by Dan Rockwell – April 2013
Bad weighs more than good
One bad experience outweighs one good. A gallon of bad weighs more than a gallon of good.
Setbacks nag; success whispers.
You overemphasize what went wrong and minimize what went right. Down is easier than up.
Small setbacks increase frustration more than small successes enhance satisfaction.
One negative defeats one positive. It’s worse! One negative defeats two positives. It takes three positives to off-set one negative. It takes 2.9013 gallons of positive to sweeten one gallon of negative.*
One gallon of positive won’t sweeten one gallon of negative.
Now you know why negative environments are easy.
Boats with holes
There’s a hole in your boat. Bad experiences gush in; good experiences jump ship.
Find the good before the bad sinks you.
Thank more. Cheer more. Pat on the back more, much more.
Plugging holes
When boats are sinking you can bail water or plug the hole! Or jump ship. Assume you’re in for the long haul.
Preventing one bad creates more buoyancy than appreciating one good. Why? Because bad outweighs good.
Do more good by eliminating one bad.
[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”500px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]
- Eliminate negative employees.
- Remove obstacles. Organizations create hoops, sign offs, and regulations that make work harder. Ask, “What’s slowing you down?” When you find out, remove it or smooth the way.
- Stop belittling. Work that isn’t valued isn’t meaningful.
- End frustrations. Explore frustrations with employees, don’t ignore them, end them.[/dropshadowbox]
Throw out bad – good comes back
Still more:
- Focus on progress not failures. Constantly. You’re falling behind if you don’t. Better wins.
- Transform setbacks into progress by making them learning events.
- Respect. Welcome ideas. Don’t dismiss suggestions, explore them. Off-handed rejection belittles.
- Agree on outcomes then let go. Freedom energizes; control drains.
The pursuit of excellence is fueled by positive environments.
Positive environments aren’t accidents, leaders build them.
Eliminate bad.
Shout the good.
Whisper correction.
Team Discussion
How can leaders counteract the pull of negative gravity?
How does how you act away from work affect how you act at work?
* Research on the bad outweighs good.[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”250px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Who else can benefit from eliminating negativity? To dump the bad and load up on good? [/dropshadowbox]