Dr. Peter Jensen has participated in seven Olympic Games as a member of the Canadian team, worked with over 50 medalwinning athletes and their coaches and was the sport psychology coach for Canada’s 2010 Olympic gold medal women’s hockey team. He is an instructor at Canada’s foremost business school, Queen’s School of Business, and the founder of Performance Coaching, a corporate training firm. For more information, please visit: www.peterjensen.ca.
Books of Merit
Praise for Ignite the Third Factor
“If I could have read this book 30 years ago, it would have made me a better leader a lot sooner. It took decades for me to realize that viewing every interaction as an opportunity to help people get better is the key to building a winning enterprise. The funny thing is that, as I read it, I kept thinking how the same principles can be applied to helping your kids develop their potential . . . and there it was . . . in the last chapter!”
— Gwyn Morgan, Founding CEO, EnCana Corporation
“In his unique and engaging way, Peter has conveyed a wealth of valuable information. I especially liked the final chapter that completed the circle from Olympics, to business, to parenting. I suspect you will love this book as much as I did.”
— Julian Barling, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Dean, Queen’s School of Business
“. . . fantastic, practical and of great substance! This is not a book of forced parallels between sports and business, but rather a recognition that what ‘ignites’ greatness in all of us can be found anywhere by a great leader.”
— Shirlee Sharkey, CEO, St. Elizabeth Health Care
“Peter’s unique perspective allows him to describe what is truly fundamental to inspiring leadership in a simple, direct and practical way. The book is a pleasure to read – and full of ideas that stay with you long after you put it down.”
— Charlie Fischer, President and CEO, Nexen Inc.
“I have known Peter and watched him work with athletes for 25 years and have seen him use his own grounded self-direction to pull athletes to not only perform but to develop as better people. This book has had a profound impact on me. Well done! He is indeed an Igniter.” — Brian Williams, CTV Olympic Host
“Ignite the Third Factor is a tremendous playbook that explores deeply the key elements that develop people to their greatest potential and brings high performance to the next level. Ignite the Third Factor is a great gift for anyone who wants to be the best they can be and develop those around them to do the same.”
— Linda Morgan, Vice President, Human Resources and Labour Relations, Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership
“IF YOU DEAL WITH CLIENTS OR SERVICE OPERATIONS, READ THIS BOOK!!! As you read this book, replace the ‘athlete/ child’ with ‘customer’ and you’ll find Jensen’s comments could serve as guiding principles for anyone managing customer service or in the business of creating retail experiences. You’ll gain innovative insights on how to interact with customers and how to develop meaningful customer relationships. Best of all, while reading how Jensen coaches athletes to elevate their performance, you’ll be learning how to get your customers to elevate their level of value from working with you . . . a surefire formula for customer loyalty and long-term success.”
— Ken Wong, Associate Professor, Business and Marketing Strategy, Queen’s School of Business
“Dr. Peter Jensen has parsed the components of effective leadership with the precision of a track coach preparing elite runners step-by-step for a championship race. Every leader or leader-in-training will benefit from Dr. Jensen’s knowledge, research and remarkable insight into the discipline of high-performance leadership.”
— Ian Anderson, Executive Director, Governor General’s Leadership Conference
IGNITE
THE
THIRD
FACTOR
How Do You Get People Committed
to Reaching Their Full Potential?
Dr. Peter Jensen
Thomas Allen Publishers
Toronto
Copyright © 2008 by Peter Jensen
First paperback edition copyright © 2011 by Peter Jensen
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems – without the prior written permission of the publisher, or in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Jensen, Peter, 1946–
Ignite the third factor : how do you get people committed
to reaching their full potential? / by Peter Jensen.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-88762-767-5
1. Employees – Coaching of. 2. Employee motivation.
3. Self-actualization (Psychology). I. Title.
HF5549.5.C53J45 2011 658.3'124 C2010-908134-X
Cover design: Sputnik Design Partners Inc.
Cover image: iStockphoto
Published by Thomas Allen Publishers,
a division of Thomas Allen & Son Limited,
390 Steelcase Road East,
Markham, Ontario L3R 1G2 Canada
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of
The Ontario Arts Council for its publishing program.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $20.1 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada.
We acknowledge the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11
Text printed on a 100% PCW recycled stock
Printed and bound in Canada
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of the coaches I’ve spent time with and who have allowed me into their world over the past four decades. I am especially indebted to six exceptional Olympic coaches who took the time from their busy schedules to allow me to interview them for this book. Their insight is in the pages that follow.
Mel Davidson, Canadian ice hockey coach
Frank Dick, British decathlon coach and coaching mentor
David Hemery, British Olympic gold medalist and hurdling coach
Andy Higgins, Canadian decathlon coach
Debbie Muir, Canadian and Australian synchronized swimming coach
Gary