Peter Jensen - Ignite The Third Factor

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 Canadas 2010 Olympic gold medal womens hockey team. He is an instructor at Canadas foremost business school, Queens 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, Queens 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

Peters 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 theThird 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 youll find Jensens comments could serve as guiding principles for anyone managing customer service or in the business of creating retail experiences. Youll 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, youll 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, Queens 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. Jensens knowledge, research and remarkable insight into the discipline of high-performance leadership.

Ian Anderson, Executive Director, Governor Generals 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

www.thomasallen.ca

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 Corporations 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 Ive 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 Winckler, American track and field coach

Figure skating coach Doug Leigh has been a friend for many years and I learned much from him and the skating coaches I worked with at numerous world championships and three Olympic Games.

There is much wisdom in this book from Andy Higgins, with whom I work on a regular basis not only with his athletes but also as a part of a coaching certification program that he coordinates in Toronto.

The late Jack Donahue and the legendary John Wooden had a great influence on me in my brief 10-year stint as a basketball coach. Dr. John Meagher at the University of New Brunswick was a mentor to me and taught me almost everything I know about teaching.

Dr. Kazimierz Dabrowski was in his 70s when he mentored me in graduate school. It was a humbling experience to learn from such a generous human being, one who knew so much more than I could ever imagine knowing. My working with Dr. Dabrowski was a life-altering experience and he, along with Dr. Marlene Rankel, deepened my understanding of human developmental psychology. As you shall see, Dr. Dabrowskis work has had a strong influence on this book.