Don't manage performance, inspire it. #equinoxpartners #15Five

1. PAGE 1
Don’t Manage
Performance, Inspire it
After years in consulting and then founding an ad-tech startup he found unfulling, David Hassell had
three questions. What if I could build a company that had a sole purpose of unlocking the potential of
the people in it? What if our product was designed to help unlock the potential of each person at the
organizations we served? Wouldn’t that lead to uncommonly high performance and loyalty?
The answer started with yes, and 15Five was born with Hassell at the helm. 15Five was the start
of a new category of software designed to help leaders and managers drive high performance by
bringing out the best in their people. Today it is commonly referred to as continuous performance
management. We now lead the market with a software built on the idea of Best-Self Management.
The employee retention dilemma
If you own a business, you probably assume that attrition is a regrettable, but inevitable fact of life.
Some attrition is likely unavoidable. However, the overall turnover rate in the U.S. was 26.3% in 2017,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And with the cost to replace an employee ranging from
one-half to two times their salary, that rate is way too high.
WRITTEN BY 15FIVE
Contact:
Equinox Partners Ltd
Metro City Business Center
51, Alexander Malinov Blvd
Sofia, Bulgaria
Plamen Petrov
plamen.petrov@equinox-partners.bg
+359 899 826 714

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Most companies struggle to attract, retain, and
maximize their people, because they’ve been focusing
on the wrong things. It’s an innocent mistake. Most
organizations simply do what’s always been done, and
while that may have been effective at one time, these
tactics are losing their power.
Employee purpose has changed;
management hasn’t
During the industrial era, leadership and management
added strategic design and operational value.
Organizations simply needed hard-working, cheap
labor that would follow the script. Because of this, they
were, more or less. replaceable.
Today the environment is dramatically different. Now it
is the people in organizations who create intellectual
property and software, and the people who are
delivering the services and representing the brand
with everything they produce and every customer they
touch. It’s the companies that create extraordinary
intellectual property, software, services, and brands
that succeed.
Today more than 85% of stock market capitalization
is intellectual property, brand, services, and software
so every person matters,”explains Josh Bersin, a key
analyst in the HR technology space.
While the world of work has changed
dramatically, the common methods of leadership and
management haven’t.
Unlike the industrial era when the interests of
organizations were at odds with those individual
contributors, today what organizations need most from
their people is now completely aligned with what those
same people want for themselves — an opportunity to
work in an environment where they can put their unique
strengths and talents to work in service of a mission
they believe in. They want to be their best self and
thrive. Best-self management ensures this.
The modern management secret
Just as a plant or tree will naturally grow into its full
potential if given the right conditions for its unique
nature (e.g. soil, altitude, air, water, sunlight, etc.),
people will also naturally grow into their full potential if
given the right conditions and environment.
Most traditional performance management (and
management in general) practices are similar, and
they’re missing the essential understanding of what
keys drive human growth, potential, and ultimately
performance.
High performance is a result or an outcome, not
something that can be managed directly; it’s a
byproduct of focusing on other things that give rise
to it. Therefore if you’re practicing “performance
management” you’re already trying to manage the
wrong thing.
“

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If you shouldn’t be doing
Performance Management, what
should you be doing?
Focus on Best-Self Management. By supporting
people in being and becoming their best selves,
higher and ever-increasing performance becomes a
natural by-product, as do uncommon levels of passion,
commitment, and loyalty.
Today what organizations need most are people who
are tapped into their greatest gifts and strengths, who
are passionate and committed to the mission, loyal
and able to express genius-level performance through
their work. These people are anything but easily
replaceable.
15Five is a leading continuous performance management solution that not only guides employee growth and
development but empowers people to become their best selves. Through strategic Weekly Check-Ins, 15Five delivers
everything a manager needs to maintain visibility and impact employee performance, including continuous feedback,
Objectives (OKR) tracking, recognition, 1-on-1s, and 360° reviews. Over 2,200 forward-thinking companies use the
solution to bring out the best in their people, including Credit Karma, WPEngine, and HubSpot.
What is Best-Self Management?
Best-Self Management is a methodology to create a
culture that brings out the best in your people as they
are today and one that helps them learn, grow, and
develop over time.
We’re all works in progress with unique sets of talents,
passions and perspectives. When we recognize those
unique factors and give someone the opportunity to
align their work with their strengths and passions, you
allow them to make the greatest contribution possible.