Previous Spotlights on Performance

Q4 · 2023
Be inspired. Achieve excellence. Become a true champion.

I’m proud to announce the publication of my latest book, Volume II of Spotlight on Performance – Executive Inspiration. The rationale for this book is exactly the same as for Volume I: to inspire executive excellence. But, of course, the content is completely new.

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Q3 · 2023
Don’t do it alone

In various previous editions of Spotlight on Performance, I have shared some of the key insights and learnings from working with world-class performers that are relevant for outstanding executive performance. One of these factors is the support an individual gets from people around them.

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Q2 · 2023
From very good to great – like Manuel Akanji

From time to time in Spotlight on Performance I’ve addressed the question of what separates a very good performer from an outstanding one. Often, the world of sport can answer this for us because it shows so vividly how certain key factors make all the difference.

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Q1 · 2023
Your executive development

As leaders and executives, we all know that it is one of our priorities to constantly grow and develop in this ever-changing environment. One aim must be to define the right areas where your executive development should be focused on.

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Q4 · 2022
Game, set and match to Roger Federer!

I’m sure that, like me, many of you will recently have seen Roger Federer’s emotional retirement from professional tennis at the 2022 Laver Cup in London. The event marked the end of an era for tennis, and also the post-match scenes were truly moving and memorable – even to people who are not close to Roger or big fans of the sport.

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Q3 · 2022
It’s a good time to take back control

As I write this edition of Spotlight on Performance, many business leaders (at least, those of you in the northern hemisphere) will have recently enjoyed a summer break. If you are among them, I hope you’ve had a chance to relax, recharge, and reconnect with your loved ones.

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Q2 · 2022
Be determined to enjoy “more life”

As many of you know, I am extremely passionate about sustainable high performance in the corporate and athletic worlds, about great teamwork, and about creating healthy and productive cultures so that people can become truly extraordinary.

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Q1 · 2022
Setting the Gold Standard – like Michelle Gisin

I would like to dedicate this edition of Spotlight on Performance to an amazing athlete, Michelle Gisin, who recently accomplished the incredible feat of winning a gold medal at her second successive Winter Olympic Games. As if this wasn’t a big enough achievement, Michelle’s journey to her second Olympic Gold this year came despite having to overcome the huge setback of suffering from mononucleosis in 2021.

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Q4 · 2021
Ignite your Inspiration

Is your daily workplace always the same spot in your house or apartment? For many of you, I’m sure it is. During the Covid-19 pandemic, business leaders have been among the many people who have been working from home. For some executives, this situation may become permanent.

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Q3 · 2021
The brilliant performance of Yann Sommer

Congratulations to Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer for his outstanding performance at the UEFA EURO 2020 (2021)! I appreciate that not all of you reading this are Switzerland supporters, or even football fans (I am both, if you didn’t already know!), …

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Q2 · 2021
Get it done for the team

In past editions of Spotlight on Performance I’ve drawn on a couple of examples from the world of elite sport to highlight important lessons for business leaders. That’s because great athletes compete on a very public stage, so we can all see and admire the qualities that enable them to triumph, often under intense pressure.

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Q1 · 2021
Making It Happen – like Dominique Gisin

Many of you know that, for many years, I have supported the champion skier Dominique Gisin as her performance coach and sports psychologist. The pinnacle of Dominique’s extraordinary skiing career saw her famously fight back from serious injuries to win a Gold medal at the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014.

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Q4 · 2020
Build a cohesive leadership team – virtually

“It feels like I’ve known you all longer and I’ve built more trust with you than if we worked in the same office together!” This is what a member of an executive team I have been working with commented to wrap up our recent session. It was not the first time that I had heard this.

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Q3 · 2020
A champion’s mindset

Even if the personality traits of top performers and leaders are sometimes very different, there are certain abilities and attitudes they all share no matter what – their overall mindset. For instance, this includes the ability to be mentally and emotionally in control and to stay focused on a goal. It also entails the capability to act with confidence and creativity.

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Q2 · 2020
Leadership in unprecedented times

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on our lives in an unbelievably short time. Just a few months ago, it would have been difficult to imagine such sweeping, collective changes to the way we work and live. We have had to adapt to a new situation seemingly overnight, without any playbook for how to handle the challenges and uncertainties of this extraordinary crisis.

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Q1 · 2020
Harnessing your top performers for team success

Richard, one of my clients, recently faced a special kind of challenge. Two years ago, he hired Stella into a vital role in his organization. In a short period of time, Stella became an outstanding performer.

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Q4 · 2019
A True Athlete

Michelle Gisin, who I have been working with for a couple of years, achieved an epic feat during the last Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang in 2018: she became the first Swiss female athlete to win Olympic Gold in Alpine skiing combined.

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Q3 · 2019
Executive Performance Transformation

Jeff could not quite believe his ears when the CEO of his company lauded his efforts and results of the past few months during the leadership team meeting. She heaped praise on him for the enormous progress he had made in remodeling his division.

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Q2 · 2019
The power of PEP TALK

For team sports, this is currently the period of major finals in many countries all over the world. Many people are looking forward to the UEFA Champions League final, and the decisive games in the NBA and the NHL, to name just a few. For these games, in particular, the stadiums will be packed, and there will be millions of people watching on TV, looking forward to an exciting spectacle featuring the best athletes in their field.

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Q1 · 2019
Getting the team right first time

Not long ago, a client of mine called me. He had just been appointed as a Divisional Head at the blue chip company where he had been working for the past five years. He was now responsible for 2,000 employees and a budget of over $100 million. He was more than pleased about his promotion and wanted to share his good news with me, but he confided that the new role also raised challenges for him.

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Q4 · 2018
Spot on – Be inspired to excellence

My passion has always been to help senior executives, business leaders and top athletes achieve their highest level of performance, and then support them in sustaining and expanding this success in the long term. Above all, what matters to me is to enable them to achieve their goals in a positive, enjoyable, even a playful, lighthearted way – not through obsession, doggedness or exhaustion.

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Q3 · 2018
Be a winner – by focusing on the team

Successful business leaders and top performers are regularly confronted with one fundamental question: Is my performance primarily about being successful as an individual, or is it primarily about the wider success of my team and my company?

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Q2 · 2018
Embracing adversity – redefine your performance limits

What makes the difference between a good, solid performer and an excellent performer? What makes the best the best? The story of how Michelle Gisin overcame adversity to win the Gold medal at the 2018 Olympics in Alpine Combined helps to answer these questions, and has many powerful lessons for us all.

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Q1 · 2018
Purpose drives performance – what fuels you?

The new year has just begun and many of us have taken time out for reflection and planning. This pause may drive our motivation for renewal and making changes, in whatever area they may be.

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Q4 · 2017
Control the heat of the year end – 3 areas to focus on to not only have a strong, but also a fulfilled Q4

The year is drawing to a close and for some of us this means looking back and reviewing what we wanted to achieve and what we could have achieved. For others it means that procrastination must come to an end and hidden energy must be mobilized to get things done – before we reach 2018.

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Q3 · 2017
How do you handle the heat? 7 questions to find out.

Summer’s over, and so – for most of us – is the prospect of some planned quality downtime. Many of us may have had that moment while staring at a sunset over the shoreline, or watching a campfire glow, when we reflected on how we have been delivering our performance and how we resolve to better mix work and life.

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Q2 · 2017
Staying cool – what creates the heat for you?

We are witnessing moments, when melting points are all over the news. A few months back, for example, a video surfaced showing Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick launching into a tirade at a driver, significantly damaging his credibility as a leader.

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Q1 · 2017
Proudly announcing – The Melting Point:
how to stay cool and sustain world-class business performance

I’m thrilled to announce that my new book, The Melting Point: How to Stay Cool and Sustain World-Class Business Performance is about to hit the stands. We’re in the final design stages and it’s a beauty. I could not be more proud of it, or thankful to the world-class leaders, …

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Q4 · 2016
The Melting Point – Executive Performance Transformation

At different times in our career, we are able to achieve the highest levels of performance. The true skill, however, is maintaining those levels consistently, without any detrimental impact on our effectiveness and productivity, especially in highly intense times with lots of demands, pressure and a changing environment.

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Q3 · 2016
Live your dream

Like so many kids in the world, when I was young, my dream was to become a professional athlete. I had a huge passion for soccer, and developed a skill that differentiated me from many other kids: I scored a lot of goals. I was selected to play for my country at junior level and was scouted to play professionally for the best club in Switzerland (FC Basel).

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Q2 · 2016
The ideal teamplayer

In the previous issues of “Spotlight on Performance” I have shared a lot of personal views on how to achieve sustainable top performance. In this edition, I would like to introduce you to a powerful model from one of my dearest colleagues, Patrick “Pat” Lencioni*.

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Q1 · 2016
Is it business-critical?
Finding the time to ask that simple one question

2016 is a year of special anniversaries for me. I received my first mandate as a performance psychologist in 1996 (20 years ago), and I officially founded my company in 2001, after having completed my PhD (15 years ago). Time flies indeed.

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Q4 · 2015
Making it happen

As some of you may know, I have had the privilege of working with some exceptionally talented individuals during my career, both in the business world and also in sports. Some of them are most famous athletes – including the perhaps greatest tennis player of all times – as well as various international soccer stars. And there has also been an Olympic Champion.

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Q3 · 2015
Successful transitions – why peace might be your missing piece

Some of my clients are currently facing a transition; be it a change of jobs in the same company, moving to a new company, or moving to another city or even another country. For some of them the change has been well planned and is based on their own decision to move to something new. Others have not had the choice because of organizational changes.

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Q2 · 2015
Top performance beyond the office –
if it works in the business world, it will work at home

As many of you know, my new book “More Life, Please!” came out only a couple of weeks ago. Paired with simple, effective tips from family and work-life integration specialist Tarina Wagschal, the book brings together concepts, stories and concrete guidance to show executives, leaders and corporate performers how they can experience their lives more fully, to form stronger and deeper connections with their spouses and children, and to be more present, peaceful and mindful at home.

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Q1 · 2015
More life, please!

I hope you’ve had a good start to 2015. As usual, I’ve started the year doing what I like to do best – which is helping individuals and teams get better at what they do. Already, 2015 looks set to be my busiest yet, with demand for the P6PROP® program growing strongly.

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Q4 · 2014
Year-end – finishing strong with presence

It’s the beginning of December. Has your year-end panic started yet? That hectic rush that overcomes us around this time of the year, no matter how hard we try, seems unavoidable. It’s the final push to complete your projects for 2014. You are driving hard to achieve or exceed the objectives you set for yourself at the beginning of the year.

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Q3 · 2014
Summer is over – back to the grind … right?

So how are you feeling after your summer break? Rejuvenated and fresh? I can’t tell you how many times I recently have heard people say something along the lines of: “Summer vacation? It was great, but seems like ages ago.” Even though they just got back to work a few days earlier! We all know that the best holidays can feel short lived.

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Q2 · 2014
No margin for errors – where focused precision matters

Did you follow this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi? For the first time in history, two women tied for the gold medal in women’s downhill skiing, both crossing the finish line with identical times measured to 1/100 of a second. One of those gold medalists is Dominique Gisin from Switzerland – I have been her performance coach over the past six years.

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Q1 · 2014
Your top new year’s resolution – get fully behind your team

In 2013, I have again spent a big portion of my time working with corporate teams. I was invited to coach, support, and present at numerous workshops, events and programs. My work took me all over the world, from New York, London and Paris all the way to Montreal, Madrid, Athens, Munich and Budapest!

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Fall 2013 · Kickoff issue
In for the long haul – secrets to sustaining top performance, even when the finish line isn’t in sight

Helping individuals achieve excellence in their lives is the focus of my work – and I work with truly exceptional people. Whether it is an Olympic medalist or a top global executive, my clients are smart, hungry, and committed. They are at the absolute top of their game, and they still look for ways to make themselves better.

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