Perfect Practice offers 42 rules for getting better at getting better. Written by 3 educators, it offers insights on the importance of feedback in improving effective execution in the ‘flow of the work’.
Many of their key findings highlight the importance to B2B sales performance of getting better at getting better.
Through deliberate practice. Supported with coaching. Informed by data. Specifics to note:
- Practice doesn’t make perfect; it makes permanent. How you practice, and what you practice, affects how perfected your practices become. Practice success, even if it means simplifying the activity.
- Identify simple, repeatable, actions that can be quickly mastered. Make simple behaviors a habit. When simple things that matter are practiced intentionally, they can solve big problems.
- Developing mastery requires a systematic, data-driven, focus. Give feedback with a number. It allows people to know where they stand and lets coaches set goals without being the source of judgement.
- Greatest lever to developing talent is specific actionable steps for incremental improvement. The 1st step to same is getting the game right. This requires analyses of what wins the games we set out to play.
- The speed of feedback is crucial determining its success. Brief feedback given right away improves performance far faster than more extensive feedback later.
- Culture of practice matters. Don’t ignore mistakes; support people fixing mistakes before they’re habitual.
- Reinforce how behaviors influence outcomes. Watching for the right things reminds performers that you will be looking for what’s practiced and how its affecting outcomes. Then, measure success. Do so in ways that measure the effectiveness of your practices AND how often you’re engaged in the right practices.
