unsubscribe, please click here. To read our Privacy Policy, please click here. We do not sell or distribute our mailing list to anyone for any reason. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to any relationship that might benefit from our services. Thank you for your kind attention and support.

[top]

[Site Map] [Vortex Home]