FranklinCovey On Leadership with Scott Miller

Alan Fine: You Already Know How to Be Great

Jan 17, 2025

Performance expert Alan Fine shares insights from his journey as a tennis coach to a top executive coach. He discusses how mental interference hinders peak performance, stressing that the key to success lies in faith, fire, and focus. Fine emphasizes the importance of self-belief and psychological safety in overcoming distractions. He also examines the inside-out versus outside-in strategies for improvement, and critiques the hype surrounding AI, advocating for genuine human presence to enhance performance.

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INSIGHT

Beyond Knowledge: Faith, Fire, and Focus

High performance is often hindered not by lack of knowledge, but by mental interference.
Faith, fire (motivation), and focus are key, with focus driving the other elements.

INSIGHT

Self-Belief vs. Self-Promotion

Self-belief and ambition are distinct, though sometimes conflated.
Some individuals use self-promotion to mask insecurity, while others struggle to express self-belief due to cultural constraints.

ANECDOTE

The "Bounce, Hit" Breakthrough

Alan Fine recounts a transformative experience with a shy, uncoordinated nine-year-old tennis student.
By simplifying instructions and encouraging present moment focus ("bounce, hit"), the girl achieved an unexpected breakthrough, hitting 53 consecutive shots.

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You Already Know How to Be Great

Rebecca R. Merrill

Alan Fine

This book challenges the conventional 'outside-in' approach to improvement by arguing that the biggest obstacle to performance is not a lack of knowledge, but rather the interference that prevents us from acting on what we already know. Alan Fine and Rebecca R. Merrill introduce the G.R.O.W. model, a simple yet robust framework for achieving performance breakthroughs. The book provides practical examples and tools to help individuals and leaders eliminate interference, focus on their goals, and improve performance in various areas of life.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R Covey

This book, first published in 1989, outlines seven habits that are designed to help individuals become more effective in their personal and professional lives. The habits are grouped into three categories: Private Victory (habits 1-3), Public Victory (habits 4-6), and Renewal (habit 7). The habits include being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting first things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand and then to be understood, synergizing, and sharpening the saw. Covey emphasizes the importance of personal integrity, effective time management, empathetic communication, and continuous self-improvement[2][5][4].

The Inner Game of Tennis

Timothy Gallwey

This book, first published in 1974, focuses on the 'Inner Game' played within the mind of the player, against obstacles such as self-doubt, nervousness, and lapses in concentration. Gallwey introduces the concept of two selves: Self 1, the thinking brain that analyzes and judges, and Self 2, the 'feeling and doing' brain that can master skills naturally if not interfered with by Self 1. The book provides strategies for achieving 'relaxed concentration' and overcoming internal mental and emotional obstacles, making it relevant not only to tennis but also to other areas of life such as music, writing, work, and personal relationships.