WHAT PERFORMANCE REALLY MEANS

“Great job this week.”
“Keep it up.”
“You’re doing well.”

Sound familiar? We’ve all tossed phrases like this around, usually with the best intentions. But when there’s no clear definition of what “great” or “doing well” looks like, vague praise like this tends to create more confusion than clarity.

If your people can’t tell you what high performance looks like in their seats at the organization’s current Stage of Development, then they’re guessing. And you’re leading based on assumptions.

People often mistake performance for effort, but really, it’s about value.

Real performance means doing the right Work, at the right standard, at the right pace — and doing it without constant supervision. It’s observable. It’s measurable. It’s what builds the kind of trust high-performing cultures depend on. And, perhaps most importantly, it makes an impact. 

Read more in What Is Performance, Really?.

Performance shows up in five clear ways:

1. Clarity around roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities
2. Meaningful outcomes that move the business forward
3. Work not just completed, but done well
4. Work delivered at the right pace, without needing to be chased
5. Autonomy, not dependency, with minimal supervision needed

So ask yourself: Can everyone on my team describe what great performance looks like in their Seat, right now? Clearly defining performance might be the most powerful lever you have for building a company that lasts.

PERSPECTIVES

“Clarity breeds mastery.” — Robin Sharma, Author of The 5 AM Club

MARK MY WORDS

Plenty of teams talk about performance. The trouble starts when no one agrees on what it means.

At Ninety, we’ve built our platform around the principle that performance should be visible at every Stratum. That means defining what value looks like — delivered on time, visibly, and at spec. It’s not vague or subjective. It’s grounded in tangible outcomes, clear standards, and a pace the business can count on.

When that clarity is in place, trust grows, execution accelerates, and people don’t just stay busy. They drive progress.

TUNE IN

The Truth About Building a Mobile App as a Startup

Think you need a mobile app? Not so fast. In this episode of the Founder’s Framework podcast, I sit down with Ninety’s Head of Product, Kyle Phillips, to talk about what it really takes to build and maintain one.

You’ll learn:

• Why timing matters more than ambition when launching mobile
• The trade-offs between web and native apps
• Hard-won lessons from building Ninety’s mobile app

[Watch Now]

ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD

In case you missed it, here’s more from Founder’s Framework:

Think Like a Coach: 3 Traits That Define High-Performance Teams

Great founders build teams the way championship coaches build rosters. In this article, I talk about how to recruit and retain players who deliver at the highest level and what traits matter most.

[Read Now]

This 1982 anthem captures what high performance is really about — showing up, doing the Work, and rising to a clear standard without excuses. It’s a reminder that greatness isn’t vague. It’s earned.