CHAPTER THREE · · · Ignite the Flame of Personal Performance ``Pretend that every person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, `Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales; you will succeed in life.'' -- M ARY K AY A SH Your job as a manager is to get the very highest quality and quantity of performance and output from the human re- sources entrusted to you. As much as 80 percent of the opera- ting costs of your business are represented by the wages, salaries, benefits, and bonuses paid out to your people. Small, incremental increases in individual performance can have a substantial effect on your bottom line. To get the very most out of others, you must develop a · · · 47 American Management Association · www.amanet.org