| Most types of sports equipment like a golf club, a | | | | schools. Soon afterward, however, the letter was lost |
| tennis racquet or a baseball bat have a certain spot | | | | and forgotten. Meanwhile, the car-crazy Gilles |
| that, if the ball hits it, will give the player the optimal | | | | completed high school and enrolled in college to study |
| result. Hitting this sweet spot yields a long drive down | | | | engineering, but dropped out quickly. His reason: "I was |
| the fairway, a swift crosscourt return or home run | | | | in a funk and was really not sure I wanted to be an |
| swing. Every sport has a sweet spot of some type. If | | | | engineer."As he continued his granola, "Dukes of |
| you have experienced it, you know when you hit the | | | | Hazard" routine down in the basement, Ralph's older |
| sweet spot, you barely feel it. The ball goes where | | | | brother, Max, recalled the letter from Chrysler. He |
| you want it to go - even further and faster. Doesn't | | | | remembered that one of the recommended schools |
| get any better than that!But what about the sport of | | | | was Detroit's College for Creative Studies. Upset to |
| leadership? Aren't we professional athletes in our own | | | | see Ralph wasting his time and talent, Max pushed his |
| right?Those in professional sports practice 90+ | | | | brother to apply to the local school although the |
| percent of the time and actually "play for keeps" less | | | | application deadline was only a week away and would |
| than 10 percent of the time. As professional leaders, | | | | require 10 sketches.At that point, the whole family |
| we are almost always "playing for keeps." So it's | | | | became involved, making Ralph coffee so he could |
| particularly important that we take time to plan and | | | | complete his sketches, cheering him on and helping |
| ensure that we are optimizing our sweet spot.Did you | | | | wherever they could. By the end of the week, Ralph |
| know the average person possesses between 500 | | | | was covered in pencil lead, but the sketches were |
| and 700 different skills and abilities? A common | | | | complete, so his mother sent the packet to the school |
| defining moment for people is finding that skill or ability | | | | by overnight delivery.Today, Ralph V. Gilles is |
| that's right in their sweet spot. As leaders, we have a | | | | recognized as the innovator of the Chrysler 300 sedan |
| huge opportunity to help our employees find their | | | | and the Dodge Magnum Wagon I in addition to being |
| sweet spots, too.The first step is ensuring a good fit | | | | responsible for the 2002 Jeep Liberty, 2003 Dodge |
| between an employee's natural abilities and interests | | | | Viper SRT-10 and several concept cars. Dubbed as |
| and the requirements of the job. This would ensure the | | | | the Chrysler Group's newest darling, Gilles has earned |
| "highest and best use" of their talents toward the | | | | numerous national and international accolades. He has |
| realization of our high-definition vision. Wouldn't we just | | | | since been promoted to Design Director for Chrysler.If |
| love having every single team member working in their | | | | we consistently misidentify sweet spots, we will find |
| sweet spot? We would always be in "the zone" and | | | | our team stuck in a funk, like Gilles.If we correctly |
| work would feel like play.Our ability to match sweet | | | | match employee's sweet spots to the job |
| spots to job requirements is the best predictor of job | | | | requirements, we will all be living the sweet life!Today's |
| success and, ultimately, of excellent performance. It all | | | | fast-paced, efficiency-minded organizations make it |
| starts with a moment to plan for the use of talent on | | | | especially challenging for leaders to always ensure a |
| our team.Let's not forget about ourselves in this | | | | good fit. It's common to find employees picking up the |
| matching process. Gaining insights into our own sweet | | | | slack for positions that have been eliminated. If |
| spot as leaders helps us better determine how to | | | | personnel reductions aren't executed carefully, the |
| design roles and deploy the talent on our team. For | | | | remaining employees can find themselves |
| example, if my sweet spot is conceptually designing | | | | underemployed and consumed by "leftover" tasks that |
| complex deals, I better ensure I have a strong analyst | | | | drain their time but don't tap their minds.These |
| on my team. If my sweet spot is analyzing lots of | | | | situations start a cycle of "lowest and worst use" of |
| details and numbers, I want some conceptual, big | | | | talent, resulting in a downward spiral of self-doubt, |
| picture thinkers on my team.Want to know an easy | | | | anxiety and frustration. If you've ever experienced this, |
| way to find your sweet spot? Look at the intersection | | | | you know it feels more like a sour patch than a sweet |
| of these two questions:1. What am I absolutely | | | | spot.To prevent this cycle and the resulting decline in |
| passionate about?2. Which tasks are very easy and | | | | team performance, we can plan the work for our |
| natural for me to perform?Most of us vividly | | | | teams to optimize sweet spots by:- Combining tasks |
| remember the moment we found our professional | | | | that require similar skill levels, so we can more easily |
| sweet spot. Others told us we made it look easy, that | | | | match an employee's sweet spot with the position's |
| we really excelled and we looked like we were having | | | | requirements.- Automating repetitive tasks.- |
| a ball. Think of the last time when others made these | | | | Streamlining inefficient processes and eliminate |
| comments to you. What were you doing? Like finding | | | | redundant tasks that rob us from getting the highest |
| any sweet spot, it's worth hitting these questions | | | | and best use of our talent.- Outsourcing tasks that |
| around for awhile and practicing our answers before | | | | require a high level of people power but have little |
| we can serve up a winner.Ralph V. Gilles understands | | | | impact on our organizations. Stay within our own |
| this process. He dropped out of college and was | | | | sweet spots and let other vendors use their sweet |
| spending most of his time, by his own admission, | | | | spot to serve us.Take a moment to optimize the |
| slacking in his parents' basement, eating granola, | | | | sweet spots on your team - including your own. It's a |
| watching "Dukes of Hazard" reruns and lamenting the | | | | defining moment for most people when they can |
| sorry state of automobiles being made in | | | | arrive at work on Monday morning and say, "How |
| America.Growing up, Gilles was typical of most boys | | | | sweet it is!"Author Lee J. Colan is a highly sought-after |
| who played with Hot Wheels and Formula 1 model | | | | executive advisor and leadership expert.He has |
| cars. But, as a teenager, he also was extremely | | | | published seven books including the best sellers |
| talented in sketching vehicles. In fact, his aunt wrote a | | | | Sticking to It: The Art of Adherence and Passionate |
| letter to then Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca, saying | | | | Performance.Learn more by visiting |
| he should hire her 14-year-old nephew.A Chrysler | | | | or calling 972-250-9989. |
| executive responded, recommending three design | | | | |