For Consistent High Performance, Try This Science-Based Approach

As we near the end of this year’s football season, it’s becoming easier to predict which teams will emerge as championship contenders. They’re the teams that do the right things consistently well. They smartly self-correct their mistakes and focus on those mission-critical behaviors that—when adopted as habits—dramatically improve their prospects for winning.

That same formula works in business, too.

Seasoned organizational behavior consultants Julie M. Smith and Lori Ludwig offer an excellent guide in their new book Vital Behavior Blueprint: 5 Steps to Embed Mission-Critical Habits into Your Organization’s DNA.

What’s the process for identifying the mission-critical behaviors that—when adopted as habits—can dramatically improve an organization’s targeted results?

Smith says vital behaviors are actions that need to be done consistently—and by many—to achieve results. Here’s how to find them:

• look for obvious behaviors that everyone knows are a problem
• ask the people who do the work
• ask subject matter experts
• observe high and low performers to see what they do differently
• analyze the customer’s journey to uncover pain points due to human actions
• find the “behavior hot spots” in work processes where unwanted behavior variability occurs
• look for “cornerstone behaviors” that are foundational to other behaviors

Smith and Ludwig write about “cornerstone behaviors” that are foundational to other behaviors. Ludwig offers an example.

“A cornerstone behavior is like the cornerstone of a building—when set correctly, it makes everything else easier,” she says. “At a national railway, the CEO innovated ‘precision railroading’ to ensure on-time operations. Before implementing a variety of vital behaviors across 17,000 employees, leaders focused on one cornerstone behavior: ensuring everyone showed up on time, known as dressed and ready. By embedding this behavior across the organization, they created a strong foundation for the other vital behaviors needed to run the railway on time.”

Smith and Ludwig say identifying and embedding vital behaviors in an organization’s culture is both an art and a science.

“Our habit formation process is rooted in Behavior Analysis, the science of what works in behavior change,” Smith says. “Backed by more than 100 years of research, it helps organizations identify vital behaviors, observe and measure them, adjust the surrounding environment to support them, and foster self-management for lasting habits.”

While science focuses on external, observable actions, Smith and Ludwig also explores the “art” of addressing internal emotions and mindsets, unique to each person. “Change can be frustrating, even when people want it,” Smith says. “We provide strategies to uncover and address these internal barriers, combining art and science to achieve lasting behavior change.”

Smith and Ludwig apply the 80/20 rule to an organization’s performance culture.

“The 80/20 rule applies to both business and life,” Ludwig says. “For example, 80% of our happiness stems from 20% of our decisions, and 80% of sales result from one vital behavior: asking for the sale—something salespeople do less than 15% of the time. When they ask consistently, sales results soar. The key is to identify the vital 20% of behaviors that drive 80% of outcomes, and then create a positive performance culture to make those behaviors habitual. This focused approach unlocks extraordinary results.”

An “ally network,” the authors say, can play a role in building and maintaining a high-performance culture.

“Allies help performers do vital behaviors because they share a vested interest in achieving mutual outcomes,” Smith says. “For example, healthcare teams aim to deliver exceptional care yet perform vital behaviors less than 40% of the time. Leaders can’t fully hold them accountable, as they rarely observe care firsthand and often address issues only after complaints arise.” She says allies like patients, families, and peers, however, directly witness these behaviors and can provide frequent positive support. “These people can be organized into ally networks to provide a daily circle of encouragement from different perspectives, reinforcing vital behaviors and benefiting everyone involved.”

Smith and Ludwig say employees need what they call three pillars to turn vital behaviors into habits:

1. clear expectations for achieving goals,
2. actionable feedback (weekly at a minimum) with more positive than constructive input, and
3. barrier removal to enable desired behaviors

They point to Gallup research showing that only 30% of employees typically receive all three. “By focusing on vital behaviors and leveraging an ally network to strengthen all three pillars, organizations can ensure 100% of employees receive this essential performance support, driving results to new heights,” Ludwig says.

So, how can leaders know when vital behaviors are being adopted as personal habits by the people in their organizations?

Measure them, Smith says, and she recommends four quick pulse checks:

1. directly observing the performer,
2. asking the performer to describe how they perform the behavior
3. reviewing work output, and
4. asking others who’ve observed the performer

In general, she says, when performers consistently do vital behaviors correctly 85% or more of the time, they’ve adopted new habits. These simple checks ensure progress and help confirm behavior change is taking root.

Smith and Ludwig offer five steps for building what they call a Vital Behavior Blueprint:

1. prioritize key business results where behavior variability limits performance,
2. identify Key Performer Groups—teams whose consistent actions are critical for achieving those results,
3. clarify vital behaviors that drive results, ensuring at least 85% of key performers agree they are essential and commit to adopting them,
4. “wire” ally networks to reinforce these behaviors, and
5. build habits by strengthening the three pillars and removing barriers

Then they recommend continuously measuring and refining behaviors and support strategies to ensure sustainable habit formation.

People in some organizations say that because everything is a priority, nothing is really a priority. How does the vital behavior approach help people avoid that conundrum?

“Vital behaviors cut through the ‘noise’ to prioritize the critical few actions that absolutely must happen every time to improve outcomes,” Smith says. “In surgery, the care team has hundreds of tasks, but six vital behaviors—like administering pre-surgery antibiotics and accounting for all sponges—are essential to reduce mortality and infections. Yet, surgical teams miss at least one of these safety steps for two-thirds of patients. Managing these as vital behaviors could save an estimated 500,000 lives annually worldwide, demonstrating the life-saving impact of focusing on what truly matters.”

When do you need a Vital Behavior Blueprint?

“Develop a Vital Behavior Blueprint whenever behavior variability threatens the achievement of business goals,” Ludwig says. “It quickly aligns leaders and associates on the most critical behaviors needed, and provides a motivational plan to turn them into habits.”

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