Business Performance management needs Uniting Soft Skills with hard skills to achieve success

From boardroom to classroom, individuals are looking to improve their performance. Continuous improvement through processes such as Baldrige to Lean continue to make significant strides in the business world as solutions to improve the bottom line. Self-improvement is one of the fastest growing areas in most book stores. Everyone seems to be looking for that magic pill on how to improve their performance or what we call success.

Recently when doing some research to improve the content of an article, I discovered the "meritocracy". Although the end is pretty well read in American history, I had never seen this particular term. The original definition of meritocracy is not certain, but it has its roots in the fifth chapter of John Locke, Second Treatise of Government. Locke believed that the acquisition of wealth on condition that has been gained through hard word and "it was to meet their immediate needs." (Source: Wikipedia) Meritoracy then became how to build and improve society through a government based on merit (performance show) and not by birth.

The essence lies in the ability to improve motivation, energy and talent. Our young country, with all its faults has shown the results of these 3 skills by landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth in less than 200 years. No other country or civilization has accomplished so much over a similar time.

What does this mean for businesses or individuals looking for success?

If businesses or individuals want greater success, then the answer lies in the ability to enhance motivation, improve energy use and improve the talent. In today's world, the answer may be translated into improvement of desire (motivation), opportunities for practice (energy) and new knowledge or ability (talent). Yet, when analyzing solutions designed to improve the performance of a company, organization, school or an individual, the emphasis is on talent or expertise drives with little or no motivation or focus attention on the soft skills.

Until the development of soft skills are also partners of hard skills training, research for success will continue to allude to those who are looking to improve their performance. Thus, successful, once again becomes a personal choice or as Wilt Chamberlain said:

If you are in a certain area, why not capitalize on it and improve it and use it? ......