“I’ve got to find a way to improve my team’s performance,” a frustrated manager said to me. “Competition has increased in my territory and we are losing ground.”

“What have you tried?” I asked.

“I’ve made my team aware of our declining performance metrics. I’ve asked them to work a little harder and be more diligent in serving our clients. I’ve also explained that we will lose positions if the decline continues. I’ve asked for suggestions, but we haven’t been able to move the needle in the right direction.”

I recommended three things the manager can do to improve performance: better people, better tools and better methods.

By far, the most impactful, and the most difficult, path to improved performance is to infuse the team with more talented and resolute players.

Improved tools (think technological advancements—robots, software applications, smart devices) have accounted for much of the productivity improvement over the last five decades.

A third path to better performance is to invent better ways of doing what you are doing—eliminate or refine required processes, allow performers more freedom in how they do their jobs, require fewer approvals for decisions.  Many bureaucratic requirements are costly but add little value.