Kickfannie OpsEdge
by Kathy Wilson, Kickfannie “Leadership Edge” Writer
DON’T KILL THE SQUIRREL!
One morning on our way back from my daughter’s parent-teacher conference I looked up and saw a squirrel attempting to cross the road. I said to my husband, “Don’t hit the squirrel.” He responded, “I won’t”, and continued on at the same rate of speed. Needless to say, the squirrel ran past our front tires, changed directions suddenly under our car, and got crushed by one of our back tires. I looked at my husband angrily, near tears, and shrieked, “YOU KILLED IT! Would it have hurt you to have just slowed down, or stopped?” My husband, amused but only slightly remorseful, looked out the rearview mirror and remarked, “Hmm. He must have run back under the car.” (Duh!) I looked at him and wondered how two people in the same car could see the same thing yet see things so differently. And it got me to thinking: herein lies the tale of the false positivity.
What is false positivity? In short false positivity is being positive about the outcome of a situation without anything to back up that positivity. This is not the same as being positive, in general. False positivity is situational. Let’s say two people are starting a business. One person, knowing she is embarking on an unfamiliar path chooses to back up her hopefulness with some strategic planning, some forethought, some caution, some research or facts, or by giving some consideration to the fact that things might not work out the way she desires and creating a plan B. Her positivity has some substance behind it. People like this can usually call on with confidence reasons why there is a good chance that what they desire to happen will occur. They can also repeat their process of insuring good results when appropriate, and pinpoint where they need to tweak when things don’t go quite as planned.
The other person chooses to just fly forward with his business plans cheerfully convinced that “everything will work out”, hoping against hope that the sheer force of his enthusiasm and positivity will alter the universe in his favor. He has no strategic plan and can offer no good reason why what he desires will occur except to spout colloquialisms such as “don’t worry, it’s all good”, or to hollowly insure that nothing bad will happen. People like this often leave chaos and disaster (and a few dead squirrels) in their wake, some of which has to be mopped up by other folks who unwittingly become collateral damage. And they often commit the same mistakes over and over again without ever understanding what went wrong where.
Starting a business is definitely an area where false positivity can show up. You get excited about your new venture and all of a sudden you are tempted, due to your enthusiasm, to forego the seemingly tedious, detail-oriented tasks necessary to set yourself up for success. You may be tempted to keep moving forward at a high rate of speed, or even put your foot on the gas, as the lure of the finish line (launch day) beckons. Even so, it is important that you count on more than enthusiasm to carry you forward. Success in business takes more than hubris.
Here are three steps to help you begin bridging the gap between false positivity and true positivity: 1) consider objections or things that could go wrong 2) consider the impact of the outcome of your actions – positive and negative – on yourself and those around you, and research and prepare 3) have a strategic plan to help create focus and direction despite (and in addition to) your passion and enthusiasm. Things won’t always turn out the way you want them to, even with the addition of research and caution, but being in business for yourself means you are committed to doing whatever is necessary to increase your chances of realizing your business dreams and minimizing the possibility of dead squirrels.
About the Contributor
Kathy, a former collegiate and professional basketball player and coach, is a speaker, author and change strategist in the Washington, DC area. Balancing the lessons she learned on the basketball court with her experience as an organizational training & development expert, Kathy brings a unique perspective on how to break through unconscious barriers in order to create positive and lasting change.
Kathy holds a BA in Communications from the University of North Carolina @ Chapel Hill, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Leadership Coaching and a Masters in Organizational Management from The George Washington University. For ten years Kathy has worked with a wide range of clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to public organizations including, The Securities and Exchange Commission, The Congressional Black Caucus, Vanderbilt University, Mary Washington Healthcare and Morgan Stanley empowering individuals to transform the way they work and live.
For additional information on Kathy Wilson check out her website at www.coachkathywilson.com