The Performance Principle: A Practical Guide to Understanding Motivation in the Modern Workplace

by Mackenzie Kyle

The Performance Principle is written for any manager, supervisor, or business leader who feels there must be a better, more systematic way to motivate their team and achieve phenomenal results. It tells the fictional story of Will Campbell, the newly promoted executive in charge of the Hyler manufacturing facility. The company has fallen on hard times and Campbell is given a year to turn around Hyler’s fortunes, a feat made all the more challenging because of the discontent among all of Hyler’s employees, from management to sales to the unionized shop floor. Over the course of several tumultuous months, Campbell and his team learn the unique principles of performance management and the powerful results it can deliver.

Unique, lively and powerfully effective, The Performance Principle illustrates the fundamentals of performance management, providing a model that allows the reader to understand exactly what motivates people in the workplace, and how to align this with the organization's strategy.

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 7, 2016

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read indeed. Not all business books get there in terms of practicaiblity, but the model they present here meets those requirements. Also there are peripheral concepts explored which also do a good job of helping to frame problems; e.g. whack-a-mole, Monkey Theory of Management (MTM), the story of the frog and the scorpion

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be better than a business book you can read in one plane ride? The Performance Principle is solid-as-a-rock business advice packaged in the story of a new company president who has a year or less to turnaround an underperforming company. Spoiler alert: he douses the flames before the platform burns to the ground. I was very interested to keep reading and see how it was accomplished, and although it is "fiction," the Performance Principle is based on what we know of human behaviour and organizational change management. The only reason I didn't give an additional star was because I've seen many similar scenarios as those described in the book, and in my experience they could not be resolved so quickly. But who knows? None of my previous workplaces had the author as a consultant!

[Tony Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Performance Principle by Mackenzie Kyle
The Performance Principle is written in the mold of The Goal and Hero Z. As with the two books mentioned Kyle uses a story to tell people about the Performance Principle. While the ideas are good there is nothing really new and parts of the story seem forced. Due to the story line, few if any “new” ideas and Kyle’s delving into his philosophy and a touch of metaphysics I found the book less than useful.
Three out of Five Stars.
I received a free copy of The Performance Principle by Mackenzie Kyle from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley.