Michelle Urwin
VP Marketing
On the 5th July, Performance Marketers from around the UK will be coming together for Skai’s annual K in the Park event.
So…who better to get along and speak than Jamil Qureshi – one of today’s foremost practitioners of performance psychology and an expert in high performance. As the co-founder of several change agencies Jamil has enjoyed working with a rich diversity of the most talented business and sports people and teams in the world.
Ahead of the event we sat down with Jamil to ask him 5 questions around performance, perspective and inspiration. Here are his answers.
1. You work with sports and business professionals – what parallels can you draw between the two?
As human beings, all our hopes, fears, anxieties, and desires are the same. I have never thought of myself as a sports or business psychologist. I think everyone can perform better. The parallels are really based on the idea that for any of us to act differently, we have to think differently. Greater success can only come from new perspectives.
2. What is the biggest barrier you see holding back business people in achieving high performance?
I honestly believe the inhibitor of human performance is belief systems. The world is not how it is, it’s how you are…it reflects back. Unfortunately, we have a particular view of the world, and we look for the evidence to prove ourselves right…even when we’re wrong. I guarantee, the hardest thing I do, in business or in sport, is try to convince people that the world they are experiencing, is merely a reflection of their own attitude towards it.
3. You talk about 40% of what we do as humans being done by habit alone. How do you encourage people to think differently and consider new possibilities?
Through gamification! We must take away the existing parameters that we believe hold us in place, and play the game of ‘what if’ more often. What if we had an unlimited budget? What if we had no budget? What if we gave this away for free? What if we charged for this? All great journeys start with a question. Move outside of what currently holds us in place to create new possibilities.
4. You help professionals to understand the difference between activity and productivity. Could you elaborate on how?
We’re all busy people, but being busy doesn’t always result in value creation. If we’re not creating value at the ‘value point’; where a customer meets our organisation, we are simply being ‘active’.
5. Is there a book, a talk, or a person who inspired you throughout your journey to where you are at now?
Interestingly, Johnny Marr, guitarist with The Smiths! His ability to think differently when constructing music, but also an interesting journey from initial idea and dream to successful execution of a goal. His autobiography, Set The Boy Free, explains it all!
You can keep up with what Jamil is up to on Twitter.
If you want to hear Jamil speak, come to our KITP event on 5th July 2018.
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