Written by Darik Volpa

My favorite paragraph from a recent article in HuffPo:

“As companies constantly look to get ahead in terms of productivity and operational effectiveness, there is an outstanding need for ingenuity. Using VR as a mental rehearsal tool is not one that is still widely known. Becoming the first to use it could result in great success. Those who don’t innovate tend to fall behind. As we obsess about workplace performance, increasing it through this unique tactic could be the step in the right direction.”

Awane Jones, partner at Merchlar and thought leader in digital marketing and author of “How VR Can Help Executives Rehearse For Big Moments”, is right about a few things:

• First movers tend to gain the greatest reward.
• Those companies that don’t innovate tend to fall behind.
• Virtual reality is not widely known.

So I ask you: What is widely known? What is available to let you rehearse for that workplace performance we demand of our employees and of ourselves? It’s Rehearsal. And the first movers are gaining the greatest reward. And those companies that are not practicing with visual recognition, creating “hotseat” environments for practicing workplace behaviors, and giving constructive and managed feedback – are falling behind.

You don’t have to go very far to see the evidence:

• Allstate
• Amazon
• Verizon
• Johnson & Johnson
• Abbvie

Some of the world’s largest companies are turning webcams on their own employees — not to see what they are doing wrong but instead to help them make it right…make it better.

If swimmer Michael Phelps gained a competitive edge by visualizing every aspect of his race, what can your employees gain by seeing themselves present, practicing how they may answer a tough prospect question, or by finding a new angle to an old challenge because they had the chance to see someone else do it differently?

If a virtual-reality trained surgical resident performs gall bladder surgery more accurately and 29% faster by seeing what he or she does and improving upon that work, why wouldn’t your employee sell faster, find ways to be more profitable, or create new solutions for old problems, if he just had the opportunity to see himself?

You don’t need to wait for virtual reality technology. That is an excuse. We have what you need to see exactly what you are doing. Get better now. No excuses.