Bobby Kipper has spent a lifetime studying what we do and why.

As a coach, an educator and a police officer of more than 25 years, he has encountered the heights and depths of human ‘performance’ and everything in between. “People tend to think about performance in terms of athletes or singers, but don’t judge their own,” he says. “Everywhere you go, every personal or professional activity you’re engaged in is performance. You must be on your game.”

Kipper’s observations on performance – and how it translates to achievement, happiness and success – made him co-author of the best-seller Performance Driven Thinking, with David L. Hancock. They’ve also made him a sought-after speaker and facilitator, who will hold two workshops, one on performance and one on bullying, at Yavapai College this month.

 Performance-Driven Thinking

“The first part of performance is the ‘want to,’” Kipper says. “But your desire has to turn into action. Everyone wants to achieve. Ever been to a workout facility in January? Those places are packed with New Year’s resolutions.” But desire, by itself, doesn’t manifest success. “You have to have the will to make it happen.” Will – that persistent focus on daily goals, and the stamina to keep after them – is what turns desire into results. “The problem isn’t desire. It’s false promises.” He says. “Society gives us unrealistic expectations: ‘Lose 30 pounds in 30 days,’ ‘Be a millionaire overnight.’ They create a noise that makes us believe wanting is achieving. It is not. Will is the action. Desire without will is a wish.”

In Performance Driven Thinking, its companion journal and the October 8 workshop, Kipper articulates the mindset necessary to harness your will to your aspirations; and to internalize goal-setting – which we too often outsource. “In workplaces, and in government, the system often rewards mediocrity,” he says. “In the police department, some detectives would clear four-to-five cases a month. Some wouldn’t clear any. We’d all get evaluated the same.” A standardized concept of success, he says, “is a silent destruction of performance.”

Setting personal standards, and willfully pursuing them, raises the bar, invites success – and works across all aspects of life. “Once you develop the mindset, it becomes second nature. You’re going to want to be out there. You’re going to want to produce and achieve in your profession, your home life and your relationships. Most people tell me how [the book] challenged them. It doesn’t give answers. But it gets you started from where you are and helps take you to where you want to be.”

Bobby Kipper’s Performance Driven Thinking workshop is Friday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Building 3 on Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus. Admission is free – and a copy of the book and companion workbook are included – but seating is limited, and advanced registration is required at www.yc.edu/JI.

No Bullying Allowed

   Today’s schools are in desperate need of a behavioral re-set. “We have an institutional problem with bullying in America. At all levels.” Kipper says. His thirty years of public safety service led him and Bud Ramey to write a book, No Bullies: Solutions for Saving our Children from Today’s Bullies, and Kipper speaks extensively to educators and civic leaders on an age-old problem that has grown more sophisticated and dangerous.

   “[Society] runs the gamut on what to do. Sometimes they teach the wrong thing – ‘stand up and fight’ – which only adds more violence to the situation. That’s why the book is important. It’s kind of an encyclopedia on how to handle bullying.” Kipper also holds workshops – like Yavapai College’s Oct. 9 event – on strategies to “reduce animosity and poor behavior.”

   There are no quick or easy fixes, he says. The best answer is an approach that builds a positive classroom environment – and schools can’t do that on their own. “Part of the solution is more connection between communities and schools.” Violent tendencies, he says, start at home and must be met with a coordinated response in our communities. “Let’s start talking about things to do collectively. Educators need a chance to engage with parents.” In a digitized world, he says, the best response is connection, coordinated action and a thoughtful, consequential response. “These aren’t hardware issues. These are human issues. Everything we talk about starts and ends with behavior.”

   Sponsored by Yavapai College’s Justice Institute, Kipper’s No Bullying Allowed workshop runs Wednesday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Building 3 on Yavapai College’s Prescott Campus. Admission is free – and a copy of No Bullies is included – but seating is limited, and advanced registration is required at www.yc.edu/JI.