Monthly Archives: November 2012

Attitude Drives Self-fulfilling Prophesies

A recent article by Harvard Business Review gives advice about how to keep one’s preconceptions from skewing decisions. According to the article, six behaviors bias a person’s worldview. In particular, confirmation bias reaffirms snap judgments to create self-fulfilling prophesies. If you have a positive outlook on life, then you see endless possibilities and very likely exhibit the drive to achieve incredible accomplishments. You make up your mind and go for things that seem beyond the reach of other people. In contrast, the Eyeores of the world fence themselves in behind self-imposed limitations—and therefore severely limit their potential. They say you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. But, the science shows that we can actually improve our positivity factor by adjusting how we react to situations. Over time, you can train yourself to have a more positive emotional response when something…

Why We’re Stuck in An Authoritarian Rut

Friday night I went to the Washington West Film Festival to see I AM, a documentary by Tom Shadyac. You know… the guy who directed Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Liar Liar, Patch Adams, and a host of other popular comedies. After an accident that left him suffering with Post Concussion Syndrome and facing the possibility death, Shadyac came to grips with how his values and the way he lived his life differed. Vastly. The discomfort spurred Shaydac to make a movie about his journey to reconcile core values with personal actions. Ultimately, I AM seeks to answer two fundamental questions: 1. What’s wrong with our world? 2. What can we do about it? The movie just may have answered one of the burning questions I’ve been pondering for some time now: Why do American business leaders continue to fail to…

Using Strengths to The Point of Weakness

Because people tend to hire others like themselves, the recruitment process leads to organizational imbalance unless the hiring manager acknowledges and curbs this natural, human bias. A company that has too many people with the same strengths unintentionally creates a blind side (or two) and lacks the strength needed to become successful in the marketplace, much less a market leader Continue reading

Why 70% of Employees Dream of Leaving Their Jobs

Much of workplace unhappiness stems from a controlling, or authoritarian management style… the default setting for a significant number of today’s business “leaders.” These managers use their authority to gain compliance rather than treating employees in a manner they’d prefer. Continue reading