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by Estienne de Beer
Something bothered me about the teeth of the consultant who was
sitting
in front of me, on the other side of the helpdesk. I couldn’t
identify what it was immediately. I was at my bank’s foreign
exchange division, hoping to get some advice on an upcoming business
trip. As the positive and friendly consultant was talking, I
suddenly realized what seemed out of place for me. Embedded in his
front tooth was the ultimate symbol of business success - a gold
dollar sign! I struggled to concentrate on our conversation. I
caught myself in forced contemplation and my curious mind was
analyzing why he chose this unique form of expression. I was
ambushed by the realization that it was because he was working in
foreign exchange. Different strokes for different folks. Some
committed corporate employees choose to personalize their car number
plates with the company’s name, but this consultant chose to add
some bite to the bark. I interrogated myself in silence. Was this
not taking it a bit too far? Was I a perplexed spectator of
misdirected positive thinking?
I’m not sure what the right answer is, but I am convinced that
this type of mindset can sometimes lead to eccentric behavior, to
say the least. The wheel starts buckling once we abandon common
sense and basic business acumen in the process. Positive thinking
without common sense is like operating your computer without
anti-virus software. It causes illogical and unnecessary threats to
one’s career and business that could easily be avoided. Please don’t
get me wrong! The workplace needs more positive people than ever.
No-one can deny the exciting impact that positive attitudes have on
the outcome of our strategies and events. The problem is just that
positive thinking on its own doesn’t pay the bills nor grow market
share. Someone once said that zeal without knowledge is deadly.
Positive thinking without substance is nothing but a fairytale for
adults. Overemphasizing positive thinking at the expense of other
critical success factors will only lead to embarrassment and
disappointment.
A whole industry has sprung up in recent times to teach us how to
radiate a positive image. We get taught to dress professionally and
how this will positively influence our companies, careers and
credibility. Clients will view us in a new light and the business
results will follow. Positive image consultants help us with our color
coding, rearrange our wardrobes and make sure that certain
clothing items get the boot. Being in touch with our colors and
making our ties and scarves work for us will positively sway
opinions around us. We will also feel better about ourselves. To a
certain extent this might be true, but what about the elegantly
dressed executive who cannot rally her sales force to higher
performance? What about the color coordinated, smartly dressed
financial broker who doesn’t know the difference between life
insurance and a pension fund? Do they perhaps spend too much time in
front of the mirror and too little time growing their knowledge,
products and people? A young accountant approached her retired
mentor one day and asked very expectantly how she managed such a
successful career. This answer was surprisingly brief: “Good
decisions”. In anticipation she launched the next question: “But
how can I learn to make good decisions?” The wise mentor paused
for a moment and replied: “Through experience!” Again the eager
accountant asked: “But how do I gain experience?” Her mentor
smiled understandingly: “Through bad decisions!”
Some of the ardent advocates of positive thinking with their
new-age message of “I”, “me” and “myself” are simply
neglecting very important factors in the process. Very often, they
do not take into account the importance of experience, teamwork and
old-fashioned hard work across the span of a career. It is much
easier and profitable to sell instant solutions to the market place.
The problem is just that people are not computers. A rapid reboot
doesn’t instantly prepare people for a lifetime of growth and
success. A quick download from a memory stick doesn’t build
self-awareness nor instantly delete insecurity. A pair of trendy
shoes with matching socks doesn’t produce the performance required
to get promoted to the next level. I don’t know about you, but
rather give me a team in denims and t-shirts who can do the job
efficiently, caring for the customers and who are real and secure
about themselves than people with very little substance. The old
cliché still rings true: “don’t judge a book by its cover!”
All of us will get discouraged some or other time at work. At
times like these, we seek out the support of a trusted colleague or
friend. This dejected situation usually unfolds in one of two
scenarios. The ideal is when the other person truly listens and
empathizes with you during this challenging time. You appreciate the
chance to get the problem off your chest and leave the room, ready
to face the world again. The second scenario involves the friend or
colleague that is a single-minded positive thinker. The more that
you try to verbalize the problem in order to feel better, the more
you get interrupted with “positive solutions”. The more you
crave empathy, the more they inject you with the importance of
positive thinking. It leaves you feeling even more dejected and
riddled with guilt about your inability to think positively during
this trying time. Interestingly enough this is not a new phenomenon.
An ancient Hebrew proverb already described hundreds and hundreds of
years back that this type of approach is like “one who takes off a
garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, is he who sings
songs to a troubled heart.”
Positive thinking on its own cannot and will never be a
substitute for getting things done and achieving results. Positive
thinking without application of knowledge and skill is nothing but
wishful dreaming and fraught with the dangers of disillusionment. A
penchant for action is a sure way to move ahead in the workplace.
One of the greatest characteristics of all successful people is that
they are forever action-oriented. Positive thinking in the absence
of all the other factors that contribute to success will never be
the magic bullet it is made out to be. And before I forget, the
positive thinking consultant from my bank with the gold dollar smile
made a positive impression on me, but unfortunately he couldn’t
solve my query...
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