A quote for the day — on the Power of Negative Thinking, from Atul Gawande

Sometimes it really is a choice between “positive thinking,” and “realistic thinking.”  I don’t know about you, but I would want my doctor to be really good at realistic thinking.  Atul Gawande goes a step further, and affirms the validity of and the power of “negative thinking.”

Excerpted from his New York Times article,  The Power of Negative Thinking by Atul Gawande:

Whether one is fighting a cancer, an insurgency or just an unyielding problem at work, the prevailing wisdom is that thinking positive is the key – the Secret, even – to success.  But the key, it seems to me, is actually negative thinking: looking for, and sometimes expecting, failure.

…you don’t want to constantly seek out the inadequacies of your children, your looks, your abilities as you age. But in running schools or businesses, in planning war, in caring for the sick and injured? Negative thinking may be exactly what we need.

Let’s add Listening to our list of Core Competencies

I had a professor way back in my undergraduate days say this:

“if one expert says something, pay it some attention.  But if every expert says it, pay a whole lot of attention.”

Well, I challenge you to find a single expert who says this:

“you don’t have to listen – to your colleagues, or your employees, or your customers.”

No, the evidence is clear.  I’ve read enough business books to learn that business leaders, business authors, and everyone else believes that listening – developing really, really good listening skills – is seriously important.  Here’s what Roger Martin says about it (in one specific context):

What is the best way to learn another language? (He is discussing the language of reliability and the language of validity in a business setting). It is to spend time with those who speak the language you wish to acquire, in their environment.  Just listen, as if it is truly important and with empathy, and you will learn the language in no time.

Though I have not found listening listed on anyone’s list of core competencies, I think it should be added.  And if you have not developed the ability to listen really, really well, you will definitely fall behind.

And here is a little hint about good listening skills:  when someone else is talking, do not try to figure out what your response will be — just listen.  And after that other person finishes talking, make sure you understood exactly what that person said.  And then, and only then, should you figure out what you will say in response.

And, yes, I need to more fully develop this ability myself.

A Godin Glossary

Seth Godin

Many of those who have read few (if any) of Seth Godin’s books have presumably heard one or more of the terms that he has devised. Here are nine, most of which were introduced in a book of that title, with my take on them.

The Big Moo: Godin and 33 among his kindred spirits (collectively) respond to two questions in the book that bears this name.

1. If being remarkable is the only way to grow, how to become remarkable?

2. If the only barrier to being remarkable is one’s ability to persuade associates to make it happen, how to do that?

A large purple cow is much easier to see than a small one is. You get the idea.

The Big Red Fez: Godin: “One of the best ways to remind yourself about what’s really going on [when someone visits a Web site] is to think of a monkey in a big red fez…The best way to motivate the monkey [to take a desired action], of course, is to use a banana. Whenever a monkey walks into a new situation, all it wants to know is, ‘Where’s the banana?’ If the banana isn’t easy to see, easy to get and obvious, the monkey is going to lose interest. But if you can make it clear to the monkey what’s in it for him, odds are he’ll do what you want.” Obviously, the monkey is the Web site visitor and the banana is the incentive mechanism.

The Dip: Godin asserts that every effort to achieve success (however defined) encounters barriers (e.g. superior forces of resistance, poor luck, bad timing, loss of commitment) and reaches a low point (i.e. dip). Keep going, hang in there, etc. or stop, cut losses, live to fight another day, etc. In poker, for example, you need to “know when to hold‘em and know when to fold ‘em.” Godin: “Being the best in the world is underrated, but becoming the best is harder than it looks.” Expect resistance and complications but don’t feed hay to a dead horse.

Ideavirus: This term is almost inextricable from other terms such as BUZZ as well as word-of-mouth and viral marketing. The objective is to devise an idea that is so appealing that it spreads like the proverbial wildfire, like a virus, etc. Godin: “Ideas that spread, win.”

Linchpin: This is a person who is indispensable to others. Linchpins hold a team or organization or even a nation together. They ensure that troops hold their ground when under attack, they will not allow their teammates to lose hope of victory, they will not allow a people to surrender, they sustain morale and collaboration when a company struggles to survive. For obvious reasons, their value is incalculable. Godin: “The linchin is coming from a posture of generosity; she’s there to give a gift [no-strings support of your efforts to succeed]. If that’s your intent, the words almost don’t matter. What we’ll perceive are your wishes, not the script.”

Meatball Sundae: Just as companies should not have the same person responsible for both marketing and sales, it also makes no sense to try to combine traditional marketing with what is now required in the Digital Age. Godin: “Combining old marketing with new makes a mess. We’re living through an industrial revolution, [so] start acting that way…If you want to succeed online, you must change what you make! Making meatballs and trying to market them online just isn’t going to work.”

Purple Cow: After seeing one idyllic cow after another after another after another, none seems remarkable. However, a “purple cow”… that would certainly be different. The objective is to differentiate yourself in ways that are most important to those who buy what you and your competitors sell. Godin: “In order for your idea to spread, it better be worth talking about.” In a word, remarkable.

Tribes: Those who comprise human communities can and should be both active and interactive, connected and collaborative, leaders who follow and followers who lead. Godin: “The new, highly leveraged tools of the Net make it easier to create a movement, to make things happen, to get things done. All that’s missing is leadership… We need you to lead us, and leadership is the new marketing.”