Performance issues are the toughest challenges facing corporate America today. The one thing that will have the greatest impact on how successful a company will be is performance. If a company and its employees do not perform, all other measures of success are meaningless. The company will not survive.

So what does it take to become a high performance company in today's business climate? The answer is simple - look to and evaluate your current corporate resources. Occasionally an organization will need to look to outside help for development. However, under most circumstances the answers to almost every performance issue a company has is on the asset side of the ledger sheet.

Companies really have only two types of resources - technology and people. Assess these two areas properly, and you can address any performance issue. The key word here is properly. Proper measurement, which includes an approach that removes bias and carefully validates your results, is essential.

Regardless of the size of your company, you can help it perform better by taking advantage of existing technology. Surprisingly, most companies are nowhere near maximizing the technology they already possess. Lack of information is no longer an excuse for not using technology effectively. You can easily find anything you may need to know about technology through trade publications and on the Internet.

Most company performance issues, however, are not related to technology, but to people. We as humans tend to complicate life with personal issues that hinder performance. Since the "whole person" comes to work, the whole person has an impact on the company’s performance. So what's a CEO, manager, or supervisor to do?

The first step is to understand performance. Performance is directly related to one of three "people" areas: corporate culture, the task the individual must perform, and the motivational/behavioral makeup of the employee. Understanding what motivates people to perform a job better and without stress is the solution for companies that want to excel.

Next, consider corporate culture. What type of atmosphere does your company present and encourage? Most successful leaders have found a way to craft the culture they've established within their companies to provide employees with a reason to come to work and an incentive to perform at superior levels. Empirical tools, accompanied by surveys, are among the best ways managers can learn how an employee feels about issues such as coming to work each day and striving to achieve his highest level of performance.

Corporate culture changes as a company grows. The CEO or entrepreneur who created the organization may not recognize his original vision as it is driven by his current management team. If the company is to continue to thrive, officials must devise a consistent format for communicating the principles, policies and procedures that have been proven to produce a positive impact on employees. It is imperative that this policy be written and verbally backed by management. This allows for communication that complements and reinforces the CEO's vision and reduces the possibility of de-motivation within the company.

Even the most prosperous company culture however, cannot make up for an employee who does not fully understand what is being asked of him. As a manager, it is essential to spend time examining the message being communicated to each new hire. Job descriptions provide only a limited scope of what is needed and expected in a position. Most employees are armed with limited skills training, and then left to determine how to best perform the tasks required in their new positions. Companies can actively seek to improve performance by taking steps to communicate information that will establish good work habits and thereby, enhance performance.

The final element to consider pertaining to company performance is the motivational/behavioral makeup of your employees. How many times have you seen an individual with the credentials and intelligence necessary to outperform his or her peers fail miserably? What goes wrong when you are expecting superior performance from an intelligent, skilled employee, but receive different results?

Everything, if the individual involved does not match the behavioral traits associated with your corporate culture and the tasks he or she will be asked to perform. Nothing, if he or she fits the task and culture well. If an individual's behavioral makeup is not conducive to the behaviors needed for exceptional performance within the requirements of their job, marginal success at best will result. In this situation, conflict and performance inhibition are also likely to occur.

Even more damaging to productivity can be other employees. Often you will find that motivated employees will be a source of discouragement rather than encouragement to a new employee. Not intentionally, but because of differing communication and behavior styles. When you do not consider individual dynamics as they relate to a team and other employees, performance suffers.