The Potentiator: How To Create Breakthroughs With Others In a Post Pandemic World
By Mike Lipkin
()
About this ebook
There is no higher accolade than being recognized as someone who enables others to perform at their best
Every day we’re faced with a future that seems more daunting than the day before. The problems appear bigger than ever but so do the opportunities. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and alone in the face of such cataclysmic change.
That’s why we’re only as good as the Potentiators we purposefully place in our lives. They are the everyday superheroes whose superpower is to enable us to perform at our best. In turn, we need to intentionally play that role for other people. That’s how breakthroughs are created in a post-pandemic world. In this heart-stirring guide, Mike Lipkin shows you how to succeed at others’ success, while you live your best life. Specifically, he introduces you to The Five Potentiator Practices that will multiply your impact and scale your results: Know Your Game. Build Robust Resilience. Grow Courageous Creativity. Communicate Like a Champion. And Cultivate Close Connections.
Through revealing case studies, research-backed insights, and powerful exercises, you’ll discover how to transform yourself into the Potentiator - to the enormous benefit of everyone around you. You won’t be derailed by distraction. You’ll be driven by the thrill of discovery. Now more than ever, the world needs you to unleash your superpower. Mike Lipkin shows you how.
Mike Lipkin
Mike Lipkin is President of Environics/Lipkin, a global research and motivation company based in Toronto. He is also an international strategic coach, guide and potentiator to leaders everywhere. His passion is creating breakthroughs with others by any means possible. He combines his personal experience of talking to over a million people in 67 countries with rigorous research on extraordinary performance. Mike was raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. He immigrated to Toronto, Canada in 2001 where he now lives with his wife, Hilary. This is his eighth book.
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Reviews for The Potentiator
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Book preview
The Potentiator - Mike Lipkin
Praise for The Potentiator
You might call this book the new ‘Vocabulary of Victory.’ Want to play at your best? Read at your best. And start with this book.
Ron Tite, author of Think. Do. Say.: How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy, Busy World
Leadership legacies are not just about winning the game. Leaders create legacies when they transform the game. We’re all in the business of creating breakthroughs with others. In this book, Mike Lipkin shows you a practical approach to turning fantasies into dreams, and dreams into legacies. I love it!
Silvio Stroescu, president, BMO InvestorLine, at BMO Financial Group
"Mike Lipkin has been one of my Potentiators for many years. The practices outlined in The Potentiator will help me improve on the things that really matter. I had fun reading this book and encourage you to do the same!"
Mike Parra, CEO, Americas, at DHL Express
"Whether it’s on the page or on a stage, Mike Lipkin is always timely, relevant, provocative, insightful and inspiring. The Potentiator is a tactical and strategic roadmap to creating breakthroughs for yourself and for the people around you."
Martin Perelmuter, co-founder and president, Speakers’ Spotlight
I’ve known Mike Lipkin for years and he is a smart, talented guy. If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. This book is the roadmap to being bold, brave and successful!
Bruce MacLellan, president and CEO, Proof Strategies
"I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating many times with Mike Lipkin, whether he is presenting his insights at a workshop, acting as a mentor or sharing his personal journey to encourage and educate. I love reading his books because they’re a treat for my brain and my heart. His latest offering, The Potentiator, is signature Mike: he motivates, encourages and inspires readers as they journey toward positive change. Change is hard work but imminently possible. The Potentiator illuminates the path."
Dr. Diane McIntosh, chief neuroscience officer, Telus, and author of This Is Depression
Mike Lipkin has always provided me with awesome guidance. I’m inspired about creating my next breakthrough moment. After reading this book, you will be too.
Karen Werger, CPA, CA, CBV, global leader valuations and modeling, Deloitte LLP
"The Potentiator is essential reading for anyone who wants to build trust with others. The Potentiator Practices that Mike Lipkin shares in this book are priceless."
Lisa Kimmel, chair and CEO, Edelman Canada
The breakthrough mindset defined in this book will help you magnetize success. I have already begun to apply the Five Potentiator Practices to great effect. I’m inspired!
Christian Roy, executive vice president, health division, at Tank Worldwide, a WPP Company
"The Potentiator offers an inspirational and uplifting approach that helps the reader make game-changing realizations page after page. Mike Lipkin has created a unique modality to guide others toward their own self-mastery so that they can pay it forward."
Karen Azlen, founder and CEO, Introduction Capital Inc.
"I tend to like books that push me out of my comfort zone. Books and stories that make me reflect on who I am, where I have come from and where I am going. Most important are the why and the how. Mike Lipkin, through The Potentiator, has created a blueprint for embracing the journey to be your absolute best, regardless of your age, profession or how you define successful living. I plan to re-read this book over and over to challenge me and help me make the most of my life."
Lee Cooper, CEO, Shields Health Solutions
"Early in my career, Mike Lipkin helped me unlock my leadership potential. The Potentiator expresses Mike’s best insights in ways that are immediately actionable."
Dani Reiss, president and CEO, Canada Goose Inc.
Mike Lipkin, you have done it again! Another great set of learnings, habits, coaching and darn right irritations. My personal and professional success is a testament to your years of work on me. I love all five of the Potentiator Practices. This book is a must-read for all of us aspiring Potentiators.
Kim Yost, president and CEO, Mega Group Inc.
"I have known Mike Lipkin for two decades. He has inspired countless readers and listeners to self-actualize in their chosen profession, providing practical roadmaps and stories that inspire. The Potentiator is Mike’s most data-driven motivational text. It’s filled with useful insights and I know you will enjoy reading it."
Michael Adams, author and president of the Environics group of companies
Half Title. The Potentiator. Mike Lipkin. Page Twotitle. The Potentiator. Mike Lipkin. How to Create Breakthroughs With Others In a Post-Pandemic World. Page Twotitle. The Potentiator. Mike Lipkin. How to Create Breakthroughs With Others In a Post-Pandemic World.Copyright © 2022 by Mike Lipkin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations, embodied in reviews and articles.
Cataloguing in publication information is available from Library and Archives Canada.
ISBN 978-1-7751225-3-1 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-7751225-4-8 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-7751225-5-5 (audiobook)
Environics/Lipkin Inc.
33 Bloor Street East, Suite 1020
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M4W 3H1
Produced by Page Two
pagetwo.com
Writing/research services provided by Matthew O’Grady
Copyedited by James Harbeck
Cover design by Peter Cocking
Interior design by Peter Cocking and Setareh Ashrafologhalai
Cover and interior illustrations by Ian Herring
Ebook by Bright Wing Media
mikelipkin.com
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.
Jackie Robinson
Contents
Introduction
1 The First Potentiator Practice:
Know Your Game
2 The Second Potentiator Practice:
Build Robust Resilience
3 The Third Potentiator Practice:
Grow Courageous Creativity
4 The Fourth Potentiator Practice:
Communicate Like a Champion
5 The Fifth Potentiator Practice:
Cultivate Close Connections
Epilogue
The Vocabulary of Victory
Acknowledgements
Notes
Landmarks
Cover
Table of Contents
Body Matter
Copyright Page
Epilogue
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Introduction
His name is Tim. He owns an advertising agency in Switzerland. He is 51 years old. He is of medium height. He has a slight build—one that’s growing soft with age—and he favours nondescript glasses. His hairline has been receding for over a decade, and his curly brown hair now sits high on the top of his head. Tim is not handsome, but not ugly. He is ordinary.
Until he speaks. Then, his entire person lights up. Tim’s insights shine through. His humour sparkles. His charisma crackles. His physical appearance transforms into that of a rock star. He magnetizes others to him. Tim’s words are well chosen, his ideas are well formed—and his track record is well established.
I’ve been working with Tim for over a decade. We have partnered on multiple marquee assignments around the world—and the assignments have gone well for one simple reason: Tim helps me to play at my best. When Tim is around, I find another gear; I reach another level; I discover another dimension.
The impact is reciprocal: I also coach Tim on how to lead his people and captivate his clients. I help him see his blind spots so that he can discover opportunities hidden from view. It’s a mutuality of interests that magnifies both of our successes.
Here’s my question to you: Who is your Tim? Who makes you more powerful? Who elevates your game? Who helps you play at your best? Who is plugging you into your full potential? Who is the superhero whose superpower is to turn you into a superhero as well?
Who is your Potentiator?
You can have more than one Potentiator. You can be the Potentiator for more than one person. But we’re only as good as the Potentiators we purposefully place in our lives.
Sometimes they cross our paths serendipitously. We experience their magic for a brief moment before they move on—like catching lightning in a bottle. Ultimate success comes from forming an enduring relationship with them. It isn’t easy.
Potentiators are drawn to potential that is determined to realize itself. You have to demonstrate it before they help you develop it. And it takes one to know one. Potentiators pursue other Potentiators. They play together and empower each other. They are always the students and always the teachers. They are intentional and purposeful in their relationships. No jerks, shirkers, sloths, takers, fakers, wimps, quitters, cynics, bullies, bigots, hermits or cruisers allowed.
Potentiators are an exclusive club that anyone can join. The price of entry isn’t education, income or connections; it’s the desire to create breakthroughs by helping others play at their best. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. If you want it badly enough, you’ll find ways to make it happen. This book is one of them.
I define a breakthrough as an action that moves someone through an obstacle. Or it’s a sudden insight that enables someone to achieve a remarkable result. Or it’s a personal victory over doubt that liberates someone from their fear. Or it’s a decisive discovery that precipitates extraordinary progress. Or it’s the accomplishment of significant personal success. In short, a breakthrough is situational. It’s whatever others need to play at their best in that moment.
Until now, you may not even have been conscious of your desire to create breakthroughs by helping others play at their best. It may even sound grandiose or hyperbolic to you. After all, in a world where excellence is a given, it’s hard enough just being good enough. Now that it’s on your radar, it sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But everything is obvious once it’s been thought of. And haven’t you always wanted to be a superhero? So have other people. You can be the superhero who makes them superheroes: the Potentiator.
I will show you that becoming the Potentiator doesn’t require more work. It requires the right work. It means focusing on the things that count—so you can say no to the things that don’t. As the Potentiator, you won’t be derailed by distraction. You’ll be driven by the thrill of discovery. You’ll be inspired to achieve unprecedented results with others.
The Potentiator doesn’t succeed at others’ expense; the Potentiator succeeds at others’ success.
A New Vocabulary of Power,
Opportunity and Possibility
Every year, thousands of words are added to the Oxford Dictionary—and thousands more are revised, bringing new meaning or new pronunciations to time-honoured words. The world’s leading lexicographer updates its database quarterly. Here are just four of the almost 9,000 words added or updated in 2021:
digital assistant, n.: A (usually hand-held) portable computer; esp. one that combines the functions of an electronic organizer with the capacity for networking.
Generation Z, n.: The generation of people born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, regarded as having attitudes or values which differ from those of the preceding generation (Generation Y), particularly with respect to having grown up in the era of widespread use of digital technology (esp. the internet and social media).
social distance, v.: transitive (reflexive) and intransitive. To keep a certain physical distance from, or limit physical contact with, another person or people in order to avoid catching or transmitting an infectious disease, or as one of a number of public health measures designed to inhibit its spread.
allyship, n.: "The state or condition of being or having an ally (in various senses). Now chiefly: spec. the state or condition of being a person who supports the rights of a minority or marginalized group without being a member of it."
These are words that were created to define new concepts—and during Covid-19, there were lots of new concepts to describe our dramatically rewired lives. The existing vocabulary we had access to was insufficient, so someone made up a new word, or a new meaning, that has been accepted as a legitimate expression of the English language.
Each one of us—you, me, everyone you meet every day—is involved in this process of word creation all the time. Our existing vocabulary needs to constantly expand in order to accommodate our new challenges and realities. If the word doesn’t currently exist, we can even make it up, knowing that if we explain it clearly enough, it could become part of the lexicon.
That’s what I’m doing with Potentiator, a word that hasn’t been used outside the world of medical science. In that context, a potentiator is something that potentiates: an agent that increases the strength or impact of another drug or biological effect. I’m redeploying the word into the arena of human effectiveness and high performance.
In this world, the Potentiator is not a thing or substance. It is a person who increases other people’s strength and effectiveness; someone who brings people together so they can achieve more than they could separately; someone who helps actualize others’ dreams; someone who produces more energy than they consume; someone who creates breakthroughs by helping others play at their best.
The Potentiator, in other words, is an everyday superhero. But unlike Superman or Spider-Man, who can only be the super-personas of Clark Kent or Peter Parker, the Potentiator is someone any one of us can be—if we develop our own personal superpowers. We all have these powers, but not all of us use them. It’s time to take action.
I love the sound of Potentiator.
It’s the sound of getting things done and making the future real. Just by saying it, you feel potent. It is pronounced puh-ten-shee-eight-or.
Say it aloud. Notice what you need to do with your face and your mouth. You need to purse your lips, then smile—and smile again if you’re saying it really expressively! You cannot say Potentiator
and not become animated. It’s the kind of word that becomes self-fulfilling the moment that you utter it.
The Highest Accolade
There is no higher accolade than being recognized as someone who helps others play at their best. It’s the essence of a great coach, leader, mentor, partner, team member, colleague or friend. It’s also the secret to everybody else’s success. No one achieves anything significant without the contribution of an extraordinary person in their corner.
All of us have helped others play at their best at some point. We’ve all said or done the right thing at the right time. We were there for others when they needed us most. We lifted them up when they were down. We inspired them to carry on when they wanted to give up. We shined a light for them in